James Alfred Crane

1854 - 1894  (40 years)

• Name	James Alfred Crane
  Born	13 Dec 1854	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1, 2, 3]
  Residence	1861	North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  	W.
  Christened	12 Apr 1869	Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada   [2]
  Gender	Male
  Residence	1876	Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada
  Misfortune	1894
  	drowned
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-250909
  Died	22 Dec 1894  [3]
  Buried	Howitt Memorial Cemetery (formerly Kirkland Cemetery), Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario   [3]
  Person ID	I250909	Generations
  Last Modified	28 Jan 2025

  
  

  Father	James Crane,   b. 20 Sep 1818, Ubbeston, Suffolk, England ,   d. 20 Feb 1900, Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada  (Age 81 years)
  Mother	Elizabeth Cady,   b. 19 Jan 1821, Walpole, , Suffolk, England ,   d. 1 Jul 1902  (Age 81 years)
  Family ID	F228217	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth "Bessie" Kirkland,   b. 10 Jul 1841,   d. 25 Mar 1897  (Age 55 years)
  Married	28 Mar 1876	Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada
  Last Modified	29 Jan 2025
  Family ID	F60125	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  CRANE, JAMES Deceased Came to His Death by Drowning While Under the Influence of Liquor The inquest on the late James Crane resumed in the Town Hall, Hespeler on Wednesday afternoon at 1: 15. All the jury were present except Mr. Pannabaker, who was detained on account of illness. Coroner Cormack presided. James Crane said his son was 40 years old. He recognized the body as that of his son in the mill on Saturday, December 22nd 1894. He was in the habit of liquor drinking and occasionally got the worse of liquor but never saw him as bad that he could not manage his horses. John O. Crane, brother of the deceased, also saw the body after it was taken out of the dam. For some time back, his brother had been in the habit of drinking liquor and had seen him about two years ago, so drunk that he could not manage his horses. Elizabeth Crane, wife of the deceased, said he had been in the habit of taking liquor occasionally but was always quiet, unless provoked. He left home on Friday morning about ten minutes to seven. He was to go to Galt, providing he did not sell his turkeys in Hespeler. He was accompanied by Sandy McKechnie. He was sober when he left home. They were on good terms. He had twenty fowls, when he left home and $9. in bills. He was going to use the money obtained from the sale of the produce to meet a note in Guelph on Saturday. He was insured in the Canada Life for $1, 000. About two years ago, he had a haemorrhage of the stomach. He was always able to come home when the worse of liquor. When she heard of the drowning, she thought he had driven over the bank in the darkness. She had no reason at first to think but what it was accidental. Alex McKechnie said he lived in Guelph with his parents and had worked the past few days for James Crane. They left on Friday morning for Hespeler. He could not exactly say when they arrived. They drove past Krib's Mill. On arriving at Hunt's Hotel, they drove the horses in the shed and went into the hotel and stopped around, getting warm. They had a drink in the hotel; it was whiskey. Mr. Crane wanted to see Mr. Hunt to sell him some of his turkeys. They had a drink, when the turkeys were sold. He could not say what Mr. Crane drank; he took whiskey. The sale of the fowl, he thought, was a cash transaction. He was not with Mr. Crane all the time he was in the village. The turkey sale took place between 9 and 10 o'clock. Mr. Crane then went round the village but was not gone long. Shortly after, they had another drink. He could not say whether it was at Wayper's or Hunt's but they did not get it at a private house. Mr. McKechnie had another drink at Hunt's. They both had another drink at noon. They had no dinner. They had been together sitting around and talking. Mr. Crane was getting pretty drunk at this time. They had a good many drinks together; he could not say how many. Mr. Crane paid for most of them. Mr. McKechnie paid for one in the evening. In the afternoon, they were between the two hotels. They left the village together in the afternoon. He could not say where they went and had no idea where they pulled up. He knew they were on the wrong road and turned round and drove back to Hespeler. He could not say what they did but a crowd tried to get them to go home. It seemed to him they were at both hotels, when they came back. He did not go home with Mr. Crane but walked around the village. He thought he met somebody when he was walking and remembered going to bed at Hunt's. He could not say what time it was. He got up after 7 next morning and started for Strome's. He met a policeman who said "You did not go home with Crane last night?" and told him that Crane's horses were drowned in the dam and that he might be there himself. A Celebration of Lives Obituaries of Puslinch Township, Wellington Co., Ontario Vol 1, Anna Jackson & Marjorie Clark Used with kind permission of Marjorie Clark

  
  

• Sources

  [S1778] Census - ON, Waterloo, North Dumfries - 1861, Div 11 Page 84. [S101] Church Records - ON, Waterloo - Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register - transcript of cards, Kitchener Public Library. James Alfred Crane b. 13 Dec 1854 Waterloo Baptised 12 Apr 1869 Puslinch Child Of Jas. Crane & Elizabeth Crane Residence: Waterloo Volume 3 Page 494 Rev. A. Ferguson [S3231] Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/212003731/james-a-crane.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 13 Dec 1854 - Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - W. - 1861 - North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Christened - 12 Apr 1869 - Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada Residence - 1876 - Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada Married - 28 Mar 1876 - Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada Buried - - Howitt Memorial Cemetery (formerly Kirkland Cemetery), Puslinch Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario  = Link to Google Earth