Durham, N. N.  "Spokane and the Inland Empire; History of the City of Spokane
and Spokane County Washington."  Vol. 3.  S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1912.  
p. 293.
 
ROBERT CRAMPTON McCROSKEY

     Robert Crampton McCroskey, a well known retired agriculturist of Whitman
county, who for many years has been actively identified with banking circles in
both Pullman and Palouse, was born in Monroe county, Tennessee, on the 10th of
March, 1815.  He is a son of John and Priscilla (McCray) McCroskey, both natives
of Tennessee.  The family originally settled in Virginia and there they were
prominent in early colonial times.
     In the acquirement of his education, Robert Crampton McCroskey attended the
common and private schools of his native state until he had attained the age of
seventeen years.  In 1862, he laid aside his text books and enlisting in the
Thirty-first Arkansas went to the front in defense of the confederacy.  He
enlisted as a private, but although he was very young he early gave evidence of
possessing the force and energy as well as executive ability entitling him to a
more responsible position, and he was promoted until he became captain of his
company.  Owing to his seniority he was subsequently placed in command of the
Fourth and Thirty-first regiments and the Fourth Battalion of Arkansas
Volunteers, which he lead in the battles of Franklin, Nashville and Bentonville
and other monor engagements.  Soon after his return home in 1865, he entered
Croton College in Tennessee, from which he was graduated in 1868.  The following
autumn he engaged in teaching, continuing to follow this profession in his
native state until 1870, when he removed to California, locating in Monterey
county.  There he resumed teaching, being actively identified with this vocation
until 1874, when he was elected superintendent of schools in Monterey county.
He served in this capacity for six years, at the expiration of which time he
purchased one hundred and ten acres of land and turned his attention to
ranching.  His efforts in this direction prospered and he was later able to
extend his holdings by the addition of another two hundred and fifty acres.  In
1887, he disposed of his interests and came to Whitman county, buying one
hundred and sixty acres of land at twenty dollars per acre in the vicinity of
Garfield, where he makes his present home.  He is a man of progressive ideas and
intelligence, who has most capably directed his undertakings and has been
rewarded with corresponding success.  Having unlimited confidence in the future
of this state with the development of its rich natural resources, he invested
heavily in real estate and is now the owner of over two thousand acres of
valuable land, that is under high cultivation.  In 1909, Mr. McCroskey withdrew
from the active work of the fields and turned the operation of his ranch over to
his sons and has ever since been living retired.  Although his principal
interests have ben along the lines of farming and real estate, he has been
identified with various other local enterprises, and in 1890 was associated with
others in the organization of the Garfield Hardware & Mercantile Company of
which he was president for several years.  The following year, in 1891, he
assisted in the organization of the Bank of Garfield and was one of the
directors of this institution until they were forced out of business by the
panic.  At the present time he is the president and a director of the Pullman
State Bank and also the Palouse National Bank of Palouse.
     At Madisonville, Tennessee, in Sseptember, 1882, Mr. McCroskey was united
in marriage to Miss Blanche Houston, a native of Tennessee and a daughter of
Joseph E. and Eliza (Hair) Houston, likewise native of that state, while in the
paternal line she is descended from the same branch of the family as Sam
Houston.  Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. McCroskey, as follows:  Robert
Crampton, Jr., who married Miss Helen R. Wesco, of Portland; Joseph Houston, who
married Miss Marion Flood, of Spokane; Gladys, who is a student at the
Washington State College; and Blanche M. and Earl McCray, who are still
attending school
     Fraternally Mr. McCroskey is affiliated with the Masonic order and the
Knights of Pythias, being past grand chancellor of the latter, and he also
belongs to the Artisans.  He has always been an enthusiastic champion of the
different agricultural organizations, and is president of the local branch of
the Farmers' Union and is also officially connected with the county society.  He
is an active member of the Garfield Commercial Club, while his political support
he gives to the democratic party, and has always taken much interest in
governmental affairs.  In 1890 he was elected ot the state senate, serving with
efficiency in this capacity for three years, while he has been a member of the
local school board and since 1897 one of the regents of the Washington State
College.  Mr. McCroskey is versatile and has the faculty of adapting himself to
the needs and requirements of almost any position he could be called to, as has
bene manifested by his efficient service in official connecitons in both
business and public life.

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Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project in August 2008 by Diana Smith.
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.