Hon. John Dawson Crabtree, born November 19, 1837, in Nottingham, England, was a distinguished figure in Illinois as a Civil War veteran, lawyer, and judge. After emigrating to the U.S. in 1848, Crabtree settled in Dixon, Illinois, and later joined the Union Army in 1861, earning the rank of Major. Post-war, he pursued law, becoming County Judge in 1869 and later Circuit Judge in 1888. A staunch Republican, he briefly served as a State Senator before focusing on his judicial career. Crabtree was known for his legal acumen, fairness, and dedication to public service. He was married twice, fathering seven children.
Hon. John Dawson Crabtree, Judge of the Thirteenth Judicial Court, has distinguished himself in various walks of life—as a soldier, who obtained military honor during the Civil War; as a statesman; and as a lawyer of unusual ability, whose legal talents have raised him to an important position on the bench of this State. He was born in the city of Nottingham, England, November 19, 1837. His father, Jonathan Howard Crabtree, was a native of the same city and was a son of Samuel Crabtree, who was a soldier in the British army, and with the exception of the time when he was with his regiment in the East Indies, he spent his entire life in England. The maiden name of his wife was Howard. She was born in Yorkshire and passed her last days in Nottingham.
The father of our subject was one of ten children and was the only member of the family who came to America. He lived in his native land until some time after his marriage, and was engaged as a manufacturer of bone buttons in the city of Nottingham. He was a man of ambitious, progressive spirit, and believing that he could better his fortunes in the New World, he resolved to emigrate to these shores. On January 8, 1848, with his wife and five children, he embarked at Liverpool in a sailing vessel, and after a voyage of seven weeks and three days landed in New York City. The family remained in Troy until November of that year, and then came to Illinois by way of Erie Canal to Buffalo, and from there by the lakes to Chicago. Mr. Crabtree bought a tract of Government land near Pecatonica, and he and his wife and children occupied a log house there until 1860, when they went to Beloit, Wis. In 1852 they removed from that place to Rockford, Ill., and the father became a contractor on the Chicago & Galena Railway, now known as the Northwestern.
In February 1853, Mr. Crabtree came with his family to Dixon and took the contract to grade the first three miles of the Illinois Central Railway, extending north from the river. Later he engaged in agricultural pursuits and was an honored resident of Dixon until his death in 1884. His faithful wife, who had accompanied him across the waters to help him build up a new home in a strange land, had preceded him to that “undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns,” dying at Dixon in November 1878. She was also a native of Nottingham, England, and her maiden name was Ann Dawson, she being a daughter of John Dawson. She was the mother of these five children: Eliza, who married E. H. Brookner and is now deceased; Jonathan, who served his adopted country in the late war for three years and is now a resident of Rogers, Denton County, Ark.; Henry, who resides at Dixon; and Lucy G., the wife of Cyrus Williams, of Brookfield, Mo.
The subject of this biography was in his eleventh year when he came to this country with his parents, and still retains a pleasant recollection of his old home and of the momentous journey across the ocean to the new one. He received his early education in the common schools, supplemented by a course at the Dixon High School, and finally entered the office of J. K. Edsall to prepare himself for the legal profession. His studies were interrupted by the breaking out of the Rebellion, and throwing aside his books, he was among the first to spring to the defense of the Union in response to the first call for troops, and for four long and weary years he nobly served his adopted country with all the fervor, self-sacrifice, and patriotic devotion of a native-born citizen, and won imperishable laurels on many a hard-fought battlefield. His name was enrolled as a private in Company A, Thirteenth Illinois Infantry, April 17, 1861. He soon began to make a record for himself as a valiant and fearless soldier, and on September 25, 1861, he was commissioned Second Lieutenant of Company D, of Bowers Battalion, Missouri Cavalry.
November 5, 1862, our subject was promoted to be Captain of Company H, Ninth Missouri Cavalry, which company was afterward transferred to the Third Missouri Cavalry and designated as Company M. He was at the front until he was honorably discharged on August 16, 1864, and during that time had been brevetted Major for conspicuous merit. In the reports of his superiors to the War Department, he was several times mentioned in complimentary terms, of which he was highly deserving, as his intelligent knowledge of military tactics, his firmness in maintaining discipline among his men, whom he inspired to follow wherever he led, and his promptness and efficiency in obeying orders made him a valuable officer. After he gave up his command on the field, the Major’s services were required at Springfield, Ill., in the mustering in of troops and dispatching them to the front, and he remained on duty there until the last of October 1865.
Returning to Dixon at the close of his military career, our subject allowed only a few days to elapse before he resumed his studies, November 3, in the office of Mr. Edsall. He was admitted to the bar in September 1866, well equipped for his work, and the following October formed a partnership with Mr. Edsall, with whom he continued to practice until 1869. In that year so rapid was his rise in his profession, he was elected County Judge, was re-elected in 1873, and served until 1877, when he refused the renomination. In 1878 he entered the land office of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company, at Chicago, as Assistant Land Commissioner, and filled that position very acceptably for one year. Returning to Dixon again, he resumed his law practice and only gave it up to accept the office of Circuit Judge to succeed Judge Bailey in 1888, the latter having been elected to the Supreme Bench.
Our subject was re-elected to his high position on the bench in June 1891, without opposition, so valuable were his services considered in the administration of justice, and so popular is he throughout the county and district, and, in fact, wherever known, as he possesses in a rare degree those pleasing personal traits and fine attributes of character that inspire confidence and friendship. He is fully equal to the weighty responsibilities that devolve upon him, his whole genius and character fitting him for his work. He has a generous, even temper, is tolerant and fair-minded, and yet is firm and decided when necessary, having the courage of his convictions. His rulings are sound, sensible, and marked by a thorough comprehension of the great fundamental principles of the law as applicable to all cases coming under his jurisdiction. His charges to the jury are put in plain, forcible, and concise language, and there is never a question as to the equity and wisdom of his decisions. The Judge is a fine conversationalist, and as a lawyer when practicing before the bar, his eloquence, ready wit, and logical arguments won him many a case.
Judge Crabtree was first married March 4, 1863, to Miss Mary C. Huntington. She died in 1872, leaving two children—Harry Huntington and Edwin Howard. On September 28, 1875, the Judge was again married, taking as his wife Miss Anna M. Fargo, a native of Rockford, Ill. They have five children—John B., Charles D., Mary C., Phoebe M., and Ruth I.
Politically the Judge is an uncompromising Republican, and has been the recipient of office at the hands of his party, who honored him and themselves by electing him, in 1888, State Senator in the Thirty-fifth General Assembly for a term of four years, but he resigned the position the same year on being elected to the bench. While in the Senate, he voted for C. B. Farwell for United States Senator, being one of his most steadfast champions. Our subject is prominent socially as a member of Friendship Lodge No. 7, A. F. & A. M., of which he is Past Master; as a member of Nachusa Chapter, No. 56, R. A. M.; as Past Commander of Dixon Commandery, No. 21, K. T.; and as a member of Dixon Post, No. 299, G. A. R.; and of the Illinois Commandery of the Loyal Legion.