William Crispin III (abt. 1627 - 1681)

Born about 3 Oct 1627 in Hull, Yorkshire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Jane (Chudleigh) Crispin — married [date unknown] (to 8 Apr 1645) in Diocese of Cork and Ross, Ireland

Husband of Rebecca Penn (Bradshaw) Crispin — married 28 Sep 1652 (to about 1660) in St Dunstan, Stepney, Middlesex, England

Descendants

Died 1681 at about age 53 in Barbados

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Biography

Caution It appears that his first wife was Rachel Bradshaw, rather than Ann Jasper. See discussion on Wives of Captain Crisipin Powell-5629 15:09, 15 August 2015 (EDT) https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/908692/who-was-the-first-wife-of-captain-william-crispin-iii

William Crispin^[1]

William's baptism was October 3 , 1627, Kingston on Hull, County York, England. Very likely at his mother Rebecca's family home. The author guesses Rebecca went there to deliver the baby because William was at sea. ^[2]

Captain William Crispin was a Yorkshireman born around 1627 who joined the British Navy when he was only 15 years old. He served under Admiral William Penn, the father of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania. William's first wife was Anne Jasper, sister of Margaret Jasper who was the wife of Admiral Penn - making him a maternal uncle of William Penn.

Caution. See above. Capt. William Crispin married first, 1650, Annie Jasper, daughter of John Jasper, a merchant of Rotterdam, Holland, and a sister of Margaret Jasper, the wife of Admiral Penn, and mother of William Penn. Some authorities state that John Jasper was a native of Rotterdam, and others that he was an Englishman by birth.

Had Captain Crispin lived, Penn intended appointing him Chief Justice.^[3]

William was called ". . . trusty and well beloved Friend" [capitalized] by William Penn. So probably Quaker.

Naval Career

The first mention of Captain William Crispin's name in public documents was in the Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series (March 3, 1634/5), where he is spoken of as Master of the Adventure.^[1] Captain Crispin followed the seas for many years before becoming an officer in the Commonwealth's navy. He was a successful master of his own ships [probably a merchant] and commander in many navel engagements.

Commissioner William Crispin

Soon after William Penn received his patent from King Charles II for his tract of land in America, he appointed a Commission to come to America, establish a colony, and carry out Penn's "plans and specifications," including the founding of the city which was to be named Philadelphia. Writing to his deputy Governor, William Markham, William Penn spoke of Captain Crispin:

My sincere love salutes thee wishing they prosperity every way. With this comes instructions and concessions and some company. I hope thou hast made convenient provisions for them. I have sent my Cozen William Crispin to be thy assistant, as by my commission will appear; his skill, experience, industry and integrity are well known to me, and particularly in court-keeping, etc., so it is my will and pleasure that he be as Chief Justice to keep Ye seal Ye courts and sessions and shall be accountable to me for it. The profits redounding to his proper behoof. He will show thee my instructions which guide ye all in ye business and ye rest is let to thy discretion: It is to thee, thy two assistants and the council. Pray be very respectful to my Cozen Crispin, he is a man my father had great confidence in and value for.

-William Penn^[4]

The Commissioners - William Crispin, John Bezar and Nathaniel Allen - set sail near the end of October 1681.^[5]

Three ships - John and Sarah, Bristol Factor, and Amity - sailed from England to Pennsylvania in late 1681 and there is some question as to whether all three Commissioners were aboard John and Sarah as has been reported. Oliver Hough in Captain William Crispin (page 11), quotes authorities and concludes that Captain William Crispin sailed on the Amity.

By all accounts, in whichever ship he sailed, Crispin's ship was blown off course and into the West Indies, where she put into port at Barbados to re-provision. While the exact circumstances are not known, Captain Crispin died while the ship was in port.^[6] Presumably the ship returned to England, where she made a new start from Downs on April 23, 1682.^[7] The news of Captain Crispin's death was probably taken back to England by the Amity, for Thomas Holme (who succeded Crispin as Surveyor-General of Pennsylvania and as Commissioner) came out in the Amity on her next trip. Holme was accompanied by Silas Crispin, William's son, who had probably first sailed with his father and returned to England with the Amity after his father's death.^[8]

Per Captain Sir William Penn's log from the 28 gun Fellowship located in the Irish Channel: "1645, April 8, about 3 o'clock in the morning, our Master William Crispin, departed out of this world. 1645, April 9, about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, we carried our Master ashore and gave him ten pieces of ordinance, and we buried him in the Chancel of the church of Carrickfergus" [Church of St. Nicholas, Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland]. PROBLEM: They couldn't have returned from Barbados in one day. https://archive.org/details/captainwilliamcr00cris/page/111/mode/2up

This reference is about his father William Crispin who died in 1645.

Family and Children

Caution See above. William and Anne married about 1650 ^[9] and had four children:

1. Silas Crispin, who first married Ester (or Hester), daughter of Thomas Holme; and second Mary Stockton (widow of Thomas Shinn).^[9]
2. Rebecca Crispin, who married August 24, 1688 at Ifield Friends Meeting in Sussex, England, Edward Blackfan (son of John Blackfan of Stenning, County of Sussex).^[9]
3. Ralph Crispin, who remained in Ireland^[9]
4. Rachel Crispin, who married Thomas Armstrong, and was granted 1000 acres of land in Pennsylvania by William Penn.^[9]

William's second wife, whom he married in 1665 was Jane Chidley ^[10] (or Chudleigh). William and Jane had seven children:

1. James Crispin who moved from Kinsale to St. Christopher, West Indies.^[9]
2. Joseph, who died young^[9]
3. Benjamin, who married Alice ____ between 1698-1702^[9]
4. Jane, who married Greenslaid Lucomb between 1687-1698^[9]
5. Eleanor, died unmarried between 1687-1698 at 17-21 years of age.^[9]
6. Elizabeth, died prior to 1702; married Mr. Hilliard between 1687-1698.^[9]
7. Amy, married Daniel Johnson between 1698-1702^[9]

Research Notes

This [Crispin] family named one of their boys William for 5 generations! I have no idea what nick names they used to keep everyone straight, but I was having very hard time so I made up the I, II -V suffixes to keep my sanity. [Wink] I haven't entered William V into WikiTree.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Oliver Hough, "Captain William Crispin, Proprietary's Commissioner for Settling the Colony in Pennsylvania," in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 22, No. 1 (1898), pp. 34-56 (PA: The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1898) Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20085779 . online here
2. ↑ the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. LIII, 1929, no. 2
3. ↑ W. W. H. Davis, A.M., The History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time CHAPTER III, "WILLIAM PENN BECOMES PROPRIETOR, 1673 TO 1682" (New York, NY: Lewis Publishing, 1905).
4. ↑ William Penn, full citation needed
5. ↑ Crispin, p. 20.

   refers to Claypole's Letters quoted in Hazard's Annals; also Memoirs and Pennsylvania Historical Society, Vol. IV, Part 2.

6. ↑ The Captain's great-grandson, also named William Crispin, wrote in 1792: "When the Commission sailed the ship was prevented from ascending the Delware by contrary winds and went to Barbados, where William Crispin died."
7. ↑ Crispin. pg 20
8. ↑ Crispin pg.21
9. ↑ ^{9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11} Crispin. pp. 15-16
10. ↑ Ireland Diocesan and Prerogative Marriage Licence Bonds indexes 1623-1866 Transcription

See also:

• Boyd's Inhabitans of London & Family Units 1200-1946. Census 1650. FindMyPast. Record set: Boyd's Inhabitants of London & Family Units. First name(s): William. Last name: Crispin. Year: 1650. Person subject: S. Category: Census, Land & Substitutes. Subcategory: Surveys. Collections from: United Kingdom.[1].

• Crispin, M. Jackson. Captain William Crispin, "The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography", Vol 53 (1929),
  (part 1), Vol LIII, No 2 (April 1929)
  (part 2), Vol LIII, No 3 (July 1929)
  (part 3), Vol LIII, No 4. (October 1929)

• Crispin, Rev. William Frost. A Biographical and Historical Sketch of Captain William Crispin of the British Navy …, The Commercial Printing Co, Akron Ohio (1901) archives.org

• Jim McNeill, Captain William Crispin, uncle of the Quaker William Penn posted 9/16/2012 PennsylvaniaHistory.wordpress.com

• Karen Lindberg, GEDCOM import Scholcoff ged.ged, Jan 2, 2014.

• Tim DOWLING'S Family Tree.

• Book: Faces of America: How 12 Extraordinary People Discovered their Pasts by Henry Louis Gates Jr.