Jill Vandenburg spoke to a tour group about her great-grandmother, Elizabeth Dove. Also portraying local historical figures were Kay Ashburn, Larry Head and Denis Turner.

When she found out she was dying she donated the land for the cemetery and current United Methodist Church to a committee. She also printed her own invitations to her funeral, and hired a quartet and wrote their set list for them. One song was, "Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still." Eliza was one of the first people buried in Crawford Cemetery.

Jill Vandenburg portrayed her great-grandmother, Elizabeth Dove. The Doves were original settlers in the Shenandoah Valley in the east. There were several divisions in the family-ideals over the Union, a misfortunate death caused by some moonshine and religion-forced Vandenburg's great-grandfather William to West Virginia. He later went to Crawford, Neb., and then came to Crawford, Colo. in 1897. William and Elizabeth settled on Grand View Mesa and were ranchers. They became an important part of the Crawford community, and, as the last living relative of the family in the area, Jill continues the trend.

Kay Ashburn spoke on her ancestors, the Fileners. Her great great-grandfather John Adam emigrated from Germany to Indiana in the 1830s. His son, Kay's great-grandfather, John Albert, was known for his hot temper. That infamous hot temper was the reason John Albert's family came to this area; after a particularly bad tornado, Kay says, he slapped his hat on the table and told his wife to pack up the kids and her stuff, they were moving immediately. They settled south of the Gould Reservoir.

Her grandmother, Daisy, died from pneumonia at age 35. Pregnant at the time, the twins she was carrying also died. She left behind Kay's grandpa Frank and 11 children. "I would have loved to have known her," Kay said.

When she was a little girl and didn't want to go to school, Kay remembers hearing the story of her father, one of the 11 Filener children, who, to get to school, had to climb over a rope ladder on the Smith Fork canyon wall.

Denis Turner spoke on Swan Linman, his grandfather. Swan, whose given name was Sven Swanson, and two brothers came to America from Sweden in 1886. Upon his arrival, Swan was told there were too many men named Sven in America already, and he had to change his name. He came up with Swan Linman. Immediately after changing his name, his first action in America was to buy a cherry pie and eat it, spitting the seeds onto the street, for which he got into trouble.

Swan and his brothers worked in the mines in and around Telluride for many years. One brother, Nils, returned to Sweden after seven years. His other brother, Olof, was killed in a snow slide.

Swan purchased a farm below Crawford in 1896, and married Sarah Dove. They farmed, raised livestock and were orchardists. Swan became injured in an elevator accident, where he lost an eye. Denis remembers his grandfather sometimes taking out his glass eye, polishing it, and then sticking it back in. Swan also sang in Swedish to his grandchildren.

Part of the original homestead is still in the family, and a relative of Denis' still lives there today. Larry and Ruth Head spoke on Ben and Sadie Head, Larry's great-grandparents. They ranched on Piburn Flats. Ben and his sons, Walter (Larry's father) and Harvey, were also outfitters. They raised cattle, but Ben believed that cattle were not for eating; he sold them instead. To feed his family, he poached deer and elk. He once fed a game warden poached deer, calling it beef the entire time.

Ben was known as the Smith Fork Bear Hunter. He once broke his leg at hunting camp, but refused to leave until the hunt was over. In 1957, Larry had the opportunity to take his great-grandfather on his last hunt.

The proceeds from this year's cemetery tour will benefit the historical society and the cemetery. The museum's winter hours are Saturdays from 1-4 p.m.

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