The Katrina Crittle Connection : Who is Odessa Crittle Cleveland? Part 2 of 3

This is a biography of Odessa written by herself on Xlibris.com : " I am a retired National Board Certified teacher(30 years with Los Angeles Unified School District) with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education and English and a Master Degree in Business Management and Education. I worked as a Mentor Teacher for the district for thirteen years, and I worked as a Consulting Teacher for the Peer Assistance and Review Program under the auspices of United Teachers of Los Angeles the last two years of my career. As a writer I have been published as a poet in several local and national magazines in the past, wrote objectives for various subject areas, wrote articles for school, the union and to the community paper. I have made several television and movie appearances."

I would like to say she really down plays her television and movie appearances. Odessa was in the original pilot show of the 1972 series of M.A.S.H. as Nurse Lieutenant Ginger Bayliss. Over the next 5 years she appears in 28 addition episodes of M.A.S.H. She also made single appearance in the following show: The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, Sanford and Son, Rich Man, Poor Man - Book II, The Greatest American Hero, Simon & Simon, and Trapper John, M.D. She also appeared in 1974 musical of Huckleberry Finn and a TV movie of Something for Joey and after 24 she just appeared in the 2010 movie Death and Cremation.

Hey Family!!! Did you know!!! Part 1

Did you know that in 1947 in Alexandria, LA there was a Crittle Beauty Salon located at 1619 9th St at the corner of Casson St. which is under the present day Pines Expressway Overpass. It was operated by Alma Wright Crittle the wife of Taylor Crittle. Taylor was the son of Edward Crittle Sr. and Eliza Rhodes line via Moses Crittle Sr.(Branch #1)

Update:Louisiana Crittle and Michigan Crittle Connection!!!

I have some good news as to a full Connection on Henry Crittle. He is the son of Moses Crittle and Rachel Brown (Branch #1). I found him list in his brother Charles Crittle 1954 obituary in The Times Picayune States Item that lived and died in New Orleans. I am still waiting to hear back from Cassandra Crittle.

The Katrina Crittle Connection : The Gris Gris of a Louisiana Crittle Part 1 of 3

I was doing searches on the internet for Louisiana Crittle -Josh (excluding hit for Josh Crittle. A professional Basketball from The Illinois Crittle Family) -Simon (excluding hit for Simon Crittle. An author of Mob Books.) -Adriana (excluding hit for Adriana Crittle. Our cousin that has a lot of hit from her college basketball playing). I got a hit on Google Book For a book name "Black Blues and Shiny Songs" a book of poems by Tommy Scott Young publish in 1977 by Red Clay Books. On page 7 of the book are these word for the book dedication:

"For my mother, Nancy Young
My Friend, Annie Close
And the gris gris of a Louisiana Crittle"

I was like while "Louisiana Crittle"!!! He has to be talking about one of our relatives. So I order a copy of the book. I look up "gris gris" I found out that is has to do with spells in Voodoo. Oh no that not good. But knowing our family history being from Central Louisiana, even though Voodoo was real big with slaves from New Orleans that was not the same from slaves from Central Louisiana. Gris gris is also use to describe women's attraction by men.

After getting my book in the mail I look up Tommy Young on the internet and found him on Facebook and sent him a friend request. After being approved as a friend I sent him a message asking him about the Louisiana Crittle and he told me that it was the last name of his ex girlfriend and her family was from Louisiana. I ask him what was her name and he told me that her name was Odessa Crittle Cleveland. He said that she was married at the time and famous and did not want to use her name. It was written as a secret code to her.


Odessa Crittle Cleveland is the aunt of our cousin Katina Crittle. She is the sister of Clarence Crittle Jr. and the daughter of Clarence Crittle Sr. This is the only multiple person Broken tree that we have in our family tree right now. I made contact with Clarence Crittle, Sr. but he was not willing to help us with any new information. I believe that Jacob Crittle Sr. may known how Clarence Crittle Sr. is related to us I am trying to make a real world connection with him or his son Jacob
Crittle Jr. In part 2 of the Katrina Crittle Connection:I will tell you who Odessa Crittle Cleveland is?

Louisiana Crittle and Michigan Crittle Connection!!!

I am working on a connection for the Louisiana Crittle and the Crittle in Detroit, Michigan. We had an ancestor name Henry Crittle born Aug 8 1896 in Cheneyville, Rapides, Louisiana according to his World War I Draft Card. We have no full connection on Henry Crittle except that he is from Cheneyville, LA. From The Catalogue of Leland University of New Orleans we know he attend Cheneyville Academy from 1901-1907. We also have his 1917 World War I Draft Card from Cheneyville, LA. an a 1930 Census Record from Detroit, Wayne, Michigan with a family of Berry's from Louisiana that list him as an uncle in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan. He live there from before the 1930 until his death in June 1977 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.

I contacted Cassandra Crittle from Detroit, Michigan on facebook and she told me that her grandfather name was Emanuel R. Crittle :
Name: Emanuel R. Crittle
Birth Date: 16 Feb 1933
Death Date: 18 Jun 1995
Gender: Male
Residence: Detroit, Wayne, Michigan
Place of Death: Detroit, Wayne, Michigan

She told me that she thinks that her grandfather father's name was Henry Crittle.

Emanuel Crittle is young enough to be Henry Crittle son.

Henry Crittle
Birth Date: 8 Aug 1888
Death Date: 6 Jun 1977
Gender: Male
Residence: Detroit, Wayne, Michigan
Place of Death: Detroit, Wayne, Michigan

Even through the years of birth on the World War I Draft Card and S.S.I. don't match the month and day match perfectly.

This is not all the Crittle from Michigan just one line most of them came from The Mississippi Crittle.

I will keep you posted and let you know the out come?

The Black Thunder Connection!!!

Today I happened to thumb through a book called Black Thunder by Arna Wendell Bontemps, who was born in Alexandria, Louisiana 1902. What grabbed me was the name of one of the characters. There's a slave named Criddle who takes part in a slave uprising. His killing of a white man ,and attempted murder of his daughter factor in the story. Criddle has to be taking out for raping the white man's daughter, because this is not what the slaves are about. I was wondering how the author came up with the name Criddle? Is there some truth to this fiction? Maybe the author had heard his parents use the names common in Rapides, Parish in dialogue around the house? He moved to Los Angeles, California when he was seven, but stories of home seem to follow us wherever we go.

Hm-mm...

Just a thought.

Just another thought Crittle could be his mother's maiden name?


Cecelia J. Cook
September 19th, 2009

Arna Wendell Bontemps (October 13, 1902 - June 4, 1973) was a well-known American poet and a noted member of the Harlem Renaissance. As the librarian at Fisk University, he established important collections of African-American literature and culture, establishing it as an important goal of scholarly study. Bontemps was born in the city of Alexandria, Louisiana to the son of Charlie Bontemps and Marie Pembrooke Bontemps. His birthplace at 1327 Third Street has been recently restored and converted for use as the Bontemps African American Museum. It is included on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Well I did some research and this is what I found. Black Thunder Gabriel's Revolt:
Virginia: 1800 is a fictional account of a real slave revolt that took place in Virginia. I look a the court record's and found that there were no Criddle's or Crittle's slaves or slaves owner involved in Gabriel Prosser's 1800 hundred revolt. Even though Virginia is the state that our family originated from and most African American Crittle & Criddle originate from Virginia as well I found no connection to this case.

Arna mother maiden name was Pembrooke. I went back two generation on Arna and found no connection to the Crittle's. But I found that Arna Maternal Grandmother move to California when he was young and grew up around Irving. The matriarch of the Crittle's side Isabella Washington second husband name was Frank Irving.

Just a thought.

Michael Criddle

Hayes Crittle?

The strangest thing happened about 8 years ago. A patient in the hospital where I work at had Crittle as a last name. I went in to talk to her, introduce myself and told her of my Crittle connection. She was amazed at me, my resemblance to some aunts, and my hands that she said were just like one of the aunt's hands. Well, she mentioned Hayes Crittle and his daughter Netherland. I called my father's sister later that day to tell her of the meeting with this person. I had Hayes Crittle all up in my notes at home!! She and I are related after all.

March 8, 2010
Cecelia J. Cook

Hayes Crittle is buried at Houston National Cemetery. He is a son of Madison Crittle via Moses Crittle via Oliver Crittle-Criddle. Madison Crittle and Edward Crittle were brothers. Hayes is the brother Annie "Toots" Crittle Dorsey, Cass Crittle, Floyd Crittle, Lorenza Crittle, Alice "Toots" Crittle, Seleania Crittle Johnson, Shepert Crittle, Daisy Crittle Brown, and Willie Crittle.



March 9, 2010
Michael R. Criddle