From "History of Wheeling City and Ohio County, West Virginia and 
Representative Citizens,"  by Hon. Gibson Lamb Cranmer, 1902. 
 
Typed by Carol Taylor Lanza. 
 
Pages 836 and 839 
 
JOHN CROCKARD.  One of the most competent authorities on shipping and 
general maritime concerns in West Virginia is John Crockard, of the 
firm of Crockard & Booth, general steamboat agents and wharfboat 
proprietors at Wheeling.  Of sturdy Scotch ancestry, Mr. Crockard was 
born in Edinburgh, Scotland, July 15, 1847, his parents, Hugh and Mary 
(Hunter) Crockard, being also natives of Scotland. 
    Hugh Crockard was a teamster by occupation, and upon coming to 
America in 1848 located in Wheeling.  This city continued to be his 
home until his death, January 20, 1895, at the age of eighty-four 
years.  He was a man of exceptionally upright character, and whether as 
regards his association with his family, the church, or the community, 
his was invariably recognized as a helpful and progressive influence. 
 He was far removed in his life and calculations, from any insincerity 
or unworthiness.  His wife, who still lives in Wheeling and has 
attained to four-score years, is the mother of eight children, five of 
whom are now living, namely:  Hugh Jr., who has been with the Riverside 
Nail Works for thirty-five years; John, of the firm of Crockard & 
Booth; William, who has been a trusted employee of the Riverside Nail 
Works for thirty years, and is now foreman of their furnace in 
Steubenville, Ohio; Rebecca, who is living with her mother; and Mary, 
who is the wife of George Bidgood, an employee of the Riverside Nail 
Works. 
     After his father's removal to Wheeling, Mr. Crockard attended the 
public schools, and his first effort at an independent livelihood was 
as an employee of Booth, Battelle & Company, in which capacity he 
scarcely foretold his present position as successor to that once 
commercially strong and prosperous firm.  While passing from the 
position of collector through the different stages of the wharf 
business, he witnessed the departure from their accustomed places of 
all the members of the firm, and in 1884, after the death of Capt. 
Charles H. Booth, he assumed control of the business in partnership 
with the son of the Captain.  The firm of Crockard & Booth have charge 
of all wharf undertakings, and of the landing of the 18 streamers that 
make trips to Wheeling during the season of navigation.  Nor are Mr. 
Crockard's activities confined to wharf interests, for he has availed 
himself of various opportunities for increasing his financial 
resources, being one of six who own and operate a mining mill at 
Joplin, Missouri.  Another responsibility results from his position as 
vice-president of the Digby Mill & Mining Company. 
      On September 23, 1881, Mr. Crockard was united in marriage with 
Mary Gardner, daughter of John Gardner and his wife, Elizabeth.  Mr. 
Gardner died in 1884; Mrs. Gardner at present resides in Wheeling. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Crockard have been born four children, viz: Estella M.; 
Bessie E.; Cecil H.; and William M.L.  The children are all at home. 
 Socially and commercially, Mr. Crockard is highly regarded in the city 
which has so materially profited by his admirable citizenship.  He is 
member and trustee of the United Presbyterian Church, and fraternally, 
is associated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Empire 
Knights of Relief.  Politically, he adheres to the principles of the 
Democratic Party.