Bawden4 on Family Tree Circles

The life work of Dr. Jennings Price Crawford was of signal service to his fellow men in the city in which he long made his home. Not only his professional skill and ability but his social characteristics and his genuine personal worth endeared him to all who knew him. He was kindly and sympathetic in nature and he wisely used the talents with which he was endowed for the benefit of those with whom he came in contact.

His history, therefore, cannot fail to prove of interest to many of our readers. He came of an old New England family, the ancestry being traced back to John CRAWFORD, who left his home in the Scottish highlands and settled in the new world during its early colonization. To the same family belonged Colonel William CRAWFORD, who figured in both the colonial and Revolutionary wars, his military service covering thirty years.

Dr. CRAWFORD was born near Marion, Iowa, August 27, 1855. He and his twin brother. Dr. A. J. CRAWFORD, now deceased, formerly a distinguished physician of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, were the sons of Jennings and Sarah (Price) CRAWFORD.

In his youthful days Dr. CRAWFORD mastered the branches of learning in the public schools of his native county, thus spending a portion of each year in study until he reached the age of seventeen, when he had opportunity to attend Western College at Western, Iowa, and in that institution completed his literary course.

His professional education was acquired in the medical department of the Iowa State University, from which he was graduated in 1883 on the completion of a four years' course with the valedictory honors of his class. During the two vacations he had acted as house physician at Mercy Hospital in Davenport and thus to his theoretical training added the broad and invaluable experience of hospital practice. The late Dr. W. F. Peck was his preceptor and professor in surgery and, no doubt, he inspired Dr. CRAWFORD with his preference for surgical work as the latter always had the greatest admiration for his teacher, who was a noted surgeon. He took a postgraduate course at Bellevue Hospital College, New York City.

Opening an office in Davenport in 1883, Dr. CRAWFORD steadily advanced in his chosen field, winning high professional honors that made him regarded as one of the eminent physicians and surgeons of Davenport up to the time of his death. He never ceased to be a student of his profession but throughout his life read broadly and with thoughtful consideration carried his researches into the realms of scientific knowledge, doing everything in his power to promote his own efficiency and add to that general knowledge of medicine and surgery which constitutes a source of public health.

He stood high in the ranks of his profession, not only in this city but in the state, and was not unknown beyond the borders of Iowa. He held membership in the American Medical Association and frequently attended its meetings. He was also seen in the meetings of the Iowa State Medical Society, the Iowa and Illinois District Medical Association and the Scott County Medical Society. He was a frequent contributor to medical literature and one of his last public appearances was for the presentation of a paper which he had prepared on surgery before the Iowa State Medical Society, at Des Moines. The addresses which he delivered in such meetings were frequently published in the leading medical journals, for they were carefully prepared and presented not only the results of his own experience but also of his wide research.

He served as a member of the staff of both Mercy and St. Luke's Hospitals [now Genesis West and East] and was one of the most active promoters of the interest of those two institutions. His large surgical practice took him to the hospitals almost daily and his skill and ability were of such high order that his death came as a distinct loss to both. He acted as district surgeon for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad and took a prominent part in arranging for the meeting of the Iowa State Medical Society, which was held in Davenport about two years before his death ? an important meeting still pleasantly remembered by the physicians of this vicinity who shared with him in the honors and responsibilities of being the entertainers on that occasion. The Illinois Society met in Rock Island at the same time and joint gatherings were features of their meetings.

As his health began to fail Dr. CRAWFORD gradually withdrew from his professional service, for he realized the advance that was being made by the disease which eventually terminated his life.

In no other environment did Dr. CRAWFORD find the happiness and contentment which came to him in his own home, for he was a man of domestic tastes and his greatest joy was in the companionship of his wife and children. On the 14th of October, 1885, he married Miss Anna Williams, a daughter of A. F. Williams, who at one time was a member of the Seig Iron Company and prominent in the business circles of Davenport.

He died many years ago but is still survived by his widow, who spends the summer seasons in Davenport and the winter months in California, where she has a daughter living. Unto Dr. and Mrs. CRAWFORD were born five children, Frances Louise, Genevieve, Helen, twins Dorothy and Margaret b 1 Sep 1897 (Marg d 21 May 1915).

Dr. CRAWFORD held membership in the Calvary Baptist church, in which he was an active and loyal worker, being a trustee of the church and superintendent of the Sunday school for many years. He was also one of the charter members of the San Grail Club and belonged to the Masonic fraternity. He was interested in all those movements which had for their object the betterment of mankind and he was also a stalwart champion of projects for the public good, rejoicing in the growth, advancement and welfare of his city. He was so widely known and such was the hold which he had upon the affection of his fellow townsmen that his death, which occurred 24 March 1907, brought a sense of personal bereavement to the large majority of Davenport's citizens. On the Sunday following his demise, in place of the regular lesson in the Sunday school of the Calvary Baptist church, there was held a memorial service in his honor, in which many who had known him long and well testified to his goodness of heart and the honor of his life, which in all of its phases was of such high character as to constitute an example that is well worthy of emulation.