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| Ichabod Bennett Crane |
According to Crane family legend, we are somehow related to the fictional character Ichabod Crane from Washington Irving's short story "The Headless Horsman".
But how can one be related to a fictional character?
According to Aunt Lorna Schneider Dimich in a letter to Donna Mundwiler Bradley:
I laughed when I read the part about Stephen Crane. You can tell Adam I have never heard of the association with Stephen Crane, but I DO KNOW FOR A FACT we are related to Ichabod Crane! Cousin Gail did the Crane family tree and discovered the author asked Ichabod Crane if he could use his name in his story of "The Headless Horseman".
Upon further investigation, I found the biography of one Ichabod Bennett Crane who was born in 1787 in Elizabeth, New Jersey:
United States Army Officer, Literary Figure. He was the namesake for
protagonist in author Washington Irving's legendary short story "The
Legend of Sleepy Hollow". He served 48 years as an officer in the United
States military, the first two in the United States Marine Corps, the
rest in the Army. He commanded troops and saw combat during the War of
1812, the 1832 Black Hawk War, and the Seminole Wars during the 1830s.
His last assignment was as post commander of Governor's Island, New York
City, New York. He had met Washington Irving during the War of 1812
when Irving, serving as an Aide-de-Camp to New York Governor Daniel D.
Tompkins, encountered him while on an inspection tour of Army
fortifications at Sackett's Harbor, New York. Later, when Irving needed a
name for country schoolteacher in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", he
remembered the soldier he had met and used his name.
Ichabod's second great grandfather, Stephen Crane.
According to Genealogy of the Crane Family p. 300, Stephen was an elder son of our Eighth Great Grandfather, Jasper Crane.
SO, Ichabod Bennett Crane is actually our cousin!
Another interesting find is that Stephen Crane is the fourth great grandfather of his namesake, the author of Red Badge of Courage.