As of this writing, it is difficult to determine just how much of the Tippecanoe Iron Dog's story, as reported by Edward Lewis Crane (via Kinney and Pearson) and Samuel Stuart Smith, is true. What follows is a discussion of some of the most important aspects of those accounts, and how they have held up under scrutiny.

Why was the dog made? The only stated reason for why the dog was made by the Crane's was to mark the grave of Boy Crane. This was clearly noted in both the Crane and Smith account.

Who made the dog? All accounts have the dog being made by Van Eli Crane in the family foundry in Port Huron, Michigan. Overwhelming evidence presented on the Pedigree page shows that the dog was very likely one of many made in New York, possibly by Seelig, Fiske or Mott. Furthermore, no evidence has been found to support Samuel Stuart Smith's assertion that Crane was a sculptor.

William E. Clingan (1851-1933) seated on the Iron Dog, holding great-granddaughter Diana Dodds (1929-2020), ca. 1930. Photo courtesy of Mary Fair Renner, from Jeannie Davis' collection.

Who owned the dog? Apart from the two accounts, nothing has been found thus far to document that the Cranes ever owned the dog. The first instance where the dog's ownership can reasonably be assumed is when it was placed on the farm land owned by William E. Clingan, likely around 1918. Presumably, Clingan owned the dog if it was placed on land he owned.

Who were Boy Crane's parents? Van Eli Crane is clearly identified as Boy Crane's father in all accounts. No mention of the identity of the boy's mother is found anywhere. Given the timeframe reported and marriage records located, Callie Hubbard would have to be the boy's mother, assuming Boy Crane was born to Van Crane's wife. It should be noted that a phrase found in Van's father's will, concerning Van and his children - "the heirs of his body of legal marriage" - seems to infer that Van had children out of marriage. Also worthy of note are news reports late in Van's life stating that he'd been married two times, when in fact it was at least three times. Whether he misreported this to the newspapers or they simply made a mistake is unknown.

What is known of Boy Crane? Boy Crane, around whom this story centers, remains unknown. No record of his birth or death, apart from what is reported in the Crane and Smith accounts, has been found. This, after extensive research has been conducted and documented on The Cranes page.

Where is Boy Crane buried? Boy Crane is supposed to have been buried at Maple Hill Cemetery in Tippecanoe, but no grave has been found and no records exist of the boy's burial there, or anywhere else. This, despite a significant number of Crane burials at Maple Hill prior to, concurrent with, and after the time the boy is said to have lived. All accounts mention that the dog was placed in a conspicuous location, and the Crane plots are at one of the highest points in the cemetery, well within view of the railroad tracks.

Could Smith have seen Boy Crane and the dog as he reported? Smith writes:

Review of Crane and Smith landholdings in Tippecanoe City seems to indicate that the Cranes and Smiths lived near each other, and thus conceivably Smith could have been passing near the Crane house and seen the boy and dog as he reports. Of course, Tippecanoe City was not a large city, so being neighbors was not necessarily a precursor to Smith being familiar with the boy and dog. That being said, Smith's account leaves the impression that he had more than a passing familiarity with the boy, inferring that he likely lived nearby. The property that Smith identifies was purchased by Van's father in February, 1865, and presumably Van, wife Callie and their young son could have been living there during a time when Smith could have seen the boy. It should be noted that the 1870 United States Census seems to show Van and Callie, without children, living on Main Street near Van's parents, well away from the Broadway property.

The cover of an 1874 J. W. Fiske catalog. Perhaps it was this catalog, or a similar one, from which the Cranes ordered their "Iron Dog". This photograph is from the Alamy website.

Would the Cranes have owned the dog, even if it was never intended to be placed on a grave? According to Carol Grissom in her book, Zinc Sculpture in America: 1850 - 1950:

Hence, it would not be unreasonable to conclude that the wealthy Crane family might well have acquired the dog simply because like many wealthy Americans, they were buying sculptures for their homes. This does not preclude the dog having been on a Crane boy's grave at some point, or that it was even purchased expressly for that purpose.

Could the reported location of the boy's burial be incorrect? All accounts very specifically place Boy Crane's grave at Maple Hill Cemetery in Tippecanoe, where the dog could be seen by passersby on the nearby train tracks. As no grave has been found, and no records exist showing a Boy Crane being buried at Maple Hill, is it possible that the boy's grave, with the dog, was elsewhere? The Cranes may have had a family cemetery nearby to Maple Hill, that was visible from the railroad tracks. Is it possible the dog was actually there, instead of at nearby Maple Hill? The Cranes also owned significant amounts of land south of Maple Hill - could the dog have been placed there, and seen by train passengers?

Didn't the Iron Dog become famous while on Boy Crane's grave? All accounts state that the dog became famous, with Pearson and Kinney reporting that the Associated Press picked up the story about the dog on the boy's grave, with this eventually leading to the removal of it. Significantly, no trace has been found of such articles throughout the research which is presented here.

Is anything known of persons mentioned in the Smith account?

• Smith writes that "...This thing started as a joke by a joker traveling salesman from Tipp by name of Simon Lindsley...." United States Census records confirm a Simon Lindsley was a traveling salesman in 1880, with a residence in Tippecanoe City. In fact, Lindsley lived near the Cranes at one time in Tippecanoe City and his grave is immediately adjacent to the Crane plots at Maple Hill Cemetery.
  
  
• Smith states "...E O Thomas who was the 1st conductor of the old CH&D..." United States Census records show an Evan Owen Thomas as a railroad conductor living in Lima, Ohio in 1870 and Dayton, Ohio in 1880, both cities being on the B&O line that ran through Tippecanoe City.
  
  
• Smith writes that "...A. W. Miles was P.M [sic] this letter came to Tipp for me A.W.M. got my address from my mother & forwarded to me..." The 1880 United States Census confirms that A. W. Miles was postmaster in Tippecanoe City. Smith's mother appears to have died in 1910, meaning she was alive during the time when the Iron Dog was presumably generating letters that were being directed to Smith.
  
  
• Smith comments in his letter to Grace Kinney, concerning his remembrances of the iron dog events, that Mrs. Harry Ritter, Mrs. Kitty Hatshbarger, Miss Katy Born, Miss Anna McConnahey, and Mrs. Anna Wardel Eickhoff "...would probably remember parts of it...." It appears that all except Kitty Hatshbarger are buried in Maple Hill Cemetery and their lifespans are roughly concurrent with Samuel Stuart Smith's.
  
  
• Of himself, Smith states "...I was a telegraph operator on CH&D Ry about 70 years ago...." Smith's obituary from 1956 identifies him a railroad telegrapher for the CH&D.

Other points of interest:

Pearson writes "...Roy Macy, whose place of business, is across the street from the former home, of the man who bought the Tipp dog, when the farm was sold, added this story. (Next door to "Bill" Clingan's house was "Jim McClure's plumbing shop.)..." Census and burial records confirm that these men existed, and that in McClure's case, he was a plumber.

The house near the intersection of Evanston Road and the Dixie Highway, where the Iron Dog sat for more than a century. Power lines for the Dayton and Troy Electric Railway can be seen overhead. In this photo, thought to be ca. 1929, a red dot is just to the left of the dog's head. The house was owned by William Clingan at this time, although he did not live there. Photo courtesy of Mary Fair Renner, from Jeannie Davis' collection.

Pearson identifies the Crane farm as "Arcadia" in one of his articles and "Acacia Place" in the other. Contemporary documents located during research confirm the name "Acacia" was used for the Crane farm south of Tippecanoe City.

Pearson mentions a small dog in both of his articles. writing in one "...When we visited the gravesite, we found that whoever moved the dog, had a bit of sentiment...they replaced it with a small stone dog...." There is no small stone dog currently in the Crane lot area at Maple Hill, although it could have been removed in the roughly half-century since presumably Pearson visited the grave.

Pearson opines later in that same article that "...There is another story about the molding of hands for the statue of an angel, which stands on the grave of Jean F. (Mallery) Crane. The molding was done with a pair of French gloves, still in the shape of the lady's hands...." There is no statue of an angel on Jean Crane's grave in Port Huron, Michigan. As with the small dog that is reported to have been at Maple Hill, the angel could have been removed from Jean's grave in the intervening half-century. The large sculpture marking the Crane gravesites in Port Huron has been vandalized in the past.

The Pearson accounts note that the dog was removed by Clingan. In one "...when the 1,000 acre farm was sold to the Miami Conservancy, some items, including the dog, were sold. W. E. Clingan purchased the famous dog, and placed him in front of the house, at a place called Evanston, Ohio...." The sale of the farm at that time has been documented, although no record has been located confirming the dog's sale to Clingan.

The author has identified a number of areas for further study, in the search for more factual information about the Iron Dog, and his master, Boy Crane. They include, but are not limited to, the following:

The house and dog, ca. 2018. Photo is from the Trulia.com website.

• Locate relatives of Van Eli Crane, Callie Hubbard Smith, Simon Lindsly, Samuel Stuart Smith, E O Thomas, A. W. Miles, Mrs. Harry Ritter, Katy Born, Anna McConnaughey, Mrs. Anna Wardel Eickhoff, Jack Farr and others to determine if they can provide further information.
• Review Tippecanoe Historical Society records, to include Grace Kinney's documents.
• Review the Tippecanoe City Heralds from 1869 to 1920.
• Further investigate Crane land holdings in Tippecanoe City (in conjunction with census records) to better evaluate the veracity of Samuel Stuart Smith's claim of knowing the boy and seeing him ride the dog like a horse.
• Where was the Crane farm house located on their farm south of Tippecanoe City? Was it to the west of the B&O RR tracks and on high ground, so that it could have been seen by persons in passing trains? Could the dog have been placed near the house and later said to have been in Maple Hill Cemetery instead?
• Why were Van and Callie married so close to her eighteenth birthday, and only to then live with his parents? Was Callie verifiably of legal age when she and Van were married?
• Locate divorce records for Van Eli and Callie Crane. Understanding their reason for a divorce, which may have come about around the time of the death of Boy Crane, may be critical to this story.
• Learn why Callie Hubbard Smith's stone was labeled "Mother". Was this in reference to her time as Smith's wife, or earlier in her life, such as for Boy Crane? It is notable that both the 1900 and 1910 United States Census show Callie having no children, alive or dead.
• Was Callie Hubbard Smith's husband William H. closely related to Samuel Stuart Smith?
• What was the origin of Callie Hubbard Smith's birthdate on her Find A Grave page? Is there a death certificate on file in Clark County, Ohio (or other documentation elsewhere) that confirms that date?
• Locate her, or understand why Callie Hubbard cannot be located in the 1880 United States Census.
• Was Van Eli Crane married in 1874, as claimed in a contemporary short biography?
• Why was at least one Crane child living with the Hubbard family, as revealed in the 1860 United States Census?
• Investigate local Church of Christ records for details of birth, baptism, death and the like for Boy Crane.
• Is any information available about the Cambellite Church in West Charleston, as identified in an 1858 plat map of Miami County, Ohio? Did the Cranes attend services there? Could there be details about a Boy Crane in records for the church, if any survive?
• Is the unknown woman that purchased a lot in Lakeside Cemetery in Port Huron, Michigan, where Crane family members are buried, germane to this research?
• Review further the Crane land holdings in Port Huron, to better understand the possibly of the Cranes owning a foundry there.
• Are records for the "North E Church" in Port Huron, Michigan available and can they be reviewed for the period when Van and Callie may have been divorced?
• Investigate further the 1900 United States Census for the Cranes in Port Huron, that may indicate a yet unknown child in the family.
• Use Ground Penetrating Radar or other advanced tools to search for unknown graves at Maple Hill or at the location of the possible Crane family cemetery.
• Continue searching Newspapers.com for Iron Dog articles. Most importantly, those by the AP about the Tippecanoe Iron Dog.
• Contact families that have previously lived at the Clingan house to see if they have photos or other useful information.
• Contact local historians that might have more information.
• Is the claim that Van was only married twice in ca. 1905 newspaper articles systemic? Was he intentionally not being truthful at that time about his first marriage to Callie Hubbard? Does this signal deceptive behavior on Crane's part which might speak to the veracity of his claims of having a Boy Crane and/or that the dog was placed on or near the boy's grave?
• Seek out more information on zinc dog sculptures, as well as related documentation, such as Fiske and Mott catalogs, order books, and the like.

Given what research has revealed thus far, it is difficult to take the story of the Iron Dog at face value. For example, all accounts have Van Crane making the dog, yet that is almost certainly untrue. Both also report that the dog marked the grave of Van's boy at Maple Hill Cemetery. But no evidence has been located that the Van ever had a child at that time in his life, or that any such child was buried in Maple Hill. Additionally, the dog was purported to have become nationally famous, necessitating its removal from Maple Hill, yet no contemporary newspaper accounts about the famous dog have been located.

The Iron Dog, ca. 2018. Photo is from the Trulia.com website.

It seems more likely that the wealthy Crane family purchased the dog as art, to be placed somewhere on their extensive properties in the Tippecanoe City area, perhaps near the B&O railroad tracks that their land surrounded south of Tippecanoe City. Smith reported that passengers in passing trains seeing the dog and being told it was alive "...started as a joke by a joker traveling salesman from Tipp by name of Simon Lindsley...." Presumably Smith meant that the dog being alive was the joke.

But perhaps Lindsley was not only joking with passengers about the dog being alive, but to give the story more credence to his fellow passengers, Lindsley provided a good reason as to why a live dog would stand in one place so long. Maybe something compelling and somewhat believable about a loyal dog guarding his master's grave would tug at the passengers' emotional heartstrings.

If the dog had been placed on the Crane's Acacia Farm to the west of the nearby B&O tracks, this would comport with Smith's detailed description of how passengers moved from the east side of the cars to the west, so they could see the dog. Because Crane lands abutted Maple Hill to the south, perhaps it was easy for "joker Lindsley" to make passengers believe that the dog was on the south end of Maple Hill Cemetery, further adding credence to his story about the dog guarding a grave. And when the Crane farm lands were sold to the Miami Conservancy District in 1917, William Clingan purchased the dog and moved it to his newly acquired property near Evanston Road and the Dixie Highway.

The above is just one possible scenario, of course. And the mere fact that there is fertile ground here for scenarios to be created points to the need for more research to be done. Callie Hubbard Smith's gravestone is marked "Mother", yet no children have yet been identified as hers, and two US Census report that she never had children. Knowing why Van and Callie were divorced might provide extremely valuable context, although learning that detail at this late date seems a virtual impossibility. Samuel Stuart Smith's account of actually seeing a Crane boy with a dog is compelling, and includes significant details. One would hope that he didn't fabricate a story in such detail, just to deceive. In addition, in his letter to Grace Kinney he named several others that he thought could vouch for portions of his story, which seems unlikely if his story was totally fabricated.

Perhaps the greatest potential for significant revelations rests with the fact that a distant relative of Van Crane has been located. This relative reportedly has significant documentation from the Crane family, possibly dating to the time of Van Crane. If that information can be examined at some point, perhaps major revelations can be made.

For now, however, there is an "Iron Dog" whose early history is a bit of a mystery. Regardless of whether the dog guarded the grave of his boy master for many years or not, it is none-the-less is a significant part of Tippecanoe City history. The dog stood sentinel for more than a century near the intersection of Evanston Road and the Dixie Highway, seen by millions of people passing by. It is perhaps appropriate then that like the dog's history which may be a bit of a deception, the sculpture known far and wide as the Tippecanoe City "Iron Dog", is actually made of zinc.