Page 20 - The CRAIG family

Ruth “Alden” Sparks
Alden had an 8th grade education and he worked for the railroad as a switchman in 1930 and a truck driver for the railroad in 1940. He and Leona lived in Rising Sun, Indiana. Uncle George was 3-1/2 years old when his mother died and was 4 when his father died and Alden and Leona, having no children of their own, adopted and raised him as their own. Alden and Uncle George were actually first cousins because his mother Pearl was the sister of our grandfather Marshall.
Alden died May 9, 1958 at the age of 52 with heart disease listed as the cause of death. He is buried at New Cemetery in Rising Sun, Indiana.
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Alvah Earl – In the 1900 census Alvah was a 10 year old child living at home with his parents in Utica. In the 1910 census he was 20 years old and living at home but was working for the railroad as a fireman. On September 18, 1917, In Jeffersonville, Alvah enlisted in the Army. He was a Private in Company E 323 Infantry. He was discharged ETS (Expiration Term of Service) in Taylor, Kentucky on June 24, 1919.
On October 19, 1920, Alvah married Murt Elizabeth McHugh in Jeffersonville. Murt, the daughter of a railroad Engineer, was from Indianapolis and lived in Shelby County, Indiana (about 30 miles outside of Indianapolis) at the time of their marriage. Alvah and Murt moved to Indianapolis and the City Directories for 1921, through 1924 show him as a Brakeman for the railroad. From 1926 to 1930 he was a Conductor.
When doing my research, I found that anyone who was working on the Craig genealogy all made the statement that “Alvah was not right ever since he returned from the war” I remember my daddy saying that too. This prompted me to find out what that meant.
Records show that the 1930 census was prepared April 14, 1930 and it showed Alvah and Murt living in Indianapolis and that he was a conductor with the railroad. Just 10 days after the census was taken Alvah was admitted to the National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Dayton, Ohio. At the time of his admission Alvah was 40 years old and is described as 5’8” tall with blue eyes and gray hair.
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