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| Grandfather Crissman sang " Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" every morning. |
Benjamin Frank Crissman’s father and mother came to Missouri in the 1850s. Before coming from
Sinking Valley, Pennsylvania two of his sisters had been born. They rode in a wagon to Pittsburgh and
there they got on the Ohio River and rode on the river to the Mississippi River and took that to St. Louis,
Mo. There his father bought horses and a wagon and they rode from St. Louis to Tipton, Mo. There he
contracted to help build the roadbed for the Missouri Pacific Railroad from Tipton to Sedalia and earned
enough money to buy a farm. He then drove to Henry Co., Mo. and bought a farm there in the mid
1850s. Two of his brothers were born in Tipton while his father worked there. The rest of the children
were born in Henry, Co. MO. They had a total of eleven children, one of whom died in Pennsylvania.
Frank was the 10th of the 11 children. His father bought a farm of two hundred acres. His father built a
house there in Tipton like the one his grandfather had in Pennsylvania. It was a large house with 7
rooms. They had very little heat in the house; a fireplace in the living room and stoves in the kitchen and
one bedroom where wood was burned.
There was no heat in the upstairs area where most of the children slept. In the winter it was very cold there. Grandfather and other siblings slept in front of the fireplace until their father forced them to go upstairs which was very hard in the winter months. They joined the Methodist church there since there was no Lutheran church in that area and went to church each Sunday. They rode in the wagon on straw with their father to church. Grandfather hurried in to hear the opening hymn and prayer. Later a Sunday School was started in a close by public school so the children could go there in the afternoon. His mother taught them all to pray and all said their prayers before they went to bed.
In their home they had very little time for fun. They sang on Sundays of a religious type but that was about all the music. At about the age of six he would go up in the barn and read from the Bible and sing hymns. He always knew he wanted to become a preacher. On the farm they had many cows and other animals. They had an orchard with all kinds of fruits and vegetables. They took a prize in Clinton for the apples, pears etc. that they had grown. They had more fruit at the fair than anyone else. They made 55 barrels of apple cider vinegar one summer. The children had no times to play games. They did have a large pond close by the farm so they would go to swim there. They all worked out in the fields. He first worked uncovering the corn. The only thing the family bought at a store was sugar and flour. They did also buy some shoes at a store. They did go to Clinton, Mo. to buy some suits of clothes.
He attended a small college in Henry Co. Mo. for a year. He attended Park College in northwestern MO. and studied religion there. He worked as a preacher even before he graduated. He graduated on June 8th, preached a sermon and then married June 28th. He then went to his first church to preach as a minister. He first met Joanna Frances Smith in Holden, Mo. when he was teaching school there. They continued their dating when they both attended Park College and married shortly after graduation. They had dated five years before they married.
He was sent to Osceola as a preacher and then was sent to Pleasant Hill, MO. for $750, and then went to the theological seminary in Evanston, Ill. He was then sent to Warrensburg, Mo. for a $1,000 and house. He then was sent to Kansas City for $1,600 and house. He worked in St. Joseph for $1,800 and worked to close down houses of ill repute there and had many people very angry with him. The governor of the state called him down to Jefferson City and he told him the corruption of the police in
There was no heat in the upstairs area where most of the children slept. In the winter it was very cold there. Grandfather and other siblings slept in front of the fireplace until their father forced them to go upstairs which was very hard in the winter months. They joined the Methodist church there since there was no Lutheran church in that area and went to church each Sunday. They rode in the wagon on straw with their father to church. Grandfather hurried in to hear the opening hymn and prayer. Later a Sunday School was started in a close by public school so the children could go there in the afternoon. His mother taught them all to pray and all said their prayers before they went to bed.
In their home they had very little time for fun. They sang on Sundays of a religious type but that was about all the music. At about the age of six he would go up in the barn and read from the Bible and sing hymns. He always knew he wanted to become a preacher. On the farm they had many cows and other animals. They had an orchard with all kinds of fruits and vegetables. They took a prize in Clinton for the apples, pears etc. that they had grown. They had more fruit at the fair than anyone else. They made 55 barrels of apple cider vinegar one summer. The children had no times to play games. They did have a large pond close by the farm so they would go to swim there. They all worked out in the fields. He first worked uncovering the corn. The only thing the family bought at a store was sugar and flour. They did also buy some shoes at a store. They did go to Clinton, Mo. to buy some suits of clothes.
He attended a small college in Henry Co. Mo. for a year. He attended Park College in northwestern MO. and studied religion there. He worked as a preacher even before he graduated. He graduated on June 8th, preached a sermon and then married June 28th. He then went to his first church to preach as a minister. He first met Joanna Frances Smith in Holden, Mo. when he was teaching school there. They continued their dating when they both attended Park College and married shortly after graduation. They had dated five years before they married.
He was sent to Osceola as a preacher and then was sent to Pleasant Hill, MO. for $750, and then went to the theological seminary in Evanston, Ill. He was then sent to Warrensburg, Mo. for a $1,000 and house. He then was sent to Kansas City for $1,600 and house. He worked in St. Joseph for $1,800 and worked to close down houses of ill repute there and had many people very angry with him. The governor of the state called him down to Jefferson City and he told him the corruption of the police in
St. Joseph and the governor fired all of them. He then worked in Shenandoah, Iowa, for the same money
and then Sedalia, Mo for $2,100 a year plus a parsonage. He was eventually sent to St. Louis as a district
supervisor and paid $6,000 a year for six years. He then went to Carthage and then Sedalia and then
Joplin. His health failed there and he retired and moved to Kansas City. His wife died there in June of
1934, before I was born. They had three children; Helen Jo, Willard Frank, and Maymie Rebecca
Katherine (Sally) Crissman born in different cities because of all their moves.
He performed my mother’s marriage (his daughter to my father). He also married Nick and me at age eighty‐nine, at my mother’s home. He was always a very loving, kind grandfather. When the family told him that we had joined the LDS church he responded, “They are fine people”. Prior to telling him that, they had been very concerned about telling him and we were very pleased with his response.
I have sealed him and his wife and all their children in the Temple. I know they are so happy to be together forever in heaven.
He performed my mother’s marriage (his daughter to my father). He also married Nick and me at age eighty‐nine, at my mother’s home. He was always a very loving, kind grandfather. When the family told him that we had joined the LDS church he responded, “They are fine people”. Prior to telling him that, they had been very concerned about telling him and we were very pleased with his response.
I have sealed him and his wife and all their children in the Temple. I know they are so happy to be together forever in heaven.
