No man in Clay county occupies a more enviable position in civic and
business affairs than the subject of this sketch, who is the well-known and
popular ex-Circuit Clerk of the county, not alone on account of the success
he has achieved, but also on account of the honorable, straightforward
business policy he has ever followed both in public and private life. He
possesses untiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily
and executes them with alacrity so that he stands today one of the leading
representatives of a county widely known for its men of force and business
acumen.
Crawford S. Erwin was born in Hoosier township, Clay county,
October 9, 1866, the son of David, the son of William Erwin, a native of
Indiana, who was a cabinet maker by trade, having come from Indiana to
Illinois in an early day and engaged in the cabinet making business, also in
farming. He was called to his rest August 7, 1866, six weeks before our
subject was born. William Erwin, the subject's grandfather, was one of the
pioneers of Clay county, having come to America from Scotland, his native
country, when a young man. He was the first person buried in the old Hoosier
cemetery in Hoosier township. The mother of the subject was known in her
maidenhood as Eliza A. Fitzgerald, whose people were originally from
Scotland. She passed to her rest in Hoosier township in the spring of 1890.
Five children were born to the subject's parents as follows: Mayberry P.,
living in Henrietta, Texas; David S., living in Clay county, Illinois;
Joseph, in Henrietta, Texas; W. G., who is also a resident of Clay county;
Crawford S., the subject.
Mr. Erwin spent his early life on the farm,
attending the country schools during the winter months, and assisting with
the work at home in the summer. He was left to be reared by a widowed
mother, who was too poor to aid in her son's education, and thus our subject
was compelled to begin his fight with the world early in life practically
unaided and the admirable way he has succeeded in the face of seemingly
insurmountable obstacles, deserves the commendation of all. When he was nine
years old, the family moved to Texas, where they remained four years. During
this time the children were deprived of the advantages of a good school.
Desiring to return to the Illinois home, the family made the trip overland
in a wagon, a distance of twelve hundred miles, in the fall and winter of
1880, having reached Hoosier township shortly after Christmas, during the
coldest weather that the country had known for years. Crawford S. at once
entered school at Center; under the Rev. John F. Harmon, now stationed in
East St. Louis. Three terms of school were attended here by our subject. He
was an excellent student, for he had now reached young manhood and he
realized that if he succeeded in life, he would be compelled to prepare
himself for some of the professions or commercial life, for he was
physically unfit to follow the hard-working life of a farmer. He was enabled
to gratify his ambition to become an educated man by working out on the farm
during the summer months, and with the money he thus secured he entered the
Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, Indiana, in which institution
he made a splendid record for scholarship.
He decided to become a
teacher and before he was eighteen years old had secured his first
certificate and had taught his first school, which was a pronounced success.
His services were then in great demand for the ensuing ten years which he
devoted to teaching in Clay county, becoming generally known as an able
educator. Most of that time he taught in only two school districts,
meanwhile devoting the summer months to farming.
About this time Mr.
Erwin secured the appointment of government mail weigher on the Vandalia
line, which position he filled so satisfactorily that he was within two
years thereafter re-appointed government mail weigher on the main line of
the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad, operating between Cincinnati and
St. Louis. His official reports quickly enabled the company to see his
ability in this line and he was placed part of his time in the office of the
chief clerk to assist in the examination of the reports sent in by his
fellow-officers.
Mr. Erwin was called home in 1894 to fill the
position of Deputy County Clerk, the duties of which he discharged in such a
creditable manner that he became candidate for the office of Circuit Court
Clerk in 1896, and was elected, on the Republican ticket, and discharged his
duties to the entire satisfaction of all concerned and was re-elected in
1900, and again in 1904, his term having expired December 7, 1908. It is the
concensus of opinion that he has been the best Circuit Clerk the county has
ever had.
The official and private life of Mr. Erwin has ever been an
open book to all, for it has been led along conservative lines, honest and
without blemish, lacking the faintest shadow or suspicion of evil. His
donations to charitable purposes and to his needy neighbors and fellow
citizens since his residence in Louisville have amounted to several hundred
dollars. He has always been ready to assist in aiding any worthy cause. It
has been his custom for a number of years at Christmas time to gather
together provisions, and quietly boxing them up himself and employing a
teamster to deliver the same to the unfortunate and needy in his community.
So unostentatious has this charity been bestowed that the donor is known to
but few of his beneficiaries to this day.
Mr. Erwin was united in
marriage December 12, 1886, to Sarah Belle Conley, daughter of W. A. Conley,
of Hoosier township. She was born and reared in Clay county, and is a woman
of beautiful personal attributes. The following children have been born of
this union: May, whose age in 1908 is twenty years; Jennie is eighteen years
old; Wilbur Esta is fifteen years old; Crawford Leslie is eleven; Leland is
seven and Kenneth is four.
Upon his retirement from office, Mr. Erwin
entered the real estate and abstract business in December, 1908. He is
thoroughly familiar with abstracting, having followed this while in office.
He also owns a farm in Louisville township, and one in Bible Grove township,
and also a half interest in a farm in Hoosier township, and another tract of
land in Arkansas. He is also interested in stock raising and stock trading.
Mr. Erwin's land is well improved and ranks well with any in the county,
and he always keeps a good grade of stock. He is interested in the concrete
business, manufacturing concrete blocks and other forms of concrete work,
the firm name being Clark & Erwin.
Our subject is Public
Administrator of Clay county. In his fraternal relations he belongs to the
Masonic Order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of
Pythias. He was secretary of the local Masonic lodge, at Louisville, No.
196, for ten consecutive years. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church and has always been a loyal Republican, born and bred in the
principles of that party, but the most partisan Democrat was ever treated
with the same courtesy by him as the most pronounced Republican. During his
term in office Mr. Erwin has never been too busy to accommodate anyone
seeking information on any subject whether pertaining to the matters of the
office of Circuit Clerk or legal advice on any foreign subject, and no one
ever went away from him wrongly advised, or feeling that what he had
obtained had been grudgingly given. Hundreds of people in Clay county,
having no regular attorney to attend to their legal business, and wishing an
agreement, a contract, or an affidavit drawn up, have found our subject ever
willing to assist as best he could.
Mr. and Mrs. Erwin have a
beautiful home, where hospitality and good cheer are ever unstintingly
dispersed to their many friends and admirers.
Extracted 27 Apr 2017 by Norma Hass from 1909 Biographical and Reminiscent History of Richland, Clay & Marion Counties, Illinois, pages 66-69.
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