Robert Crawford was born on September 17, 1871 at Rochester, Minnesota.  In 1881 his family moved to Wahpeton, Dakota Territory and took out a homestead west of Wahpeton.  Mr. Crawford worked on the family farm and in 1894 rented his father's farm.  In early 1895, Mr. Crawford moved to Akron, Ohio and became employed in an electrical engineering factory as an apprentice.

The Crawford Papers consist of correspondence and several manuscripts.  The letters document the Crawford family in Minnesota and 42 letters dating from 1881 to 1894 cover the "Dakota Period."  The main part of the collection is a 734 page handwritten manuscript relating the life of Mr. Crawford and his parents in Minnesota and Dakota Territory.  A second manuscript is "The First Pioneer Years in Dacotah Territory, 1881-1882," that recounts pioneer experiences.
 

Frontier and Pioneer Life