Bio-Krick, ElijahGoodwin

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Elijah Krick Sr.
(1859-1942)

Elijah Krick Sr. was born in 1859 in or near Decatur, Adams County, IN, the son of Emanuel and Sarah Elizabeth "Betsy" (Minerd) Krick. As a boy, he and his parents and siblings moved back to his mother's former home area of near Monroeville, Allen County, IN. His name also has been spelled "Elisha" and nicknamed "Lige" over the years.

Elijah married Ida May Goodwin (1867- ? ) in about 1887, when he was age 27 and she 19. She was the daughter of John Goodwin.

They resided on Hoffman Road near Monroeville, Allen County where they labored as farmers. The farm was exactly "two and three-fourths miles northeast of Monroeville," according to the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette. The family attended the Sugar Ridge United Brethren Church. He was said to be a "well known Allen County farmer."

The Kricks had 10 children -- Grover L. Krick, Elsie M. Krick, Estella I. Krick, Harold Krick, Glenn Maurice Krick, Hazel B. Hart, Carl A. Krick, Elijah L. "Poose" Krick, S. Irene Krick and Lucille Martha Rosswurm. Heartache struck the family when son Harold died on May 28, 1911 at the age of 10 months, and when daughter S. Irene "Elsie" Krick passed away on March 4, 1905, at age 12. Elsie's funeral was held at the Ridge United Brethren Church led by Rev. J.L. Bowers, with a brief obituary published in the Journal Gazette. The children were laid to rest in the Stephenson Cemetery at Sugar Ridge.

The grave markers of Harold (left) and Irene are still legible and are seen at right, still erect and legible as photographed in May 2009.

When the federal census was taken in 1930, Elijah, Ida and Elijah Jr. resided together near Monroeville.

Sadly, Ida contracted cancer. She was unable to beat the illness, and died at home at the age of 65 on Oct. 21, 1932. The funeral was held at the Krick residence and then the Sugar Ridge United Brethren Church, officiated by Rev. G.R. Champlin. Burial was at the Stephenson Cemetery at Sugar Ridge.

Writing to Minerd cousins in Monroeville in September 1929, from his home in Pittsburgh, PA, a cousin Corwin D. Tilbury asked: "How is everybody? McCormicks, Fosters, Kricks and so on down the line?" In March 1933, he inquired, "What has become of Lige Krick? Let me know if you can." In March 1934, he asked again, "No, have had no word from Lige Krick; is he still living alone?"

In late May 1942, Elijah became ill, and apparently moved into the home of son Elijah Jr. in Adams County, IN. there, he died at the age of 82 on Aug. 2, 1942. His remains were returned to Monroeville for a viewing at the Painter-Marquardt Funeral Home, followed by burial at the Stephenson Cemetery at Sugar Ridge. At the time of his death, he and Ida had produced 16 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, said the Journal-Gazette.

Son Grover L. Krick (1888- ? ) left home at an early age, and established a professional life in Nevada. The census of 1910 shows him serving the U.S. Navy, stationed at the U.S. Navy Yard in Portsmouth, VA. After his discharge from the military, he moved to Reno, Washoe County, NV. He lived there in a hotel in 1920, and earned money as a chauffeur for the hotel. During the 1920s, he apparently went to college and/or law school. By 1930, single and at the age of 42, he was employed as a lawyer and district attorney in Minden, Douglas County, NV. He was last known to be in Minden in 1942. His life and career will be researched more fully.

Son Glenn Maurice Krick (1895- ? ) was of medium height and build, with grey eyes and dark brown hair. He registered for the military draft in 1917 during World War I and listed himself as laboring as a farmer for Nolan Zinn (his current or future brother in law) of Monroe Township. He made his home in Iron Mountain, Dickinson County, MI in the 1930s and early 1940s.

Son Carl A. Krick married Ruth M. ()? (1908- ? ) in 1928, when he was age 26, and she 19. When the census was taken two years later, they made their home on Burton Street in Grand Rapids, Kent County, MI. Carl worked as a machinist in a local brass company. Later, they resided in Kalamazoo, MI (1932), Wayland, MI (1942) and Nakomia, FL (1994).

Son Elijah Leonard "Poose" Krick (1905-1994) lived in Adams County, IN. He married Tresea ( ? -1961) and had a son, David Krick. Said the Journal Gazette, Poose "worked as a mechanic for Sprunger John Deere in Decatur and Farm Bureau Co-op in New Haven, as a farmer, and as pastor of the Haviland, Ohio, Baptist Church for 10 years, retiring in 1970. Wife Tresea died in 1961. Poose outlived her by more than three decades. He passed away at Brighton Hall Nursing Center in New Haven at the age of 89 on Jan. 15, 1994. Burial was in Monroeville Memorial Cemetery.

Daughter Elsie M. Krick (1891- ? ) married Nolan E. Zinn (1892- ? ). They had one known son, Orlan J. Krick, born in 1914. In 1920, when the federal census was enumerated, they made their home on the state line road near Monroeville, Allen County, where Nolan was a farmer. By 1930, they had migrated to Michigan, making their home in the village of Kingsford, Dickinson County. Nolan had found work there as a laborer in an automobile plants. Within two years, they relocated again, to Iron Mountain, Dickinson County. The Zinns lived in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, CA, in 1942.

Daughter Hazel Krick (1900- ? ) wed farm laborer V. Lyman Hart (1892- ? ) in about 1918. They were eight years apart in age. The Harts had at least three children -- Dorothy M. Hart, Delbert J. Hart and Velma L. Hart. At the time of the U.S. census in 1920, they lived near Monroeville, just a few farms away from Hazel's cousin John Reuben and Alice (Bell) Minerd. The Harts resided in Monroeville circa 1932-1942.

Daughter Lucille Martha Krick (1908- ? ) married Glenn Rosswurm (1905- ? ) in about 1927. They had at least two children -- Stanley J. Rosswurm and Dorothy L. Rosswurm. The family lived on South Rufus Street in Monroeville in 1930, and later in New Haven, Allen County. Glenn was a bricklayer in the building trades.