J. R. Crowley, of El Dorado, is one of the large land owners of Butler county, and has been very successful in farming and stock raising. He was born in Barren county, Kentucky, in 1865, and is a son of S. R. and Mary (Burgess) Crowley, natives of Tennessee. They were the parents of ten children, nine of whom are living, as follows: W. B., Seneca, Mo.; J. R., the subject of this sketch; S. J., Wichita, Kans.; Mrs. Mary Elrod, El Dorado, Kans.; Dicie, unmarried, resides at Augusta, Kans.; I. M., Rock Creek township, Butler county; R. L. Burden, Cowley county, Kansas; W. S., Burden, Kans.; and Mrs. Ora Rhoades, Gordon, Kans.

J. R. Crowley received a good common school education in his native State, and at the age of sixteen years, left home and came to Kansas. He drove a wagon here for his board, coming with Taylor Haines, who settled on the Walnut river, three miles south of Augusta. After coming to Butler county, Mr. Crowley worked about a month on the railroad. He then entered the employ of J. W. Kibby, and worked for him eight years and three months, receiving for his services $15 per month at first, and later $20. He saved his money, and at the end of the above stated period, he entered into partnership with his former employer, and this arrangement continued for nine years. Mr. Crowley then engaged in farming and the cattle business on Hickory creek, Bloomington township. He was one of the extensive cattlemen of the county, and bought, fed, and sold cattle on a large scale. In 1913, he bought his present home in El Dorado, where he has since resided. He also owns a home in Augusta.

Mr. Crowley was married in 1895, to Miss Flora A. Tague, of Bloomington township. She is a daughter of M. M. and Mary (Whitham) Tague, natives of Indiana, who came to Butler county in 1881, and settled in Spring township, and they now live in Bloomington township. To Mr. and Mrs. Crowley have been born five children, as follows: Hazel Irene, a graduate of the El Dorado High School, class of 1916; Marietta, a member of the senior class, El Dorado High School; Flora Verna, student in the El Dorado High School; John R. and Frances Audine, students in the El Dorado graded schools. The Crowley family reside in El Dorado during the school years, and spend the summers on their ranch in Bloomington township.

Mr. Crowley is a member of the Masonic Lodge, of El Dorado, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America at Augusta, and the Anti Horse Thief Association, in Bloomington, and Mr. and Mrs. Crowley are members of the Order of the Eastern Star. The Crowley family is well known in Butler county, and Mr. Crowley is one of this county's substantial and prosperous citizens.

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