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| Birth Date: 1898 | Birth Date: Nov. 6, 1899 | |
| Death Date: 1981 | Death Date: May 28, 1997 |
Dewey and his parents moved to Knox Co. in 1900 where Esther, the 15th child of the family, was born and where Mr. Criswell died in 1908. They had left three little graves in Parker and Callahan counties.In 1914 Mrs. Criswell and seven unmarried sons and daughters, ages 13 to 29, arrived in Crosby Co. by covered wagon, settling on rented land mid-way between Ralls and Crosbyton. Ed and Fred (twins) and Dewey and Polly (also twins) and Esther enrolled in Ralls schools where the twins became two-thirds of Ralls High School´s first graduating class in 1915.
Mrs. Criswell, a loyal Methodist, was happy to bring her entire family as charter members of Ralls Methodist Church.
In January 1916, the elder son, Willie married Mary Caldwell of Stonewall Co., to which they moved in 1917. Leah was married to Herbert Schoolcraft in Dec. 1916. Both of them and an infant daughter are deceased. Another daughter Gertrude Irish, lives in Lubbock.
In 1917 Polly wed Deward Schoolcraft, a cousin of Herbert. They moved to KS in 1920. They became missionaries in Jamaica and then in Haiti where he is buried on the mission grounds.
Dewey and Ethel Schoolcraft were married in 1918. He farmed, threshed, combined, and bought grain. When neuritis called a halt to farming, he turned to cotton buying and served for a time as Justice of Peace for Precinct 1 in 1966 a severe heart attack required complete retirement, but life on the farm continued until 1977 when they decided to spend the sunset years in Ralls. Their two children live in Lubbock.
Mrs. Criswell, Ed, Fred, and Esther moved to Dawson Co. in 1917. Two years later Esther married Lee Williams. Since 1929 Melrose, NM has been home to the family.
In 1921 Ed married Ara Miller, they reside in Arlington. Fred returned to Crosby Co. to wed Clara Kiker of Wake community. They returned to Dawson Co. later moving to National City, CA.
Criswell died at 2:30 p.m. Friday in Crosbyton Hospital following a lengthy illness.He was born in Callahan County and married Ethel Schoolcraft in 1918 in Ralls. He moved to Ralls in 1914. He was a retired farmer and cotton buyer. He was a charter member of both the First United Methodist Church in Ralls and the Ralls Lion´s Club. He was a former justice of the peace.
Survivors include his wife; a son, John J. Criswell of Lubbock; a daughter, Mrs. Arnold (Sarah) Mincey of Lubbock; a brother, G. Ed Criswell of Arlington; three sisters, Meta Sparkman of LaMesa, Calif., Esther Williams of Melrose, N.M., and Polly Schoolcraft of Sanford, Fla.; four grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandchild.
Lubbock Avalanche Journal, August 23, 1981
Record provided by Crosby County Pioneer Memorial Museum
Services for Criswell, 97, of Ralls were held at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 1, 1997, at the Ralls First United Methodist Church with the pastor, Rev. Ron Colwell, and Rev. Jim Morrow, pastor of the Ralls First Baptist Church, officiating.Burial followed in Ralls Cemetery under the direction of Adams Funeral Home of Ralls.
Mrs. Criswell died at 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 28, 1997, in Crosbyton Hospital after a lengthy illness. She was born on November 6, 1899, in Toledo, IA, and married Dewey Helms Criswell on March 17, 1918, in Ralls, He preceded her in death on August 21, 1981. She moved to Ralls from Iowa in March of 1915 and was a homemaker. She was a charter member of the Ralls First United Methodist Church and was a member of the Friendship Sunday School Class. She was named Woman of the Year of the Joy Club in 1977. She assisted her husband in the Criswell Cotton Office and served as secretary of the Ralls Cemetery Board. Through the years, she had been involved in many activities in the Ralls Community.
A son, John J. Criswell, and two brothers, Herbert Schoolcraft and Leonard Schoolcraft, preceded her in death.
Survivors include a daughter, Sarah Mincey of Ralls; four grandchildren, Donna Ledbetter, Sandra Wossum, Jim Mincey, and Arnold Mincey, Jr.; 19 great-grandchildren; and 21 great-great-grandchildren.
Crosby County News & Chronicle, June 6, 1997
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