Land Ownership in the Omena Area in 1881. You can see on the map that George Craker and his son Frank owned the most land in the area at the time. Courtesy “Atlas of Leelanau County, Michigan, 1881 by E. L. Hayes, and Omena Historical Society.
George was a short man, about five feet and six inches tall, yet he is huge in the history of Omena. His grandson claimed he never wore a necktie, even to church, although there he is, standing alongside his wife in an old photo in the OHS archives, wearing a necktie. His sharp temper would flare occasionally, but in a few minutes, he would be singing at the top of his voice. He never held a grudge toward anyone. George was somewhat of an enigma, until you got to know him.
George A Craker has been described as being “a gentleman of marked sympathy, kindly spirit, and unfaltering devotion to the good. His word was synonymous with integrity, and he enjoyed the unqualified confidence of all whom he came in contact with him. He believed in the brotherhood of mankind,” and his efforts have been a great benefit to the early church in Omena. How did he come to be one of the first settlers of this wilderness in 1852?
Tumultuous Childhood
As a child, he moved from New York State to Wisconsin, then again farther west in Wisconsin. Younger siblings kept arriving until he had 6 brothers and sisters by the time, he was 14, ranging from 2 to 16 years old. And then his mother died. The children were inconsolable. Their father was overwhelmed. He needed help. He quickly married again to a much younger widow, Elizabeth Brown.
Not much is known about Elizabeth, except that she was not an easy person to live with. Then the following year the family moved again still farther west to Sauk County, Wisconsin. As a teenager, George could not take it anymore.
Sister Ann Morgan
One day, with just the shirt on his back, a spare red flannel shirt, and 50 cents in his pocket, he made his way the 40 miles to Lake Michigan, then caught a ride on the steamer ship named “Liberty”, which says a lot about his goals. He headed for his sister Ann’s home on Old Mission. Ann Morgan worked for Peter Dougherty at his Indian Mission and Indian School and lived at the mission. (You might remember Ann as the mother of little Frankie Morgan, who is buried in the cemetery beside the Omena church). You can read more about Ann Morgan and Frankie in recent blog posts.
Dougherty was always short of workers, and George was immediately hired to work at the Old Mission farm. He worked hard, and although still a teenager, he often was the only reliable help Rev Dougherty had. When Reverend Dougherty and the Indians moved their mission to Omena shortly afterward, George and Ann went too. By 1853, although George was just 19, he was hired to teach the Indian boys at the mission how to farm and use tools.
George A Craker in his home in the 1890’s. Courtesy Joey Bensley and Omena Historical Society
Time to Settle Down
By 1860, George was 26 years old, and ready to settle down. Mary McConnell, an assistant missionary from Pennsylvania who taught sewing at the mission school, caught his attention. They married and remained living at the mission while George began purchasing land in the area. Each year he intended to leave the mission and farm his own land, but each year Dougherty “encouraged” him to stay, so he did. He gradually began clearing his own land, however, and preparing it for planting.
Accidents happen, and sure enough, George had one. He struck his foot with an axe while cutting timber and it was bad enough to keep him in bed for several months, paining him for the next several years. This slowed him down but did not stop him. By 1866 George owned 268 acres and had built a large frame farmhouse for his growing family on his land. He now had a five-year-old son, Alonzo, a three-year-old named William Albert, and was about to become a father again.
Right about this time, the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions withdrew its support of Reverend Dougherty’s Omena church and mission, forcing them to close their doors. The Indian mission school was closed after 19 successful years. Reverend Dougherty and his family left town leaving it all behind. George was devastated. “Peter Dougherty has left us” he wrote. “I don’t know what to do.” he wrote.
George had been the most prominent layman in the church and resolved to do what he could for the Indians. Although he was not a minister, he spoke the Indian language well, and he was able to keep the Sunday School alive for them. The Indians named him “Ba-shik-awa-ge-zhih,” which I am told means “Cattle Driver.” It was an honor to be given an Indian name.
Tragedy in the Craker House
Alonzo’s sled Photo credit Joey Bensley
As sometimes happens, tragedy follows tragedy. In 1871 George’s beloved ten-year-old son, Alonzo, died of scarlet fever. The little sled he had made remained hanging where Alonzo had hung it in the attic of their farmhouse, no one willing to take it down and get rid of it. It still hung there when the Bentley’s bought the old farmhouse 118 years later, from Claude Craker, George’s great grandson.
Alonzo’s little sled which hung in the attic of George’s farmhouse for generations. George never had the heart to take it down, and when he died, the house was passed on to his son William, he did not take it down either. Then William’s son George lived in the house, then Claud Craker and finally the Bensley’s bought the house from Claud Craker. Amazingly 118 years after Alonzo died, the sled was still there, hanging in the attic. The Bensley’s thought it ought to stay in the house but took it from the attic down to where they could see it more often. Thanks to Joey Beasley for the photo and the story of the little sled.
Another Death
Ten years after Alonzo’s death, George’s wife Mary died. He remarried the following year, only to have his second wife Margaret die a few years later. Finally in 1891 George married again. Harriet Middleton remained with him for many years until he died on November 4, 1915, at the age of 81.
George’s interest in the church Sunday School which he started earlier in his life lasted until his death. His son, William A. Craker then stepped into his father’s shoes, and kept the Sunday School active until his death in 1957. And life goes on, the church recovered and today is a lively active place in the summer. There are many Craker descendants in the area who still are a mainstay of the little church. A legacy preserved for all time.
Courtesy of “History of Grand Traverse and Leelanaw Counties,” The Arvid Craker papers written 1981, OHS archives, “Omena, A Place In Time” by Amanda Holmes, and Joey Bensley