Among our citizens of foreign birth, who have identified themselves with Bureau County, we must mention the subject of this sketch, who was born November 7, 1826, in Somersetshire, England, town of Bishford. His parents, George and Sarah (Rhude) Crossman died in England, where he was a mechanic. Their children were: Henry, who died on board a man-of-war off the coast of Africa; George, our subject; John C., a resident of this county; Jane, deceased, and Mrs. Mary A. Jeffries.
Mr. Crossman came to America in 1852. He was eight weeks on the ocean. He lived two years in Onondaga County, New York, and then in October 1854, came to Lamoille Township, Bureau County. Here he rented land till 1858, when he bought forty-four acres of land, to which he added from time to time. In 1871 he sold his farm and removed to Lamoille, where he now resides, and intends to spend the remainder of his life in ease and quiet. He was married October 21, 1852, in Syracuse, New York to Joanna Chapman, a daughter of William and Joanna Chapman.
Mrs. Crossman, a cheerful, industrious lady, is also a native of Somersetshire, England, where she was born December 14, 1833. Mr. Crossman has been a successful farmer, and is a self-made man in every respect. Politically, he is identified with the Republican party.
Source: History of Bureau County, Illinois, H. C. Bradsby, Editor. World Publishing Company Chicago 1885