Alvin Demosthenes Crislip
1847 – 1872
Alvin Demosthenes Crislip (Friedrich Carl Christlieb1, Jacob Christlieb2, William Chrislip3, Peregrine Chrislip4) [568], born 7 November 1847, in Barbour County, Virginia; died 30 November 1872, Lewis County, West Virginia; married, 11 November 1868, Walkersville, Lewis County, West Virginia, Mary Victoria Anderson. The daughter of James and Sarah Anderson, Mary Victoria was born 27 May 1847. Lewis County Marriages, p. 75. James Anderson, father of Mary Victoria, was born 14 January 1800. Mary Victoria’s mother, Sarah, was born 23 August 1805. Anderson Family Bible Records
Alvin's Civil War Service
“At age 16, on 5 August 1863, Alvin D. Crislip enlisted in the Union Army and served three years in Company H, 10th West Virginia Infantry, Barbour County, West Virginia. He was on active duty during the battle of Droop Mountain, West Virginia, November 6, 1863. He caught the measles while marching with a fever in the rain. He spent some time in the hospital at Grafton, West Virginia, and was at the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. He was discharged two years later on 9 August 1865. At age 25, Alvin D. Crislip died from tuberculosis on 24 February 1872, and was buried in the Anderson family cemetery on Leatherbark Run Road, near Walkersville, West Virginia.” Linda Brake Myers, Byron, Illinois.
The first document presented below details the members of the unit Alvin served in, Company H, 10th Regiment, West Virginia Volunteers. Upon close examination, this Company H, is more or less a Christlieb-Chrislip-Crislip family reunion. Here are some of the extended family members:
1st Sergeant - Minter F. Marple
Corporal - George W. Crouse
Musician - Amos F. Marple
Private - Johnson W. Crislip
Private - Alvin D. Crislip
Private - George Crouse
Private - Anthony Crouse
Private - Squire Crouse
Private - Anthony H. Nutter
Private - John M. Ours
Image courtesy of Tom Gildersleeve.
Alvin D. Crislip Soldier's Memorial
Image courtesy of Stephen R. Crislip.
Alvin Crislip Civil War Record
Alvin D. Crislip Discharge Paper
Image courtesy of William E. Crislip.
Alvin D. Crislip Certificate of Union Service
Alvin D. and Mary Victoria Crislip Marriage Documents
We have three documents relating to Alvin's marriage to Mary Victoria Anderson. First, is a framed marriage certificate now owned by Tom Gildersleeve, who shared this and other memorabilia with the Family Association at the Eighteenth Biennial Reunion in 2017. Second is a copy of a page of the Crislip-McClain Family Bible, which details the marriage of Alvin Crislip and Mary Victoria Anderson, as well as Mary Victoria's second marriage to Hazel R. McClain, seven years after the death of Alvin Crislip. And, third, is a copy of Alvin's and Mary Victoria's Marriage License, issued by Lewis County, West Virginia. Alvin and Mary Victoria’s marriage was solemnized by The Rev. Gilbert Rogers.
Charcoal Drawing image courtesy of Tom Gildersleeve.
Alvin Demosthenes Crislip
Charcoal Drawing image courtesy of Tom Gildersleeve.
Mary Victoria (Anderson) Crislip
Image courtesy of Tom Gildersleeve.
Alvin D. & Mary Victoria (Anderson)
Crislip Marriage Certificate
Crislip-McClain Family Bible Marriages
Alvin D. & Mary Victoria (Anderson)
Crislip Marriage License
Alvin and Mary Victoria's marriage was to be a short-lived marriage. They had two daughters, Sarah Eliza and Alice Elizabeth, soon after their marriage. But Alvin contracted tuberculosis after his service in the Civil War and died at age 25, in 1872. He left Mary Victoria with a three-year-old and a one-year-old to care for. Alvin was buried on what probably was Mary Victoria's parents farm in a small cemetery at the top of a hill in a wooded area, near Walkersville in Lewis County, West Virginia.
Seven years after Alvin's death, Mary Victoria married Hazel R. McClain. Together, they had five children. This was also a relatively short marriage, as Hazel McClain died in 1895, at the age of 35. He, too, was buried in the same Anderson cemetery near Alvin Crislip.
Mary Victoria died in Ashtabula, Ohio, while visiting family. She died in 1919, at the age of 72, and was taken back to West Virginia where she was buried next to Alvin and Hazel in the Anderson cemetery.
Anderson Cemetery, Walkersville, West Virginia
It is not known when the last burial ocurred in the Anderson cemetery near Walkersville. It is possible that the cemetery went without care for as long as 70 years. It was in 1989 that Linda (Brake) Myers decided to try to find where her great grandmother, "Grandma Vic" as she was called, was buried. Linda's story of how she found the Anderson cemetery can be found in Jacob's Ladder, Vol. VII, No. 2, pp 6,8.
About 15 years after Linda Brake Myers' visit to the Anderson cemetery, Barbara and Bill Hamilton made another attempt at finding the gravesite of Alvin, who is Bill's great great grandfather. The story of Barbara and Bill's trip to the Anderson cemetery can be found in Jacob's Ladder, Vol. XXXI, Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4. Below are photos of the headstones of Alvin and Mary Victoria, as well as Hazel McClain.
Image courtesy of Barbara Hamilton.
Alvin D. Crislip Headstone -
Anderson Cemetery
Image courtesy of Barbara Hamilton.
Mary Victoria (Anderson) McClain
Headstone - Anderson Cemetery
Image courtesy of Barbara Hamilton.
Hazel R. McClain Headstone -
Anderson Cemetery
Children of Alvin Demosthenes Crislip and Mary Victoria Anderson
Sarah Eliza Crislip (Friedrich Carl Christlieb1, Jacob Christlieb2, William Chrislip3, Peregrine Chrislip4, Alvin Demosthenes Crislip5) [570], born 15 July 1869, Lewis County, West Virginia; died 8 October 1939, Dorset, Ohio; married Joseph S. Heaton, born 16 May 1869, Harrison County, West Virginia; died, 8 March 1949, Dorset, Ohio. Sarah and Joseph are both buried in Oakdale Cemetery, Jefferson, Ohio.
Alice Elizabeth Crislip (Friedrich Carl Christlieb1, Jacob Christlieb2, William Chrislip3, Peregrine Chrislip4, Alvin Demosthenes Crislip5) [574], born 23 July 1871, Lewis County, West Virginia; died 14 January 1931, buried Gageville, Ashtabula, Ohio; married, 7 October 1896, Walkersville, Lewis County, West Virginia, Hamilton Jackson Brake, son of Jacob Lorenzo Dow Brake and Asenath Romine, born 23 April 1864, Upshur County, West Virginia; died 30 December 1916, Sheffield, Ashtabula County, Ohio.
It is a little unusual to follow the life of a spouse of a "cousin" in this manner, but Alvin D. and Mary Victoria Anderson Crislip are well known enough that they warrant this extra coverage in the C-C-C Website. Therefore, since Mary Victoria re-married seven years after Alvin's death, Mary and Hazel's children are presented here:
Children of Mary Victoria Anderson and Hazel R. McClain
Leslie Wade McClain, born Apr 1880, West Virginia.
Mary V. McClain, born Apr 1882, West Virginia, twin of Martha V. McClain.
Martha V. McClain, born Apr 1882, West Virginia, twin of Mary V. McClain.
Ira A.R. McClain, born Feb 1887, West Virginia.
Artha McClain, born Apr 1889, West Virginia.