Daniel Middleton Crabb came into the world on November 14, 1823, in the
hills of Virginia, the fourth child and oldest son of nine children born to John
and Ann Fleming Crabb. When he was just a boy, the family packed up and
headed west, arriving in McDonough County in November of 1836—back
when the country there was still young and only beginning to be broken to the
plow.

Daniel’s father, John, started out by renting the west half of Section 16 in
Macomb Township for five years. Like so many determined pioneers, he didn’t
stop there. Before long, he began buying land of his own, adding piece by
piece until he held more than 620 acres in the county. When John passed
away in 1865, Daniel received 64 acres —the north part of the southeast
quarter of Section 17 and another part of a farm, ground his father had
worked so hard to gather.

Daniel spent nearly all his days in McDonough County, save for a stretch of
time when he went oƯ to study at the Cincinnati Veterinary College. That
schooling served him well, for he returned home as a veterinary surgeon,
tending to the livestock that were the backbone of every farm, while also
working the land himself.

In 1850, at 27 years of age, Daniel struck out to build a home of his own. He
married Rebecca Hampton of Ohio, and together they began raising a family.
They were blessed with four children—though their fourth, an infant, died at
birth. Their surviving children were Laura E., who later married W. H. King;
Anna, who became Mrs. B. Milling; and a son, James M. Crabb. Sadly,
Rebecca’s life was cut short, and she passed away in 1860.

A couple of years later, in 1862, Daniel married again, taking Mary E. Bards (or
Bardo) as his wife. To them was born one son, Robert Emmet Crabb. Mary
lived a long life, but in a bittersweet turn, she died on March 6, 1902—the very
anniversary of their wedding day.

Not one to spend his final years alone, Daniel married a third time in 1903, at
the age of 80, to Kittie Kline of Macomb. He lived just a few more years,
passing away on May 3, 1906, at the age of 85 years, 5 months, and 20 days,
from carcinoma of the liver. He was laid to rest in the Good Hope Cemetery.
By the time Daniel’s long life came to a close, most of that large pioneer family
had gone before him. Only one brother, R. F. Crabb, and two sisters—Mrs.
Mary Kepple of Bardolph and Mrs. Betsy McCrary of Good Hope—were still
living to remember those early days and the journey that had brought them
west.