Sally Thomas sent me this picture. There are no details and I am not sure how it is dated, but every man is identified.

Roy Breckenridge, Hugh Breckenridge, Stanly Crouch, Armstrong D. Young, Jonathan Crouch, Richard Breckenridge, Lester "Van" Crouch, Richard Breckenridge

The child in front of Roy and Hugh is Hugh's son, Thomas Lloyd Breckenridge.

While I know nothing about this picture it does remind how many times Jonathan Crouch made the trip from Washington to Illinois and in 1920, after 20 years as a widower, Jonathan married a childhood acquaintance - Mattie Galloway - who I assumed lived in Illinois. Was this the trip that led to the nupitals?

This brings it down to your humble servant. I was born at Rochester, Ill., January 18, 1843. I was raised and worked on a farm until I was 21 years old. Then I was employed by the Government as a cattle driver. I helped drive the beef cattle from Sherman’s army through Tenn., Ga., and Alabama in 1864, when I was discharged by reason of expiration of term of service. I don’t find any congressional medals or records laying around the house commemorating me for any heroic deeds of valor I performed during my services in the army. I came west to Washington Territiory in September, 1889. Washington was made a state in November 11, 1889, so the state came to me. I engaged as a real estate salesman out of the Oregon Land Co. office at Salem, Ore., with Herbert Hoover as my office boy. He later became president of the U. S.

I served as a forest ranger for 3 years in the Olympic forest reserve. I have a family of 2 boys and 1 daughter. B. F. Crouch is a mining engineer and lives in Oakland, California. F. R. Crouch is in the taxi business in Oakland. He had one son, Darrell, engaged in the oil business in Oakland. Iva, the daughter, married in Olympia to Dr. G. F. Zerne, and resided at 1125 St. St. (sic), Olympia.

I was married in 1868 to Margaret A. Bell, in Ill. She passed away August 1, 1900. I was married to Mattie F. Smith in 1920, who’s maiden name was Mattie F. Galloway, whom I had known from childhood. She was an orphan without a blood relative existing she knew of. She was raised in the family of Sanford Galloway.

We were married in 1920 and well mated. We have a pleasant home with everything we need. Our income is small but with proper economy we have enough to keep us.