Album: William Cruse

Keweenaw National Historical Park

Legend has it that the Devil himself would hesitate to cross the River Tamar into Cornwall, for fear of being baked into a pasty. Even so, we begin #AnImmigrantStory alongside the river and the village of Stoke Climsland. William Merston Cruse was born in this picturesque village on May 8, 1838. By 1861 he'd married fellow villager Agnes Tree. Two children and about seven years later, William left Cornwall to find work in Michigan's Copper Country. When he found employment, Agnes rejoined him with son William John and daughter Mary Jane. Other family members came along and in 1880, we find William's father living with the family in the Village of Hancock. By 1887, daughter Mary Jane had married John Kneebone. The couple lived in Calumet where their first child, Ruth, was born and died. There, they also welcomed daughter Bertha. Sons William and Irvin were born while the family was living in Allouez. John Kneebone's career with various mining companies can be traced through his children's births at different locations, ending with son Matthew in Hancock (1899-1900), who was buried at the Old Protestant Cemetery. Today, that cemetery lies beneath the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Hancock.