[the following is on the back of the preceding sheet]
1 Chambersburg Pa Dec. 24, 1907 Daniel Brindle. Dear Cousin: I have been waiting with all patience to hear from you since I last wrote; not that I expect the work that I asked of you to be done, but to know what you were doing in the matter. But to interest you & to give you an idea of the record I am getting up, I will send you a portion of it. You can see that it will be interesting & perhaps profitable to some of the descendants. It has been delayed too long already, as many of the records are lost. But let us do what we can to get the record as near correct & complete
2 as possible & then our descendants can correct & add to it. The Crofts in Germany had a Coat of Arms; I intend getting a facsimile of it & have it in the record. If you have any Photograhs [sic] of your Grandfather & Grandmother Brindle, could you not have them copied and send me copies. I would appreciate it very much. I do not remember whether I told you that I have a photograh [sic] of Elizabeth Croft, daughter of Frederick Jr. first son of Frederick, the Ancestor. She was bor[n] in 1781 & died in Somersette Co. in 1874. Will send you a copy with my own, so soon as I can get mine
3 ready. In getting up this record it depends on what matter persons give me. Some give me a complete record & others very brief. If you or any other person undertake it, all I want is the facts or material & I will arrange it. I have not heard from your uncle to whom I wrote. There surely ought to be some one of the family that feels interest enough in it to undertake it. I enjoy it & if all could promptly give me the information it would make the work more pleasant. I don't expect to make a cent out of it; my expense already in postage &c has been considerable but I freely do it
4 in order to have a record. I don't think it will cost over 50 cents per copy to have a sufficient number published for those who want a copy. So let me know what can be done in the Brindle record. You can see in what I send you when it should come in that the record may be complete. A merry Christmas & a happy New year to all the uncles & cous ins . Some snow on the ground; weather mild for winter but damp & wet. Write soon. Your Cousin, S. Croft. over
[The following is appended to the above letter.]
P.S. For a commencement give me the names of your Grandmothers children, to whom they were married & as many of the grandchildren as you can. (I suppose you are a grandchild) You can do this from memory: the details, later on. S. C.
1 David Croft, the Seventh & youngest son of Frederick Krafft, was born in Guilford twp. Franklin Co. Pa. about 4 miles south of Chambersburg, Aug. 3, 1765 & died Dec. 18, 1845. He was married to Catharine Eunaugst about the year 1787. She was born April 9, 1766, & died Aug. 10, 1835, & with her husband & parents is buried in the cemetry [sic] of the 1st Lutheran Ch. Chambersburg, Pa. At the time his father sold his farm in 1779 he was 14 years of age, & at the time of his marriage, about 22 years. By trade he was a cooper & was an excellent workman. He purchased a tract of land
2 from the Proprietors in Hamilton twp. near what is now Emanuel's U.B. church of 132 acres & 159 T. & allowances which was surveyed Nov. 30, 1787 on a warrant to David Croft, dated Sept. 1, 1787. This farm was inherited in later years by his son Abraham, the only son living at his death. He probably located on the land soon after the purchase & built a log house, one & one half stories high. The original part is still standing, although a back building has been added & the original part was raised to two stories some years previous. It is said by the descendants of Abraham Croft, that the Loop
3 holes, in the upper half story of the building, placed there for protection against the Indians, could be seen. Also the marks of the bullets in the old door. We have been informed that the original log barn is still standing. He purchased another tract of land from Thomas Wilson & Hannah, his wife, April 4, 1799. This farm lay south of & joined the first purchase & in later years inherited by John F. Croft, his grandson & son of Samuel. He subsequently moved to this farm & lived there during the remainder of his life. He also owned two other farms, known later as the Hoover farms, which joined the original pur-
4 chase on the south & east. It seems his object was to have a farm for each of his sons but three of them--David Jr, John & Samuel died early & at the time of his death, none were living except Abraham & the daughters. I often heard my father say that when his Grandfather commenced housekeeping, they had for a table a large chest & blocks of wood for chairs. The following children were born to David & Catherine Eunaugst Croft:--David, Jr, John, Abraham, Samuel, Catharine, Elizabeth, Mary, & Margaret. Catharine was married to Wm Miller & lived in Franklin Co.
5 Elizabeth married to Samuel Goldsmith & we believe moved to the Western part of this State. Mary married married her cousin--Jacob Heckman. They had seven sons & one daughter. They moved to Canton, O. Margaret married Abraham Johnson. They moved to Massilon, O.
6 David Croft Jr. eldest son of David who was the youngest son of Frederick, the Ancestor, was born in Hamilton twp., Franklin Co., Pa., on the farm subsequently inherited & owned by Abraham Croft, his brother, April 7, 1788, & died Feb. 2, 1818 & is buried in the Cemetry [sic] of the 1st Luth Ch. Chambersburg, Pa. He was married about the year 1813, to Mary Magdalene Coble, daughter of John Coble of St. Thomas twp., Franklin Co. Pa. He was located on one of his father[']s farms, which was known in later years as the Hoover farm & followed the occupation of a farmer for about six years when he died of Typhoid fever. The widow returned home to her father.
7 To them were born two children: Saloma & John. The widow of David Croft Jr. married Samuel Brindle, son of Capt. John Brindle of St. Thomas twp., but we are unable to give the date of marriage. It is believed they kept the Hotel 1-1/2 miles East of St. Thomas on the Pike, then owned by Capt. John Coble, a brother of Mrs Brindle. Then they moved to a small farm on the road leading from Strock's school house to Wm Brattons on the pike, known in later years as the Brumbaugh farm. We are unable to say how long the[y] lived there we are unable to say but it was a considerable length of time. Subsequently they moved to St. Thomas, probably about 1838
8 or 1839 & engaged in Store keeping in the Eastern end of the building known as the Sellers Hotel. A few years later, Samuel Brindle bought the property in St. Thomas, now owned by Cyrus Gelwicks & kept a hotel & continued in the business until his wife's death, Jan. 15, 1853, aged 60 years, 4 mo. & 16 d. She is buried in the Cemetry [sic] of the Luth. Ch. St. Thomas, Pa. Samuel Brindle married again, Margaret Heartiman & moved to Logansport Ind. & died there a few years later. Saloma Croft, the only daughter of David Croft, Jr. was born on the farm in Hamilton twp about the year 1813. She married John Brin
9 dle, a son of Capt. John Brindle of St. Thomas twp. (Unable to give date of marriage.) They moved to Logansport, Ind. soon after marriage & died there. Of their children, we have no knowledge, except Samuel, we believe the eldest child, who was born before removal to the West & remained & was raised by his Grandmother. In 1854 Samuel Brindle Jr. married Miss Lucy Sellers of St. Thomas, Pa. For a short time after his Grandmother[']s death, he kept the hotel of his uncle, Samuel Brindle. He then moved finally to Fort Wayne, Ind. & died there. There were several children to this union but we are unable to give the names. (The above record in reference to
10 Saloma Croft & Brindle may not be strictly correct, but as we have but few records, we have to depend largely on memory Here by all means the Balance of the Brindle record should be written in order to make it complete.) John Croft, the only son of David Croft, Jr. was born in Hamilton twp. on the farm occupied by his father, Aug. 9, 1815 & died, Feb. 9, 1892. He was married to Martha Wertz, daughter of Conrad Wertz, April 7, 1836. She was born Oct. 23, 1816, & died Jan. 6, 1903. They are buried in the Cemetry [sic] of the Luthn Ch. St. Thomas Pa. John Croft was raised to work
11 on the farm & attended the school at Bratton's School house before the Free school system was inagurated [sic]. Consequently his education was limited to that which was common in those days--reading, writing & arithmetic. We have a copybook of Pikes arithmetic as far as Long division, made by him in 1825 when he was ten years of age. As his stepfather's farm was small, part of his time he worked for his Grandfather, John Coble, at least in harvest time. At an early age, before he was able to hang the feed trough to the rear end of the wagon, he accompanied his stepfather in his wagon trips from Baltimore
12 & Chambersburg to Pittsburg, Pa., & he continued the business for a number of years after he was able to drive the team himself. After he engaged in farming, he kept his team on the road during the winter season until the Penna R.R. was finished when the transportation of freight by wagon to Pittsburg ceased. He worked at Blacksmithing about one year for Capt. John Coble but cannot say whether before or after marriage. He rented a farm of 300 acres from the Wilsons about 1-1/4 miles from St. Thomas, on the Old Loudon [road.] To this place he moved in the Spring of 1838 & engaged in
13 farming. He continued on this farm as a cropper for 32 years & finally bought the farm & continued farming until the Spring of 1875, when he made sale, rented his farm to his son John & moved to Adam Strock[']s property, just East of St. Thomas on the pike. Not long afterward he built himself a house on the South Eastern corner of his farm, where the Furnace road intersects the Loudon road. Here he lived the remainder of his life. At the time of his death, he owned three farms & two small tracts, in all about 800 acres of well improved land, for a distance of about two miles along the being nearly equally divided by
14 the Loudon road which extended through it. This land at one time all belonged to the Wilsons. After the death of Sarah Wilson, the last member of the Wilson family, he, in connection with John Walker were appointed administrators of the Wilson[']s estate which was a large one. John Croft[']s principal occupation was that of a farmer in which he was very successful. He was very systematic in his work & everything had to be done well. A place for everything & everything in its place was an inflexible rule. A positive man of good judgement & executive ability, hence he was frequently called upon for advice & to arbi-
15 trate differences between his neighbors. He took considerable interest in improved stock & the community was indebted to him for the introduction of the Short Horned Durham breed of cattle. In township affairs he took an active part, having filled quite a number of the township offices, notably that of school director & Supervisor for a number of terms. In the Schools of the township, he took a deep interest to have them proficient & indeed was ahead of the time in advocating a high or graded school, centrally located in the township, to which advanced scholars could be sent. He never sought office but was always willing to serve when called
16 upon. During the civil war, he had three sons in the army, took an active part in raising the township's Quota of volunteers for the army & was made treasurer of a fund raised for the support & relief of those who were in the service of their Country, to which he liberally contributed. In the Centennial of Franklin Co. in 1884, he was one of the Committee of arrangement for St. Thomas twp. It was his great delight to hunt Rackoons [sic] in the Fall of the year & he could count many pelts as trophies of success. He united with the Lutheran church of St. Thomas Pa. in 1859
17 under the ministry of the Rev. S. M'Henry & was an active & faithful member to the time of his death; & was nearly always one of the official board of the church & took a deep interest in both the temporal & spiritual welfare of the church & contributed liberally of his means to this end. In politics, he was a Democrat & an uncompromising foe to all forms of crookedness & graft. To John & Marth (Wertz) Croft were born the following children: Samuel, David, John, George W. An infant daughter, dead, Mary E, Rachel [?], Daniel [?], Charlotte E.
Notes:
1. The original is hand-written in black ink (faded in places) on ruled notepaper, being approximately 5 inches wide by 8 inches long. The rulings are 3/8 of an inch apart, with a 3/4 inch margin at the top of the front of the sheet and a 2 inch margin at the top of the back of the sheet. The letter was folded once to fit into a (presumably) legal-sized envelope (lost).
2. While the letter is signed merely "S. Croft", my father has told me with certainty that S. stands for Sarah.
3. On page 17 of the letter, both Rachel and Daniel Croft have an initial that is not immediately understandable to me. In any case, both have the same middle initial.
4. Sarah Croft split many words at the right edge of the page without benefit of hyphenation. These divided words have been reunited in this transcription, but can be easily seen in the original--she did this consistently, as if she wrote to the end of the line and just continued on the next line.
5. Saloma Croft who married John Brindle was known to the Brindles as "Sarah", according to my father.
Note further that the surname "EUNAUGST" above is correctly "UNANGST"; similarly it has been determined that the surname "GOLDSMITH" above is correctly "COLDSMITH". The BRINDLEs who moved to Logansport Indiana may well be the forebears of BRINDLEs who live to this day in Indiana but who are unrelated to our particular branch of the family. For instance there are quite a number of BRINDLEs in the Indianapolis telephone book but none of them (other than my father) are related to me.