The Tippecanoe City, Ohio "Iron Dog"

1839

Van Eli Crane, father of Boy Crane and maker of the Iron Dog that marked the boy's grave, is born in Miami County, Ohio.

Supporting Rationale - Van Eli Crane's birthdate is shown as February 17, 1839 on his grave marker. Various US census found at Ancestry.com (1860, 1870, etc.) also confirm a birthdate for Van on or around 1839. Van is identified as the boy's father in Edward Lewis (E. L.) Crane's account of the dog given to Grace Kinney. The 1850 US census, found at Ancestry.com, indicates that the Crane family was living in Bethel Township, Miami County, Ohio, at that time. An obituary for Van's mother, Sarah Woodward Crane, appearing in the September 2, 1905 Dayton Herald, is consistent with him having been born in Miami County.

1842

Callie (Caroline) Hubbard, thought to be the mother of Boy Crane, is born in Clark County, Ohio.

Supporting Rationale - Callie Hubbard Smith's birthdate is shown as July 18, 1842 at the Find A Grave website, although records obtained from the Presbyterian Church show her being baptized on June 26, 1842. The age listed for her in the 1850 US census from Ancestry.com supports a birthdate on or around 1842. The 1900 United States Census shows Callie's birth in July, 1841. Church and census records are also consistent with a birth in Clark County, Ohio.

1860

Van Eli Crane and Callie Hubbard are married in Clark County, Ohio.

Supporting Rationale - A record of marriage found at Ancestry.com and on file in Clark County Probate Court, memorializes their marriage on May 22, 1860.

About 1862

Boy Crane is born.

Supporting Rationale - Presumably, Boy Crane was born to Van and Callie sometime after their marriage in May of 1860. The 1860 US census, downloaded from Ancestry.com and completed on June 5 for the Cranes, shows no infant in their home. Nor does the 1870 census, also downloaded from Ancestry.com. Samuel Stuart Smith's (born 1860) account places Boy Crane's age at "...about 6 years old when he died...". Given these constraints, Boy Crane could have been born as early as 1861 and possibly as late as 1864.

Although not reflected in this timeline, the boy being born after the 1870 census is possible, but Smith states that "...Van left Tipp shortly after Civil War and went I think to Port Huron Mich...". For Smith to have seen a boy born post-1870, at an age where he was capable of riding the dog like a horse, would mean Van was in Tipp for nearly a decade (or more) after the Civil War. The boy's birth post-1870 is supported by E. L. Crane's version that Van moved to Port Huron in 1879, while the History of St. Clair County, Michigan..., (A.T. Andreas & Co., Chicago, 1883) states Crane arrived in Port Huron in 1872. Notably, the record of Van's marriage on January 17, 1877 identifies his residence as Tippecanoe City, Ohio, while a newspaper article on April 12, 1878 in the Port Huron Times Herald newspaper announces the birth of a son to Van and his wife, born "...five miles west of the city...."

About 1869

Boy Crane dies, and is buried at an unknown location. Boy Crane is moved about 1874 to Maple Hill Cemetery in Tippecanoe City, Ohio.

Supporting Rationale - Although not known with certainty, burials at Maple Hill Cemetery in Tippecanoe City could have begun as early as about 1874, given contemporary plat maps (area in red) and land records. This dictates that Boy Crane would have been buried elsewhere, and moved to Maple Hill post 1873. 1871 and ca. 1875 plat maps also show a small cemetery (area in green) on Crane property just southeast of the land that would become Maple Hill Cemetery. Perhaps Boy Crane was buried there for a few years, or in nearby Hyattsville Cemetery which was established in 1838.

1870 - 1877

Van Eli Crane and Callie Hubbard Crane are divorced during this period, and Van Eli Crane marries Francelin Imogene (Jean) Mallory in Port Huron, Michigan in 1877.

Supporting Rationale - Van and Callie's divorce is assumed, as no documentation has been located. A record of marriage found at Ancestry.com memorializes Van and Jean's marriage on January 17, 1877, with Reverend Isaac Newton Elwood officiating.

About 1878

The Iron Dog is placed on Boy Crane's grave at Maple Hill Cemetery in Tippecanoe City, Ohio.

Supporting Rationale - The Samuel Stuart Smith account places the dog on the grave in 1877, while E. L. Crane's recollections give the impression it was about 1879. It should be noted that Smith also states " ...It was there 50 or more years that I know of...", but this must certainly be in error. That would have the dog remaining there a decade or more after it was almost certainly moved by William Clingan to his farm near Evanston Road and the Dixie Highway.

1900/1910

Both the 1900 and 1910 United States Census show that Callie Hubbard Smith had no children, alive or dead.

Supporting Rationale - The 1900 census page is here; the 1910, here.

About 1913

The Iron Dog, due to nationwide publicity calling undue attention to it, is removed from Boy Crane's grave by the family and is placed somewhere on the Crane farm.

Supporting Rationale - The Samuel Stuart Smith account places the dog on Boy Crane's grave in 1877. Smith mentions a letter he wrote to a woman who had inquired about the health of what she apparently thought was a live dog. As part of his sarcastic reply, he reports telling her "that he had been standing there for 20 years", indicating the dog was there until at least 1897. The E. L. Crane account fixes the time of the dog's move from the boy's grave to the Crane family farm at "...They moved the dog, about 1913, to Acacia Place...."

1914

Van Eli Crane dies in 1914, at the age of 75.

Supporting Rationale - Van Eli Crane's death date is shown as November 13, 1914 on his grave marker at the Find A Grave website. Van Crane's death certificate confirms that date.

1916

Callie Hubbard Smith dies in 1916, at age 74.

Supporting Rationale - Callie Hubbard Smith's death date is shown as November 6, 1916 on her grave marker at the Find A Grave website.

1917 - 1918

The Crane farm is sold to the Miami Conservancy District. The Iron Dog is purchased by William E. Clingan and moved to his land near the intersection of Evanston Road and the Dixie Highway, south of Tippecanoe City, Ohio.

Supporting Rationale - One of the newspaper articles written by Pearson cites 1918 as the year the dog was moved to the farm near the corner of Evanston Road and the Dixie Highway. Land records (deed record #1, deed record #2) show the Crane farm being sold to the Miami Conservancy District in 1917. Notably, the Smith account appears to be silent on the dog being moved to the Crane farm prior to its placement near Evanston Road and the Dixie Highway.

1930 - 1951

Local historian Grace Kinney interviews E. L. Crane about the origins of the Tippecanoe Iron Dog.

Supporting Rationale - A December 8, 1976 Dayton Daily News article states that Kinney had been collecting Tippecanoe history for 46 years, suggesting she started in 1930. E. L. Crane died in 1951. Hence, the interview took place sometime during this period.

1947

Samuel Stuart Smith's report of Boy Crane and the Iron Dog is delivered to Grace Kinney.

Supporting Rationale - Smith's account provided to Grace Kinney is dated January 10, 1947.

1970/1973

Col. Ralph Pearson's articles are published.

Supporting Rationale - Pearson's articles are published in The Times Herald and the Piqua Daily Call, adding some details to the account gathered by Grace Kinney from E. L. Crane.

2020

The Iron Dog is donated to the Tippecanoe Historical Society.

Supporting Rationale - On September 5, 2020, Bob Bartley took possession of the Tippecanoe Iron Dog on behalf of the Tippecanoe Historical Society.