The Family Connection
How I Am Related
to Amos Jerome Snell
Learning that I am the great-great-great granddaughter of Amos Jerome Snell — a titan of the Gilded Age, a man woven into Chicago's early economic fabric — complicated everything I thought I understood about legacy.
His story is not simple. And neither is mine.
Relationship to Robin Dee Beckham — as confirmed on Ancestry.com
3rd great-grandfather
Chicago millionaire, real estate titan, toll road owner. Shot dead in his own mansion on February 8, 1888.
Daughter of Amos Jerome Snell
One of Chicago's "acknowledged beauties." Married Wiley Solon McCrea in 1884. Left a fortune of $500,000 by her father.
Son of Alice Snell-McCrea
Wealthy Idaho rancher. His death made headlines nationwide: "Wealthy Idaho Man Ends Life."
Son of Snell McCrea
Born in Saint Anthony, Fremont, Idaho. Operator of McCrea's Ranch in Island Park, Idaho.
Daughter of William "Gordon" McCrea
Born in Spokane, Washington. Married Reginald Beckham in Minneapolis on February 24, 1963.
Daughter of Tracee L. McCrea-Price
Born at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, Aurora, Colorado. Journalist, broadcaster, founder of Beckham Media.
Essay — By Robin Beckham
Understanding the Legacy
What does it mean to be descended from a man like Amos Jerome Snell — brilliant, controversial, powerful, and murdered? A Black woman's reckoning with a complicated inheritance.
His story is not simple. And neither is mine.
"I am not the heir to his millions, but I am the heir to his complexity."Read the Full Essay →
Robin's Journey
Born
January 18, 1964 — Aurora, Colorado
Parents
Reginald Beckham (Black) & Tracee McCrea (white) — eloped Feb 24, 1963
Education
BA Broadcast Journalism, Univ. of Washington; MA Public Affairs, Univ. of Illinois
Career
Director of Public Affairs, WPXI-TV (NBC), Pittsburgh — 11 years; U.S. Steel corporate PR
Founded
Beckham Media, 2009; PittsburghUrbanMedia.com
Discovery
DNA results + Ancestry.com confirmed direct descent from Amos Jerome Snell
How the Connection Was Confirmed
Through Ancestry.com, Robin linked her family tree to Amos Jerome Snell and confirmed the connection through DNA matches with his relatives.
The direct line runs: Amos Jerome Snell → Alice Snell-McCrea → Snell McCrea → William "Gordon" McCrea → Tracee L. McCrea-Price → Robin Dee Beckham.
Robin, the little cowgirl — long before she knew why.
Personal Essay — By Robin Beckham
My Journey
From an interracial family torn apart by prejudice, to a career in broadcast journalism, to the extraordinary discovery of a Gilded Age ancestor — this is the story of how Robin found where she came from.
"There I was, a little Black girl in urban Denver, galloping across imagined plains, unknowingly channeling the lives of my ancestors."Read the Full Story →
The Extended Family
2nd Great-Grandfather
Wiley Solon McCrea
Born April 12, 1858, in Morrison, Illinois. Son of Samuel Harkness McCrea and Coralin Isabel Johnson. Head of the commission house W.S. McCrea & Co. and "a member of all the fashionable clubs in Chicago." Later served as treasurer for the Standard Oil Company. Married Alice Snell in 1884; divorced in 1888 on grounds of severe physical abuse. Died 1927 in Chicago.
Great-Great-Grandmother
Algenia Sally Trude McCrea
Born 1890 in Bobcageon, Ontario, Canada. Daughter of Charles John Down Trude and Margery Trude. Married William Snell McCrea in June 1907. Longtime resident of Island Park, Idaho, and operator of McCrea's Ranch. Died September 19, 1985, at age 95.
3rd Great-Grandmother
Henrietta Snell
Born June 5, 1828, in Peru, Huron County, Ohio. Wife of Amos Jerome Snell. After Amos's murder, she offered $50,000 for the capture of his killer — a search that extended over five years. Died February 24, 1900, in Chicago, at age 71. Buried at Rosehill Cemetery.
3rd Great-Grandfather (McCrea line)
Samuel Harkness McCrea
Born August 16, 1826, in Goshen, New York. Member and president of the Chicago Board of Trade (1870). Founded S.H. McCrea & Co. Served on Chicago City Council and as County Treasurer. Married Coralin J. Johnson. Died March 12, 1891, in Chicago.
"With a journalist's instinct and a granddaughter's determination, I am stepping into this history not just to honor it, but to interrogate it, redefine it, and finally — fully — claim it."