John CROWE from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

I'm looking for info for John Thomas Crowe (1869 - 1936) from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He married Mary Evelyn Wood.

His son, J. Thomas Crowe (1902 - 1983) was born in Fond du Lac and married Wanda Walston.

The elder John Thomas died in Tulare County, CA in 1936, and I have confirmed birth and death years from the headstone.

Here's where I'm stuck...

I can't find any pre-1900 census info. Everything I've found on J. Thos's censuses shows his father was born in Wisconsin. The only info I can find pre-1900 on John Thomas is that he was born in Michigan to Bernard Crowe and Francis, but boarded in Fond du Lac at the age of 10. I am not sure if this is the same John Thomas I am looking for, as I'd always "known" he was originally from Wisconsin (not Michigan).

Does anyone have any pieces of the puzzle?