Cordelia Adams Crawford
American pioneer and healer (1865-1943)
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Cordelia Adams Crawford (1865–1943) was a pioneer and healer in Arizona. She was known for her generosity to multiple, often conflicting, factions.
February 27, 1865
Cordelia Adams Crawford | |
|---|---|
 Cordelia Adams Crawford, c. 1897 | |
| Born | Cordelia Adams February 27, 1865 Willow Creek, Texas |
| Died | February 2, 1943 (aged 77) |
Biography
Cordelia Adams was born on February 27, 1865, to Emily and John Adams in Willow Creek, a town near Lampasas, Texas.[1] She was the youngest of five children, a sister named Saphrona, and brothers James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, and Jefferson Davis.[1] John Quincy Adams had been a Confederate soldier and lost his land in Texas due to the war. In 1867, the Adams family joined a wagon train going to California, and peeled off to investigate the new Phoenix settlement. Shortly after arriving in Phoenix, another Crawford child was born.[1]
In 1869, the Adams family continued to California, where they stayed until 1877. John established a cattle ranch. Cordelia went on to marry her father's assistant, Bushrod Foley Crawford on August 8, 1880. Al Sieber served as a witness to their wedding and remained a family friend.[2]
The Crawfords lived at a small ranch. Bush sold cattle in San Diego, so Cordelia regularly managed the ranch. Due to the rural setting, Cordelia delivered her own children[1] Cordelia was skilled in healing, and served her community. She was friendly with the Apache women who would pass through the community, and treat them and their children.[3] This friendship may have saved her ranch during the Battle of Cibecue Creek.[2]
The Crawfords had three children, Nona (August 4, 1881), Oran Sieber (March 14, 1884), and Emily (November 14, 1886).[2]
The Crawfords remained neutral in the Pleasant Valley War.[2] They moved to Tonto Creek.[2] Cordelia managed the Tonto stage stop, where partisans from both sides stopped for food and lodging. Cordelia developed a way to serve the partisans without seeing them, speaking to them through a door. This strategy allowed her to say she had not seen the men in the party. The Crawfords returned to their ranch following the war.[2]
In 1893, the Crawfords moved to Globe, Arizona. There, Bush Crawford killed a saloonkeeper with whom he had a dispute. He was sent to prison for two years, but was pardoned by Oakes Murphy after a year.[2]
Bush died in 1935. Cordelia lived another seven years, dying on February 2, 1943.[2]
Legacy
Crawford was among the first women inducted into the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame in 1981.[1]
