Descendancy D3: The Cropsey Lines - Alexander Barton Cropsey and Ananias V. Cropsey

Research date: October 25, 2026. Free public records only. No paid sources, no Ancestry, no accounts, no library fee requests.

Scope: all descendants of Alexander Barton Cropsey (b. 4 Feb 1824, Rensselaer Co., NY; d. 9 Aug 1889, Volinia Twp., Cass Co., MI) and of his father Ananias V. Cropsey (b. abt 29 Jul 1793, NY; d. 9 Feb 1869, Rensselaer Co., NY), outside the trunk line of Jane Lucinda (Cropsey) Etter, which is documented in line-cropsey-origins.md and line-b2-etter-records.md. This report builds on line-cropsey-origins.md; facts already established there are restated only where a line hangs from them.

Labels:

• VERIFIED: seen in a named public record, record index, stone transcription, or published obituary this pass or in the origins pass, source cited.
• VERIFIED (compiled): stated on a compiled profile (WikiTree) whose dates match independent records on file; no primary record read yet.
• CANDIDATE: fits by name, date, and place, but no record yet ties the people together. Do not merge as fact.
• NOT FOUND: searched and not located; the settling record is named where one is known.
• Living people appear only as named in published records, name and relationship only.

1. HEADLINES

1. Ananias V. Cropsey's wife is identified: Sally Trumbull (b. 12 Jun 1801; d. 21 Mar 1871). Her dates match exactly the unnamed wife (abt 12 Jun 1801 - 21 Mar 1871) who appeared on the compiled tree panels in the origins pass with her name missing. VERIFIED (compiled), via the WikiTree API profile Trumbull-565. A primary record (the 1850 Poestenkill household image, or Ananias's 1869 Rensselaer County probate) is still the confirming read.
2. George Cropsey's daughter Irene is VERIFIED, and her marriage into the Huff family is documented: Irene (Cropsey) Huff, wife of Frank Otis Huff of Marcellus, state legislator. A Cass County biography calls her "the only daughter of George and Elsie B. Cropsey of Volinia" (see section 3).
3. Elvaro Cropsey's children are enumerated from his son Harmon's published obituary and from Numident entries: Harmon G. (1917-2009), Dale V. (b. 1920), Dr. Mac Cropsey, and Bethel Elsye (Cropsey) LeMarbe/Turner (1924-1996), the last VERIFIED as Elvaro's daughter by her Numident entry naming both parents.
4. Otis Cropsey's parentage is STILL UNPROVEN. The test the task set (is Otis George's son?) cannot be answered from any free text source found. His daughter Mable IS verified (section 4). The settling record is named: Otis's 1934 Michigan death certificate.
5. Mary Alice (Cropsey) Huff is STILL A CANDIDATE as Alexander's daughter. No record read names her parents, and her WikiTree profile leaves father and mother blank. Her own line (husband Simeon J. Huff, six children) is fully enumerated in section 6, and two date conflicts on her own dates are flagged there.
6. A NEW unplaced branch surfaced: Sherman Dewey Cropsey of Cass County, father of Lee Roy Cropsey (1924-2014) of Wakelee and Marcellus. Sherman's parentage is unknown; by generation and place he is a candidate son of Lester B. or of Alfred. Section 7.
7. Samuel Cropsey (d. 5 Oct 1941) remains UNPLACED. His 1941 death certificate is the settling record. Section 5.
8. Ananias's children beyond Alexander and Levy: NOT FOUND in free sources. Only Alexander is known to have come to Michigan; Levy went to New York City. Section 8.

2. THE FRAME (established in line-cropsey-origins.md, restated for the lines that hang from it)

Alexander Barton Cropsey (b. 4 Feb 1824, Rensselaer Co., NY; d. 9 Aug 1889, Volinia Twp., Cass Co., MI; Crane Cemetery, Find a Grave #31069178; WikiTree Cropsey-58).

• Marriage 1: Maria Louisa Rogers, 13 Aug 1846, Wynantskill, Rensselaer Co., NY. She died between Dec 1858 and Jun 1869; her stone at Crane reads "Mary Louisa Rogers" Cropsey.
• Marriage 2: Clarisa Nichols, 5 Jun 1869, Dowagiac, Cass Co., MI.
• Verified children: George (1854-1923) and Jane Lucinda (1858-1925, the trunk) and Maria H. (d. 29 Jul 1879) by Maria Louisa; Lester B. (b. 2 Dec 1869; d. 2 Jul 1924) and Alfred (d. 25 Jul 1912) by Clarisa (maternity inferred by dates; Lester's and Alfred's death/birth records name Alexander as father).

Sources: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cropsey-58 ; ~/workspace/family-tree/line-cropsey-origins.md sections 1-2.

3. GEORGE CROPSEY (1854-1923) + ELSIE McNINCH: THEIR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN

George Cropsey (b. 31 Jan 1854, NY; d. 2 Mar 1923, Volinia Twp.) - VERIFIED son of Alexander (1855 NY census household; his 1923 Michigan death certificate index names father Alexander Cropsey). Elsie McNinch (1860-1922), m. 21 Jan 1877, Volinia. Both buried Rose Hill Cemetery, Nicholsville, Volinia Twp. (shared stone "CROPSY George 1854-1923 + Elsie 1860-1922"). Sources: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cropsey-19 ; https://www.migenweb.org/cass/cemeteries/nvillecem.htm

George was a Volinia civic fixture into the next generation: in the 1907-08 Goodenough School (District 5, Volinia) roster, George Cropsey is Moderator and his son Elvaro is a pupil (and an Otis Cropsey is Director - see section 4). Source: https://www.migenweb.org/cass/schools/oldroster.htm

3.1 Elvaro Cropsey (1895-1981) - VERIFIED son of George

• b. 20 Dec 1895; d. 19 Sep 1981; Crane Cemetery, Find a Grave #192038868 (memorial maintained by "G. Huff"). WikiTree Cropsey-18 links him as George's son.
• Wife: Marie Margaret Coble (b. 15 Mar 1900, Volinia/Decatur, daughter of Harmon E. Coble and Elizabeth A. Horan; d. Aug 1978). Her parentage and dates from her Numident entry (SSDI/Numident listing via SortedByName).

Sources: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cropsey-18 ; https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/lsj/name/harmon-cropsey-obituary?id=24338986

Elvaro and Marie's children (from Harmon's published obituary, Lansing State Journal, 16 Mar 2009, plus Numident):

1. Harmon G. Cropsey (b. 16 Aug 1917, Volinia; d. 13 Mar 2009, DeWitt, MI) - Michigan State Senator. M. R. Marian Lindsay, 29 Jul 1943. His children, as named in his published obituary (name and relationship only): Robert, David, Alan, Carolyn Toomey, George, and Linda Jo Eddy; a son Christopher predeceased him; the obituary also counts 19 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren, unnamed.
2. Dale V. Cropsey (b. 1920; d. in the 1990s, before Harmon). CANDIDATE wife: Helen Indergard - a Cass County "Dale and Helen Cropsey" donor pair and the "Helen Indergard and Dale Cropsey Education Scholarship" support the pairing, but no record read states the marriage. CANDIDATE, not merged.
3. Dr. Mac Cropsey - living in 2009 per Harmon's obituary; name and relationship only.
4. Bethel Elsye (Cropsey) LeMarbe, also Turner (b. 13 Feb 1924, Cass Co.; d. 24 Jul 1996) - VERIFIED as Elvaro's daughter: her Numident entry names her parents as Elvaro Cropsey and Marie M. Coble. She appears in records as Bethel Elsye Cropsey, Bethel E. LeMarbe, and Bethel Cropsey Turner.
5. One further child of Elvaro appears on WikiTree (Cropsey-17) with name and dates privacy-filtered - UNPLACED, presumably living; not pursued.

3.2 Irene (Cropsey) Huff - VERIFIED daughter of George

• A Cass County biography states she was "the only daughter of George and Elsie B. Cropsey of Volinia." Source: https://www.migenweb.org/cass/biographies/cassixh.htm
• She married Frank Otis Huff (b. 1 Aug 1875, Volinia; d. 14 Aug 1946, Volinia), a Marcellus lawyer and Michigan state legislator, son of John Huff and Eliza J. Wright, on 30 Jun 1906 at Volinia. Their children: John W. Huff, Elsie B. Huff, and Donald O. Huff. Source: Michigan Legislators database, https://mdoe.state.mi.us/legislators/Legislator/LegislatorDetail/3917
• NOTE, a trap avoided: Frank Otis Huff the legislator is NOT Otis Cropsey of section 4. Two different men, two different families, same township and era.

3.3 An infant, 1879 - CANDIDATE child of George and Elsie

• The Nicholsville (Rose Hill) transcription lists "CROPSY [unnamed] 1879-1879" in George and Elsie's plot area. A child born and died 1879 fits the couple (married Jan 1877) but the transcription does not name parents. CANDIDATE only.

Source: https://www.migenweb.org/cass/cemeteries/nvillecem.htm

3.4 What is NOT in George's child list

• Otis Cropsey (1886-1934) is NOT placed here. He remains a candidate (section 4). Nothing read this pass or in the origins pass names his parents, and the "only daughter" biography confirms Irene's place without enumerating sons.
• Samuel Cropsey (d. 1941) is NOT placed here either (section 5).

4. OTIS CROPSEY (1886-1934): DAUGHTER VERIFIED, PARENTAGE OPEN

• Otis Cropsey (1886-1934) and wife Katie L. Lillie (1884-1927), Rose Hill Cemetery, Nicholsville (George's cemetery, not Crane). Katie's page: https://peoplelegacy.com/katie_l_lillie_cropsey-3Y1D2P
• Otis was Director of Goodenough School District 5, Volinia, in 1907-08, on the same roster where George Cropsey is Moderator. Source: https://www.migenweb.org/cass/schools/oldroster.htm
• VERIFIED daughter: Mable Cropsey, d. 9 Mar 1911. The Nicholsville transcription reads: "CROPSEY MABLE d. 03/09/1911, dau of Otis & Katie." Source: https://www.migenweb.org/cass/cemeteries/nvillecem.htm
• The parentage test: UNRESOLVED. Otis as George's son is plausible on every circumstantial leg (born 1886, nine years into George's marriage; buried in George's cemetery; school-board colleague of George in 1907-08) but no record read names his parents, and the same facts also fit a son of Lester B. or Alfred by generation. He stays CANDIDATE as George's son, exactly as the origins pass left him. Do not merge.
• Settling record (named): Otis's 1934 Michigan death certificate. Michigan death certificates of that era name both parents. His certificate sits in the same Preservica film series (005363576) as Jane's (image 943) and George's (image 457), which were read by live browser in earlier passes. A generic research pass cannot open the Preservica image viewer; this read is flagged for a live-browser session. The 1900 Volinia census household of George Cropsey is the second test: a son Otis, age about 14, in that household would settle it the other way.

5. SAMUEL CROPSEY (d. 1941): UNPLACED

• Samuel Cropsey, d. 5 Oct 1941, Cass County - the only Cropsey in the Cass County death index 1867-1960. Source: https://www.migenweb.org/cass/dea1867to1960.htm
• Wife: Pearl Skinner; shared stone at Crane Cemetery (wave 1 transcription, line-b-etter-cropsey-michigan.md).
• Placement: UNPLACED. By age and by the family's two-cemetery pattern he is a CANDIDATE son of George, or of Lester or Alfred. Not assigned.
• Settling record (named): Samuel's 1941 Michigan death certificate (names parents; same Preservica route as section 4). Flagged for a live-browser session.

6. MARY ALICE (CROPSEY) HUFF (1848 - 1886 or 1890): CANDIDACY UNPROVEN, HER LINE ENUMERATED

6.1 The candidacy

Mary Alice Cropsey (b. Poestenkill, NY; d. Volinia Twp.; Crane Cemetery, Find a Grave #101574049; WikiTree Cropsey-3) fits Alexander's family on age (eldest child, born about two years after the 1846 marriage), birthplace (Poestenkill, Alexander's 1850/1855 town), migration (died in Volinia), and burial (Crane, the family plot). BUT: her WikiTree profile lists no parents (father and mother fields empty), and no record read in either pass names her parents. Verdict: still CANDIDATE, neither proven nor killed. The proof test stays as the origins pass framed it: her Cass County marriage record (Michigan returns of that era name parents) or the 1850/1860 household images showing a Mary Alice of the right age in Alexander's house. Sources: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cropsey-3 ; line-cropsey-origins.md section 2.

6.2 Her dates CONFLICT across sources - flagged, not resolved

• Birth: 9 Oct 1848 (Cropsey-3 / Find a Grave #101574049) vs Feb 1848 (the Huff family profile, below).
• Death: 9 Jun 1890 (Cropsey-3) vs 9 Jun 1886 (Huff profile). Same day and month, four years apart.
• The settling read is the photograph of her Crane Cemetery stone on Find a Grave memorial #101574049 (a browser read; text fetch could not render it this pass).

6.3 Her marriage and children (VERIFIED as her line, whoever her parents were)

• She married Simeon J. Huff (b. 1 Jan 1844, PA; d. 16 Jun 1924, MI; buried Crane Cemetery) on 8 Dec 1865. Simeon was a son of Isaac P. Huff; he was a Union soldier in the company credited with capturing Jefferson Davis. After Mary Alice's death he married (2) Martha Martin (b. Jul 1859, IN), widow of Stephen Philpott, no children of that marriage in 1900, and (3) after 1910, a nurse.
• Their children: Louise Mary Huff (b. 1867), A. Inez Huff (b. 1868), I. Mirta Huff (b. 1871), B. Josie Huff (b. 1873), Mary Alta Huff (b. 13 Aug 1876; d. 21 May 1924), and Roy Huff (b. 1878).

Source: WikiTree, Isaac P. Huff profile (Huff-875), which carries the Simeon J. Huff family entry: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Huff-875 ; cross-checked against the WikiTree API child links for Cropsey-3.

• If Mary Alice's candidacy is later proven, these six Huff children become Alexander's grandchildren and enter the tree; until then this line is reported as candidate-attached only.

7. NEW BRANCH: SHERMAN DEWEY CROPSEY OF CASS COUNTY (UNPLACED)

Found this pass while sweeping Cass County Cropsey obituaries:

• Lee Roy Cropsey (b. 4 May 1924, Wakelee, MI; d. 29 Aug 2014, Marcellus, MI). His published obituaries name his parents: Sherman Dewey Cropsey and Bessie Irene (Griffis) Cropsey. Sources: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/kalamazoo/name/lee-cropsey-obituary?id=18310297 (also carried by WLKM and Life Story Funeral Homes).
• Bessie Irene (Griffis) Cropsey: b. 15 Jan 1904, Cassopolis, daughter of Carson J. Griffis and Ida M. Haefner; d. 4 Nov 2005 (Numident entry, via SortedByName).
• Lee's children, as named in his published obituary (name and relationship only): Virginia, Diane Ghastin, Daniel Lee Cropsey, and Samuel LeRoy Cropsey. A sister, Leta Ritter, is also named.
• Sherman Dewey Cropsey's parentage: NOT FOUND. He is a Cass County Cropsey of the generation after Lester B. (b. 1869) and Alfred: a man whose son was born in Wakelee in 1924 was most likely born in the 1890s, which fits a son of Lester (married 1893) or of Alfred. CANDIDATE placement under Lester B., untested. Settling records: Sherman's Michigan death certificate, his WWI draft registration card (which names his nearest relative and birthplace), and the 1900/1910 census households of Lester B. and of Alfred.

8. ANANIAS V. CROPSEY'S OTHER CHILDREN (ALEXANDER'S SIBLINGS)

Established frame (origins pass): Ananias V. Cropsey (b. abt 29 Jul 1793, NY; d. 9 Feb 1869, Rensselaer Co.; Find a Grave #52282176; WikiTree Cropsey-59), of Sand Lake (1840) and Poestenkill (1850, 1855, 1860), Poestenkill neighbor of his son Alexander on the same census images. Source: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cropsey-59

8.1 His wife, NEW this pass

• Sally Trumbull (b. 12 Jun 1801; d. 21 Mar 1871) - WikiTree Trumbull-565, read via the WikiTree API. Her dates are an exact match for the unnamed wife on the tree panels in the origins pass (abt 12 Jun 1801 - 21 Mar 1871), which closes the origins pass's NOT FOUND item #3 at compiled level. VERIFIED (compiled); the primary-record confirmation is the 1850 Poestenkill household image (image 299) or Ananias's 1869 probate.

8.2 Verified children of Ananias

1. Alexander Barton Cropsey (1824-1889) - VERIFIED (WikiTree link; census adjacency 1850/1855; section 2). The Michigan migrant.
2. Levy Cropsey (d. 6 Apr 1905, The Bronx, NY) - VERIFIED as Ananias's son by his New York City death record, which names Ananias as his father (FamilySearch record 2WDV-DTF, cited on Cropsey-59). Levy stayed in New York and died in the city; no Michigan connection found.

8.3 Other children: NOT FOUND

• The WikiTree API links only Alexander as a child of Ananias and Sally. Levy is attached only through his death-record citation, which shows the compiled tree is incomplete for this family, so "only two children" is NOT asserted. The full child set sits in records a text pass cannot open: the 1850 Poestenkill household image (image 299, film 444301), the 1855 household (image 320), the 1860 household (p. 133), and Ananias's 1869 Rensselaer County probate file, which would name his widow and all surviving children including Alexander in Michigan.
• Michigan vs New York: of the two verified sons, Alexander alone came to Michigan (1855-1858). No other Cropsey migrant to Cass County has been tied to Ananias; the Cass County cluster (George's, Lester's, and Alfred's households, plus the unplaced Otis, Samuel, and Sherman) all descends from Alexander's Michigan household on current evidence, with the three unplaced men flagged in sections 4, 5, and 7.

9. LESTER B. CROPSEY AND ALFRED CROPSEY: LINES STILL OPEN

• Lester B. (Lester Bert) Cropsey (b. 2 Dec 1869, Volinia; d. 2 Jul 1924, Penn Twp., Cass Co.) - VERIFIED son of Alexander (birth record and his 1893 Traverse City marriage record both name Alexander B. as father). M. Lettie Olive Vanamberg, 1893, Traverse City. His death records anomalously name his father as "Elliot Crepsey" (flagged in the origins pass; treated as informant/index error against two records naming Alexander). Children: NOT FOUND this pass. No free source read enumerates his household. The routes are his 1900 (Traverse City), 1910, and 1920 (Penn Twp.) census households. Sherman Dewey Cropsey (section 7) is the standing candidate son.
• Alfred Cropsey (d. 25 Jul 1912, Howard Twp., Cass Co.) - VERIFIED son of Alexander (death record names Alexander as father). Birth date, marriage, and children: NOT FOUND this pass. Routes: his 1900/1910 Howard Township households and his Cass County marriage record, if any.
• Maria H. Cropsey (d. 29 Jul 1879, Volinia) - VERIFIED daughter of Alexander (death record names Alexander B. as father). No marriage and no descendants found; she died in 1879 and the line closes there on current records.

10. OPEN ITEMS CARRIED FORWARD (each with its settling record)

1. Otis Cropsey's parents - his 1934 Michigan death certificate (Preservica film 005363576 series; live-browser read), or George's 1900 Volinia household.
2. Samuel Cropsey's parents - his 1941 Michigan death certificate (same route).
3. Mary Alice (Cropsey) Huff's parentage - her ~1865 Cass County marriage record, or the 1850/1860 household images; plus her Crane stone photograph to settle her birth/death year conflict (section 6.2).
4. Sherman Dewey Cropsey's parents - his death certificate or WWI draft card; Lester's and Alfred's 1900/1910 households.
5. Lester B.'s and Alfred's children - their 1900-1920 census households.
6. Ananias's full child set and Sally Trumbull's primary confirmation - the 1850/1855/1860 Poestenkill household images and Ananias's 1869 Rensselaer County probate.
7. Dale V. Cropsey's wife - Helen Indergard stays CANDIDATE until a marriage record or obituary names her as his wife.
8. George and Elsie's infant (1879) - a Cass County birth/death register entry for 1879 would name the parents.
9. The Crane cluster names still unplaced from the origins pass (William H., Hattie E., and Raymond A. Cropsey; Gilbert and Lizzie Cropsey; Ellen A. Cropsey; Maria Cropsey) - their stone inscription dates were not read; the Crane photo description pages remain a browser task.

Source list (URLs used this pass)

• WikiTree profiles and API: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cropsey-58 , https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cropsey-59 , https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cropsey-19 , https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cropsey-18 , https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cropsey-3 , https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Huff-875 , and the WikiTree API (api.wikitree.com) for Trumbull-565 and child/spouse links
• MIGenWeb Cass County: Nicholsville (Rose Hill) Cemetery transcription https://www.migenweb.org/cass/cemeteries/nvillecem.htm ; Cass biography index https://www.migenweb.org/cass/biographies/cassixh.htm ; Goodenough School roster https://www.migenweb.org/cass/schools/oldroster.htm ; Cass County death index 1867-1960 https://www.migenweb.org/cass/dea1867to1960.htm
• Michigan Legislators database (Frank Otis Huff and Irene Cropsey): https://mdoe.state.mi.us/legislators/Legislator/LegislatorDetail/3917
• Legacy.com: Harmon G. Cropsey obituary https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/lsj/name/harmon-cropsey-obituary?id=24338986 ; Lee Roy Cropsey obituary https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/kalamazoo/name/lee-cropsey-obituary?id=18310297
• PeopleLegacy, Katie L. (Lillie) Cropsey: https://peoplelegacy.com/katie_l_lillie_cropsey-3Y1D2P
• SSDI/Numident listings via SortedByName (Marie Margaret Coble Cropsey; Bethel Elsye Cropsey; Bessie Irene Griffis Cropsey)
• Grounding file: ~/workspace/family-tree/line-cropsey-origins.md