Family Background & Connection to Amos Jerome Snell

William "Gordon" McCrea, born in Saint Anthony, Fremont, Idaho in 1909, he died in 1990. Gordon's mom, was Algenia Trude McCrea and his dad, was William "Snell" McCrea. The shocking headlines nationwide about my great grandfather read, “Wealthy Idaho Man Ends Life.” “Snell McCrea, 35, wealthy rancher of Rea, Idaho, shot and killed himself here today following a quarrel with his father, W. S. McCrea, retired millionaire. McCrea fired three shots at his father and then turned the gun on himself. None of the shots struck the elder McCrea.” 

Willie was born 12 Apr 1858, in Morrison, Illinois. He was the son of Samuel Harkness McCrea and his wife, Coralin Isabel Johnson.

He was the head of the commission house of W.S. McCrea & Co. and "was a member of all the fashionable clubs in Chicago" He later served as treasurer for the Standard Oil Company.

Alice married Willey G. McCrea at Chicago, Illinois, 8 Oct 1884. They had two children:

• William Snell "Billy" McCrea, born 13 August 1885[4]
• Henriette A. McCrea, born 4 January 1888.

Willey and Alice were divorced in October 1888 on the grounds of severe physical abuse on the part of Willie McCrea. Alice's father, who was then one of the richest men in Chicago, had been murdered earlier that year and had left her a fortune of $500,000. This may have been part of what gave her the sense of security she needed to leave her husband.

Willey married second Mrs. Reinette (Thomas) Lester, 26 Nov 1891, in Chicago. She died in 1916.

Willey married third, Vera Danford, 31 Dec 1921, in Chicago. He was 63; she was 24.

He passed away in 1927, at age 69, in Chciago. His widow survived him by 64 years.

Alice Eva was born 3 Jun 1867 in Chicago, Illinois, to Amos and Henrietta Snell, she died November 7, 1898.

As a young woman, she was one of Chicago's "acknowledged beauties, and was considered by many in New York to have been "the most beautiful woman ever sent from the west to the east." Artists raved about her beauty and clamored for the privilege to paint her. She was also a woman of talent, one obituary noting that "her sketches with brush and pen were greatly admired and her voice, an exceptional soprano, had been carefully trained in Europe. At some point in her life she wrote a song called Autone (Springtime) as well as a book entitled From London to Paris in a Two-Wheeler.

At age 17, Alice married Willey G. McCrea at Chicago, Illinois, in 1884. They had two children:

1. William Snell "Billy" McCrea, born 13 August 1885[5]
2. Henriette A. McCrea, born 4 January 1888.[6]

Mrs. Henrietta Snell, widow of the Chicago millionaire, who was shot down and killed in his home 11 years ago, died in Chicago recently, at the age of about 70 years. Her death recalls the unsuccessful efforts of the detectives to locate Tascott, the supposed murderer. Mrs. Snell offered $50,000 for his capture and fruitless search extended over five years. 

Born, 5 Jun 1828in

Peru, Huron County, Ohio, USA

she died 24 Feb 1900 (aged 71)

Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA

BURIAL

Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum

Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA

A Chicago Millionaire Shot Dead in His Own House by Burglars

He is Awakened by the Noise Made by Forcing a Door and Confronts the Intruders

The Latter Fire Two Bullets Into His Body, Either One of Which Would Have Proved Fatal

Amos J. Snell, the millionaire real estate owner and acknowledged wealthiest land proprietor on the West Side, was shot dead in the hallway of his brown-stone residence at the corner of Ada street and Washington boulevard, Wednesday morning at about 2 o'clock. Two bullets entered his body, one in the brain and the other in the heart. Either wound would have produced instant death. He was found where he fell, five hours later, at the head of the front hall stairway, stretched at full length near the top step, lying in a pool of blood. His pistol, within a few feet of his head, showed that one shot had been recently fired. The wounds in the head and heart were produced with a a 38-caliber revolver, and the shots were evidently fired at short range and while the dead man was facing south, thus exposing the left side to the murderer of murderers who were ransacking his parlors.

The Murdered Man
Amos J. Snell was a native of Little Falls, NY and was 65 years old. He had lived in Chicago and vicinity since 1844, and had accumulated a fortune of at least $3,000,000. he was the owner of not less than 400 substantial residences and business houses on the West Side, many of them handsome design and exceptionally expensive. As the city grew he improved his property, and now it is asserted that almost every foot of it is improved and bringing in handsome revenues.

Nearly all of his property consists of marble stone fronts, of which he is thought to have owned at least 350. Many of them are located on Ada, Randolph, Elizabeth, Sheldon, Fulton and Madison streets, Washington boulevard, Milwaukee avenue, and Ogden avenue. His own residence, corner of Washington boulevard and Ada street where he was murdered, is one of the handsomest on the drive. He has been known to say that he did not know how much he was worth, but supposed that it was more than $3,000,000.

He was a close business man and, although in his later years he became worth millions, he looked after his cents as carefully as when he was worth but a few hundreds. It mattered not how small the debt one owed to him, if only $1, he made it a practice to collect it when due, and demand it emphatically if it were not promptly forthcoming.

Besides the real estate he owned in the city, he possessed large tracts in Jefferson, Park Ridge, Schaumburg and in the State of Iowa.
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He is also the owner of the toll road that ran through Jefferson, Illinois, according to a Bloomington, IL newspaper.
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Over 2,000 people attended the funeral of Amos Snell.
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William B. Tascott claims to be the murderer of Amos Snell, but he was never caught. The unsolved case was revived in 1944 but not solved.
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The murder of Amos Snell appeared in many newspapers including the Chicago Daily Tribune.

28 Dec 1823

Little Falls, Herkimer County, New York, USA

DEATH8 Feb 1888 (aged 64)

Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA

BURIAL

Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum

Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA

When Coralin Isabel Johnson was born in 1840, in Seneca, New York, United States, her father, Daniel H. Johnson, was 41 and her mother, Rachel B. Willey, was 35. She married Samuel Harkness McCrea on 28 June 1856, in Morrison, Whiteside, Illinois, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons. She lived in Mount Pleasant Township, Whiteside, Illinois, United States in 1860 and Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States in 1880. She died in 1894, at the age of 54, and was buried in Palatine, Cook, Illinois, United States.

Samuel Harkness McCrea (1826–1899) was an American businessman and politician known for his contributions to the development of Chicago and the surrounding region. 

McCrea was a member of the Chicago Board of Trade and served as its president in 1870.

McCrea was born on August 16, 1826 in Goshen, New York. He died at the age of 64 in Chicago on March 12, 1891.

McCrea was born on August 16, 1826 in Goshen, New York and moved as boy to Rochester, New York. He spent part of his childhood in Canada before relocating to California in 1849. Initially involved in the lumber-carrying trade in San Francisco, he later transitioned to mining. While moderately successful as a gold-hunter, he eventually moved to New Orleans, where he was offered the position of Chief of Construction for a railroad project through the swamps of Louisiana. After completing his work there, McCrea ventured to Rockford, Illinois, and then to Morrison, where he established himself in the grain and lumber business, enjoying success for seven years.

In 1862, McCrea settled in Chicago and founded the firm S.H. McCrea & Co., becoming a member of the Chicago Board of Trade. Initially focusing on the lumber trade, where he owned seven lumber yards, he eventually shifted his attention to the wheat trade. Although he later withdrew from the lumber business, his firm continued operations under the name W.S. McCrea & Co., with Samuel McCrea remaining a silent partner until his passing in 1899.

McCrea was actively involved in Chicago politics and civic affairs. In 1876, during Monroe Heath's mayoralty, he served as a member of the City Council and head of the Finance Committee. Subsequently, he was elected County Treasurer, holding the office for one term before declining renomination. Additionally, McCrea served as a West Park Commissioner for many years.

In 1866, McCrea represented the Chicago Board of Trade as a delegate at a convention in Boston aimed at organizing the National Board of Trade. He was known for his staunch Republican affiliation and his commitment to advancing the party's interests. McCrea married Coralin J. Johnson, the daughter of D.H. Johnson, and together they had three sons.