Leota Crawford

Leota Crawford (1903-1987)

Three elderly women in vintage Victorian attire posing indoors with hats and accessories.

IN PROCESS

Birth, Parents & Siblings

Leota was born on July 31, 1903, in Madison, Indiana on the Ohio River, a quaint city southwest of Cincinnati, founded in 1810. Her parents, James T. Crawford and Addie May Stockdale, were 49 and 34 years old, respectively, at the time. Her father was quite old when Leota was born, yet he and Addie May had one more child after Leota. Leota was likely named for Addie May’s younger sister, Linnie Leota, who died at 19 years old.

Leota was the third of four children, including Dewey Lee (1898 – 1899), who died at less than a year old, William “Bill” (1900 – 1976) and Genevieve “Gen” (1906 – 1992).

Growing Up

Leota grew up in and around Madison, Indiana. At that time, Madison was a thriving town, rising from the banks of the Ohio River. According to records, the family lived in several houses in Madison as she was growing up. In the 1907 city directory, her family is listed as living at 113 W. Third Street, Madison Ward 3. After that they lived at 711 West 3rdStreet, 617 Jefferson (gone now) and 716 W. Second Street. All these homes were just a few blocks from the Ohio River.

Didn’t she play a role in raising her brother and sister since her parents were old, especially during the Depression? Maybe we ask Jeff if he remembers anything?

Growing up, Leota had a friend who lived in the Lanier Mansion and therefore, got to regularly play there. Druscilla Anne Lanier Craven owned the mansion and sold it to her uncle in 1917. It was likely her granddaughters, who played with Leota.

She also played with children at the DeMint House, which was a brick, corner house. Their mother was a Harsin, possibly Mona Harsin DeMint. The children’s names were Catherine and Dorothy. (see pictures of DeMint home)

[Trimble County Milling Company, Milton, Kentucky, C.G. Crawford, A. R. Crawford, makes the whitest of white bread, Christy Patent Four, And the Lightest of Light Bread?].

Leota attended Madison Consolidated High School and graduated in 1921. In the high school 1919 yearbook called the Mahisco, she is pictured and listed as a member of the class of 1921 and a member of the Girl’s Chorus. In a newspaper article, likely in 1921, identifying the post graduate plans of each student, Leota’s plan is listed as “Bookkeeper”, which was a common plan for many of her classmates, as well as those students planning on attending college at Indiana University, Hanover University, DePauw University and Purdue University. In the 192X city directory, she is listed as a bookkeeper for Sulzer Brothers, while living at 715 W. 2ndStreet. The Sulzer Brothers firm in Madison, Indiana in the early 1920s was a wholesale crude‑drug business operated by members of the prominent Sulzer family. The description “wholesale dealers in crude drugs” indicated that Sulzer Bros. operated in the pharmaceutical supply / apothecary raw‑materials trade, not as a retail drugstore. “Crude drugs” in early‑20th‑century terminology referred to botanical, mineral, and chemical raw materials used by pharmacists, physicians, and manufacturers.

We have yearbook photos and information about Leota from high school.

According to XXX Leota earned a college degree from St. Mary’s College, in Notre Dame, Indiana, in the early 1920s, likely in 1925. She was one of 20 graduates.

Sometime prior to 1928, her family moved to Indianapolis, residing at 3304 Capitol Avenue.

From her own stories and evidence from several of her photo albums, Leota was quite social and popular as she became an adult. She had a striking, memorable appearance, with large soulful eyes and a thick head of curly hair. She often travelled around the Midwest with her sister, brother and friends, among whom she was known as “Oats”. They travelled in style with fun fashion and cars to places like Indiana University, Brown County, Louisville, [more here from photos]. They also spent time in and on the river. Leota often commented later in life that she was quite a swimmer in her time. In an odd coincidence, Leota is pictured with three other women by the pool at a family home of her friend, Lois Btruce, who decades later became Bonnie Elizabeth Riordan’s Sunday school teacher in Dayton, Ohio.

Marriage & Children

On Sunday July 22nd, 1928, Leota married Aden “Web” Riordan of Indianapolis, Indiana, in Indianapolis when she was approximately 25 years old and he was approximately 26 years old.

It is unclear when and how they met. She was from Madison, Indiana, but had already relocated with her family to Indianapolis at this time. Perhaps they met in Indianapolis or as Leota regularly travelled all over Indiana and the Midwest with her sister, brother and friends.

I don’t think Capitol Avenue in Indy is the way they met. Web’s parents never lived on that street. Leota’s parents were living there by 1928, but not sure how long before and after that (need to look at directories). Web and Leota moved there by 1932 and had moved on by 1934. Maybe they moved to Capitol Ave because Leota’s parents were there. Notably, her dad died in 1933.

Another hypothesis is that they met via some non-blood family/cousin connection tied to Indianapolis or Hart County, KY. Bonnie to investigate further. We could ask Brenda, Gardenia and Margaret if they know the Lesters and any possible connection. See below:

Did they meet via Lesters? I believe it may have been in Hart Co. where the Lesters, Ora, Henry and Virginia lived. Possibly in the Lesters they had a common relative who could have introduced them there. In my copied pages from her album she refers to them as Cousin Henry and Cousin Ora at Canmer. Virginia was’ their daughter, ergo also a cousin . I’ll do some digging and see if there is a common relative. Addendum this evening. I’ve had ChatGBT on it but they’re stuck unless I can find some further proof that William Crawford and Elizabeth Wood were the Parents of James Crawford. I have a Death record for James that shows they are his parents, but it’s almost unreadable and I don’t know how to send it as an attachment to ChatGBT anyway!!

Photos from their honeymoon indicate that they travelled to Gettysburg, Philadelphia and Most Summit, Pennsylvania. In addition, they travelled to Mount Vernon, Virginia, Washington, DC and the Atlantic City, New Jersey Boardwalk.

According to the Indianapolis News, they returned to their home at 2035 North Meridian Street. Prior to being married, Leota lived at home with her parents at 3304 N. Capitol Avenue.

Web and Leota had one child, Robert Leon “Bob” Riordan, born on August 12th, 1932, in Indianapolis, Indiana, at Methodist Hospital, when he was 31 years old and she was 28 years old.

It is unclear why they did not have more children after Bob. Perhaps it was due to the combination of The Depression and Web’s failed business venture with Alemite (see below). Apparently, Web did not have a warm relationship with Bob. Bob suffered from asthma as a child for which Web had no sympathy. He was disrespectful to Bob about his condition. As a result, Bob was much closer to Leota than his dad for the rest of his life. In fact, Leota briefly joined the Christian Science Church to help cure Bob’s asthma, based on her sister, and brother in law’s experience trying to cure their daughter’s “blue baby” condition.

After they were married, Leota became a stay-at-home mom, raising Bob and supporting Aden as he took numerous jobs, in numerous locations throughout the Midwest and also played in-country roles for WWII.

Adulthood

According to the1930 Census, Web and Leota were living in Indianapolis at West 36thStreet. He was listed as a salesman with an oil company, Alemite Lubricator Company, and Leota was listed as a stenographer in a law office.

In 1932, when Bob was born, they lived at 3326 N. Capitol Avenue, which was 4-5 doors down from Leota’s family’s home on the same street – the Crawfords. At that point, Web had already been working at Alemite for 10 years, according to Bob’s birth certificate.

In 1933, her father, James, died at the age of 79.

According to the city directory of 1934, they were living in Indianapolis at 3431 Broadway Street, off 34th Street. Web is listed in the city directory as the Manager for the Alemite Sales Company. According to his wife, Leota, this association did not go well and that Web lost a lot of money because of his time with Alemite. According to his son Bob, Web owned 25% of Alemite, which eventually went bankrupt. They were bitter about this circumstance with Alemite for the rest of their lives.

According to Bob, the family moved to Athens, Ohio in 1935, when Web took his first job with Chevrolet. They lived in a house that backed up to the Ohio University campus. Then in 1936, they moved to Flint, Michigan, when Web took the new role of District Manager for Chevrolet. By 1937, Web had taken another new role with Chevrolet as the District Manager for Traverse City, Michigan. The family also relocated for this role.

By 1937 (1938 according to Bob), Web took on another new role with Chevrolet as a District Representative in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with the family living at 850 Union Avenue according to the city directory.

According to Bob, in 1939, Web took yet another new role with Chevrolet as the District Manager for Bay City, Michigan, again relocating the family, this time to 402 N. Catherine Street in Bay City.

According to the 1940 Census, Web changed locations with Chevrolet becoming a District Manager and moving to Traverse City, Michigan. This is different than Bob’s timeline – he has Traverse City from 1937-1938 before Grand Rapids. The sequence is likely that the Census is correct but we cannot be certain.

It is unclear why Web made so many, frequent moves with Chevrolet.

Web’s draft registration card from 1941 when he was 40 years old states that he was living at 4401 College Avenue in Indianapolis, which is also his mom’s address according to the draft card. Perhaps he gave his mom’s address since he had already left Bay City but not yet secured a location in either Indianapolis or Chicago. It is perhaps notable that his father, Aden’s final address was listed as 2458 College Avenue in 1931, which was three miles north of Web and Leota’s address.

According to Bob, later in 1942, Web moved to the Oakbrook suburb of Chicago to serve in the US Army Corp of Engineers, which was a military engineering organization within the War Department, as his initial contribution to war efforts. Initially, Leota and Bob then moved to Indianapolis to live with Leota’s sister, Gen, and brother-in-law, Lewie. They later moved up to Oakbrook to join Web.

By 1943, Web had returned to Chevrolet as the District Manager for Cincinnati, Ohio and again relocating the family, this time to the suburb of Norwood on the northeast side of Cincinnati. They lived in Cincinnati from 1943 to 1948 at 2621 Edmondson Road.

After that, in 1948, Web moved to Dayton, Ohio to take a job directly with a dealership, called SWS, located downtown off Main Street and 1stStreet. From the 1920s through the 1950s, the blocks around Main Street, First Street, Second Street, and Ludlow formed Dayton’s “auto row,” with multiple dealerships, garages, and service centers. Due to consolidation, SWS became Ray Bryant Chevrolet from 1960 – 1969, which then became part of White Allen Chevrolet after that. Notably, the daughter of the owner of Ray Bryant Chevrolet became a neighbor and good friends with Bob’s wife, Bonnie. The original location/building of SWS no longer exists. Web worked for this dealership until his retirement. His retirement date is currently unknown.

When Web took the role with SWS, the family relocated to the Dayton suburb of Oakwood to a home on Shroyer Road. They soon relocated to a home in Kettering at 310 Orchard Drive, where they lived for many years. According to Bonnie Elizabeth Dinsmore Riordan, Web loved roses – he groomed them in a rose garden in the backyard of their home.

Leota’s mom, Addie May, died in 1952 at the age 83 in Indianapolis.

According to the 1959 City Directory, Web is listed as a salesman for George Huffman Real Estate, perhaps as another job alongside his automotive sales job.

In the mid to late 1960s, Web’s health began to fail stemming from emphysema and memory issues. Eventually, he was no longer able to work and support the family. Therefore, Leota had to go back to work, securing a position as an administrative assistant with Montgomery County Sanitary Department, working for a friend of Bob’s, Gene Cronk. At that point, too, Leota revealed that her age on her driver’s license was younger than her true age by three years (it was likely 1968). She was already 65 and eligible for Social Security. Steve Riordan recalled a memory of Web taking his car downtown and returning by bus because he could not remember where he parked it. Bob had to go back with him to find his car and bring it back. At some point during this time Web and Leota relocated to 530 Lamont Drive, apartment 3.

Eventually, Web had to be moved out of the apartment and into a center that could provide him with help that could no longer be provided at home. The last place he lived was the Dayton Mental Health Center, 2335 Wayne Avenue, 45420, where he died in 1971 at the age of 69.

Leota survived Web for another 16 years. After he died, she continued to live at 530 Lamont Drive for a period. In 1972, she retired from the Sanitation Department. In these years after Web died, she was tightly connected to Bob, Bonnie, Steve and Jeff and their activities. Sunday night dinners out were a regular ritual, and she occasionally hosted spaghetti dinners at her place. She was also active with her church, Southpark Methodist Church, in the United Methodist’s Women’s group doing crafts, playing cards, making candies and other group activities. In addition, she was active in the local Democrat party, in the Montgomery County Democrat Club, Public Employee Retirees, Inc. Later, when she moved to the Lake Woods Apartments, she continued to participate in community activities and occasional group trips. Finally, she made occasional visits to see her sister and brother-in-law, living outside of Fort Myers, Florida.

In the late 1960s, Leota broke both legs while on a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo with Bob, Bonnie and the boys. She insisted she was OK and kept walking during the visit, only learning the next day about the true status of her legs. During her recovery, she stayed with Bob, Bonnie and the boys for a while at the Normandy Lane house. She regularly read books to the boys, including Peanuts many, many times, as well as crafting – making Christmas decorations and ornaments.

When moved to the Lake Woods Apartments?

In September of 1976, her brother, Bill, passed away in Florida.

9/21/1979 letter to Steve just after he started freshman year at Indiana University:

“There is a big garage sale going on across the street, so I came over to your house. You know how I love garage sales”

“Have been to Brown County several times, but not recently. It’s beautiful in the Fall, so don’t miss it.”

“I’m going to Florida on December 15th [to see her sister and brother-in-law] and will join your parents in January in Sanibel. My eyes are improving (I guess) but still don’t see too well. Go downtown by myself now. Have been playing cards etc. at Lakewood and come over here [Bonnie and Bob’s house] a lot on Sunday’s as you know.”

7/18/1983 Letter to Steve Riordan

“Don’t have much news. We do take a few short trips from Lakewood, one to the Kopper Kettle in Indiana. (The food is outstanding there.) This week we are going on a dinner trip on a boat from Cincinnati. Hope to get to the Grand Old Opry in the fall.”

Leota attended Steve’s college graduation in 1983 and Jeff’s college graduation in 1985.

Leota had a brilliant and creative mind to the end. She had a great, wry sense of humor. She was also fiercely independent. She got around without a car by taking the bus everywhere, including trips to downtown Dayton. She was also financially conservative and savvy. She could quote any interest rate for any CD from any bank in Dayton at any time. This was likely due to her formative years growing up during the Depression. She could be occasionally observed sneaking extra bread rolls to take home from our Sunday night dinners out.

Healthwise, she had chronic digestive issues, such diverticulitis. She had cataracts and struggled with her eyesight. She has surgery to remove her lenses before implants were an option, so she relied heavily on her special cataract glasses to see.

Death

Leota died on December 14, 1987, in Dayton, Ohio at the age of 84. She had been complaining of significant abdominal pain, hours after she made a trip downtown to Elder Beerman, a department store, to have lunch and enjoy her favorite beef chunks, called “hot shots”. Bob and Bonnie took her to see Dr. Cass, the family doctor, who referred her to the Kettering Hospital to be admitted and evaluated. [when was she on the green couch murmering in pain?] She was in the hospital for 4-5 days before she passed away. She died of cardiac arrest caused by aspiration pneumonia, triggered by a perforated colon, likely caused by the “hot shots” from days before. Unfortunately, Bob and Bonnie were not at her side because they were hosting a Christmas party at their house at that time.

Services for Leota were held on December 17that Routsong Funeral Home. Afterwards, she was buried beside her husband in David’s Cemetery in Kettering, Ohio, along the front row facing Far Hills Boulevard.

She was survived by her sister, Gen and brother-in-law, Lewie as well as Bob, Bonnie and the boys.

Riordan-Durant Family Tree

Connecting Generations, Sharing Stories

Leota Crawford (1903-1987)

Capturing Memories: An Ancestral Photo Album

Riordan-Durant Family Tree

Connecting Generations, Sharing Stories

Leota Crawford (1903-1987)

Capturing Memories: An Ancestral Photo Album

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