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929.2 

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1555871 


GENEALOGY  COLLECTION 


ALLEN  COUNTY  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


3  1833  01207  9833 


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B.  J.  CIGRAND,  B.  S.,  M.  S.,  D.  D.  S. 

(Professor  at  University  of  Illinois.) 


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THE  CRISPE  FAMILY  ARMS. 
(Taken  from  Herald   Records.) 


HISTORY 


OF  THE  . 


CRISPE FAMILY, 


BY 


/ 
B-  J.  CIGRAND,  B.  S.,  M.  S.,  D.  D.  S., 

r  of    Prosthetic  Dentistry  and  History,   University  of    Illinois;  forr.: 

erly  same  Chair  at  Northwestern    University;    Delegate  to 

International    Dental    Congress,  Paris;     Author 

of  "History  of   Dentistry,"    and  "  Story 

of  the  Great  Seal  of  the 

United  States." 


Part  One  —  Crispe  Family  in  the  Old  World. 
Part  Two  -  Crispe  Family  in  the  New  World. 


COPIOUSLY  ILLUSTRATED.  FULLY  ANNOTATED. 


CHICAGO,     ILLINOIS, 

IQOJ. 

PUBLISHED    BY  THE  AUTHOR. 


„<> 


1555871 


Entered  according  to  an  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1901 

BY  Dr.  B.  J.  CIGRAND, 

in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


INSCRIPTION. 

In  the  fond  hope  of  rendering 

a  mark  of  respect  to  the 

entire  Crispe  family, 

the  dedicatorial 

note  is  made 

in  honor  of 

Alice  N.  Crispe, 

my  wife, 

Whose  generous  encouragement 

and  ardent  interest  has  had 

a  benign  influence  on 

the  achievements  of 

its    author, 

Dr.  B.  J.  Cigrand. 


"For  a  good  treebringeth  not  forth  corrupt  fruit,  neither  doth 
a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit;  every  tree  is  known  by  his 
own  fruit,  for  of  thorns  men  do  not  gather  figs,  nor  of  a  bramble- 
bush  gather  they  grapes." — Sr.  Luke  iv,  43-44- 

"  He  who  has  no  interest  in  the  careers  of  his  ancestors,  is  a 
selfish  knave,  not  deserving  of  much  confidence." — J.  A.  Garfield. 


PREFACE. 

The  following   letter  sent   to   the  Crispe  Family  well 
supplies  the  purpose  of  a  proem  for  this  work: 

Dear  Relative: — 

In  iSgi  I  began  to  compile  the  genealogy  of  the 
Crispe  family,  and  during  these  ten  years,  studiously  de- 
voted time  to  searching  the  various  sources  of  record  in 
France,  England  and  America. 

I  am  pleased  to  announce  to  the  family  of  Crispe, 
and  such  as  are  interested  in  this  family,  that  I  have 
completed  the  arduous  task  undertaken  in  1891. 

It  has  been  a  pleasant  work,  inasmuch  as  my  wife, 
Allie  N.  Crispe,  has  given  enthusiastic  encouragement 
in  the  work.  I  can  assure  you  the  name  Crispe  is  hon- 
orably known  to  pages  of  history  in  both  the  old  and 
new  world. 

The  Crispe  family  hails  from  France,  and  I  devote 
considerable  space  to  their  family  career  while  they  in- 
habited the  land  of  the  fleur-de-lys.  Their  religious 
convictions,  and  the  subsequent  expulsion  from  France 
ol  account  of  antagonistic  views  relative  to  the  estab- 
lished church  of  France,  is  all  carefully  described;  and 
their  emigration  to  England  and  their  progress  and 
environments  are  treated  in  a  clear  and  fair  minded 
manner.   The  spirit  of  Huguenotism  in  the  Crispe  family 


THE  HISTORY  OF 


receives  due  consideration.  Few  families  of  southern 
England  have  contributed  more  to  the  glory  and  great- 
ness of  England  than  the  Crispe  family. 

They  count  among  their  kinsman  innumerable  rela- 
tives whose  personality  and  life  has  formed  a  part  of 
the  archives  of  the  Government  Library.  They  were  peo- 
ple of  affairs  and  their  influence  was  felt  throughout 
southern  England,  where  their  power  was  well  recog- 
nized by  not  alone  eclesiasts  and  polititians,  but  kings 
as  well.  The  intimate  relation  which  some  of  the 
Crispes  held  with  the  regal  element  of  Old  England,  is 
best  expressed  in  the  documents  and  coats-of-arms  of 
those  heraldic  times. 

The  family  has  been  prominent  in  militare'  and  par- 
liament, and  sketches  of  their  personality  have  found 
their  way  into  the  magazine  articles,  society  papers  and 
reference  books.  Among  those  of  the  family  who  have 
deserved  special  consideration  for  having  contributed  to 
English  civics,  literature  and  the  professions,  I  cheerfully 
mention  Sir  Henry  Crispe,  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe,  Sir  Row- 
land Crispe,  Sir  Richard  Crispe,  General  Nicholas  Crispe, 
Reveraud  Thomas  Crispe  and  Dr.  Tobias  Crispe. 

Nearly  every  office  of  importance  from  Member  of 
Parliament  to  Colonel  in  the  army  has  come  to  the  Crispes, 
and  we  find  recorded  Knights,  Barons,  Sheriffs  and 
Governors  with  the  name  Crispe.  Their  share  in  the 
numerable  wars  of  Great  Britain,  and  their  interest  in 
the  general  progress  of  civilization  is  deserving  of  record. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY 


The  Crispe  Charity  Farm,  the  Quex-Crispe  Mansion,  the 
King  of  Thanet,  the  Castle  Home,  and  various  other 
subjects — team  with  interesting  historical  matter,  such 
as  will  awaken  admiration  in  even  those  claiming  no 
kinship. 

In  the  new  world — America,  the  pages  of  early 
settlers  contain  many  references  to  the  Crispes — and  it 
will  be  a  happy  surprise  to  present  day,  Crispes  to  learn 
of  the  part  that  the  Crispe  family  played  in  the  founding 
of  our  colonial,  confederate  and  federal  governments. 
The  Crispe  family  was  not  limited  to  France  and  England 
alone,  but  was  a  powerful  family  in  colonial  times  in 
Old  New  England. 

They  came  with  the  pilgrims,  and  others  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony.  They  were 
soldiers  in  the  French-Indian  wars;  assisted  in  founding 
American  institutions  and  policies,  and  were  among  the 
volunteers  of  the  Revolutionary  Army;  while  others 
served  in  the  Civil  War  and  represented  States  in  Con- 
gress. Strange  as  it  may  read,  a  grant  of  land  to  the 
Crispe  family  by  Charles  I,  is  still  known  in  the  State  of 
Maine  as  "the  Crispe  Grant."  The  Plow  Transporta- 
tion Company,  which  did  such  excellent  service  during 
colonial  times,  was  directed  by  a  Crispe.  The  earliest 
known  jury  trial  in  America  had  among  its  jurors  a 
Crispe.  Incidents  of  a  most  interesting  character  per- 
taining to  Lydia  Crispe,  an  Indian  captive;  and  the  trial 
of  Rodger   Williams,  and  the  stealing  of  the  charter  of 


THK  HISTORY  OF 


Connecticut;  marriage  of  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  all 
have  received  my  careful  consideration. 

The  facts  in  my  History  of  the  Crispe  Family  are 
authentic,  and  on  all  pages  can  be  found  annotations  re- 
ferring to  the  document,  the  volume  and  page  where 
these  items  were  gotten.  Hence  the  work  will  be  of  a 
purely  historical  character,  and  cannot  fail  to  be  of  in- 
terest to  the  family  it  describes,  and  reading  public  as 
well.  It  is  my  aim  to  devote  most  of  the  space  to  the 
Crispes  of  bye-gone-days  and  add  such  memoranda  of 
the  Crispes  of  to-day  as  may  be  of  special  concern. 

The  work  has  entailed  a  large  outlay  of  money  in 
its  compilation  and  the  time  and  energy  devoted  to  its 
completion,  in  manuscript  form,  can  only  be  known  or 
appreciated  by  those  who  have  ever  attempted  an  under- 
taking of  this  kind.  The  great  task  of  searching 
government  records,  consulting  voluminous  writings  at 
the  various  libraries,  conducting  an  extensive  corres- 
pondence, and  adjusting  and  arranging  the  accounts, 
makes  it  a  labor  covering  years  of  time;  and  since  a 
major  portion  of  the  work  is  the  result  of  correspondence 
across  the  sea,  it  necessitated  great  expense  in  having 
the  attornies  copy  from  the  records. 

The  work  will  contain  upwards  of  400  pages,  and  be 
embellished  with  about  100  engravings,  the  majority  of 
which  have  never  found  their  way  into  print 

It  gives  me  sorrow  to  mention  that  Mrs.  Emma 
Crispe- Polhemus,  of  New  York  city,  died  in  1899,  since 


<,S12l'- 


ffEMPi'y} 


TgEREML'j 


lp^tf/fe  QpispeSar  r 


CRISPE  AND  WENNE  ARMS. 


BIRCH  I N  GTO  N   C  H  URCH. 

(Containing  Crispe   Monuments.) 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  17 

it  was  her  earnest  ambition  to  aid  me  in  getting  this  history 
of  the  Crispe  family  into  book  form,  and  were  she  living 
to-day  there  would  be  little  delay  in  getting  it  before 
the  family,  as  we  both  assumed  like  obligation  in  bring- 
ing forth  the  History  of  the  Crispe  Family — I  was  to 
gather  the  material  and  write  the  book,  and  she  would 
pay  for  getting  the  information  and  publish  the  book. 
Her  premature  death  has  compelled  me  to  make  all  out- 
lay my  personal  debt,  since  the  heirs  of  the  estate  of 
Emma  Crispe- Pohlmeus  have  made  no  provision  for  re- 
imbursing me.  Thus  far  I  have  paid  out  about  $580.00 
in  bringing  the  work  into  manuscript  form.  This,  I  pre- 
sume, will  fall  to  me  to  donate,  besides  the  labors  in- 
volved of  writing  and  arranging  the  work — unless  some 
of  the  family  meet  it  by  subscription. 

To  put  the  manuscript  into  book  form,  to  engrave 
about  100  illustrations,  and  bind  100  copies  will  cost  as 
per  lowest  estimate  as  follows: 

60  engravings S120  00 

40  engravings— half-tones 85  00 

Composition  on  400  pages 340  00 

Binding  100  copies 4800    ;.._- 

Copyright  and  press  work 76  00 

Total $669  00 

Let  me  know  what  you  will  contribute  to  the  pub- 
lishing of  the  "History  of  the  Crispe  Family."  If  the 
Crispe  people  see  that  this  sum  ($669.00)  is  subscribed, 


iS  THE  HISTORY  OF 

I  will  donate  the  expense  of  compiling  the  book  — -  the 
sum  of  £580.00.  If  I  receive  ready  response,  the  book 
will  be  ready  by  Christmas,  1901. 

Trusting   you   will    manifest    your    love   of    family    by    aid- 
ing  in    publishing   this    historical    work,    and    hoping    you   may 
contribute   a    reasonable    amount,    I    am    pleased    to   be 
Very   sincerely, 


Professor  of  Dental  Prosthesis,  University   of  Illinois. 
N.    B.  —  Your  subscription    must    be  in    my  hands   by   Oc- 
tober   1,    1 901. 


The  prompt  response  of  the  members  of  the  Crispe 
family  is  a  gratifying  evidence  of  the  great  interest  they 
have  in  preserving  the  records  and  acts  of  their  fore- 
fathers. It  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  mention  that 
the  liberal  donations  received  from  some  of  the  family 
impells  me  to  call  attention  to  this  feature  in  their  re- 
spective biographies. 

This  preface  would  certainly  be  incomplete  if  I 
failed  to  acknowledge  the  valuable  and  extensive  service 
rendered  by  F.  C.  Crispe,  of  London,  since  to  him  I  am 
largely  indebted  for  the  possession  of  innumerable  docu- 
ments and  photographs.  B.  J.  C. 

October  1,  1901. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  19 


INTRODUCTION. 

HISTORY    OF    THE    CRISPE    FAMILY. 

There  are  deeds  which  should  not  pass  away, 

And  names  that  must  not  wither. 

The  spirit  of  a  single  man 

Makes  that  of  multitudes  take  one  direction, 

As  roll  the  waters  to  the  breathing  wind — Byron. 

No  man's  acts  die  utterly;  and  though  his  bcdy  may  dissolve 
into  dust  and  air,  his  good  or  bad  deeds  will  still  be  bringing  forth 
fruit  after  their  kind,  and  influencing  generations  of  men  for  all 
time  to  come.  It  is  in  this  momentous  fact  that  the  great  peril 
and  responsibility  of  human  existence   lies.— Bates. 

The  above  quotations  from  eminent  writers  need  no 
explanation,  as  they  are  facts  which  speak  for  them- 
selves. Now,  if  what  these  men  say  be  true  and  correct, 
let  us  march  into  the  forest  and  examine  and  determine 
with  cool  deliberation  of  what  wood  the  Crispe  tree  is 
composed.  Let  us  observe  as  we  ascend  from  the  trunk 
to  the  farthest  extended  limb,  what  the  composition  of 
the  blood  is  that  flows  in  its  veins.  Let  us,  furthermore, 
decide  whether  the  tree  is  sturdy  and  durable,  or  weak 
and  subvertable.  By  the  appearance  and  condition  of 
the  limbs  we  can  easily  judge  what  rough  gales  it  has 
encountered.  When  we  know  the  nature  of  the  tree — 
that  is,  is  it  a  plum,  thorn,  beech,  hickory  or  oak — we 
can  instantiy  tell  what  fruit  it  yields.     Moreover,  if  we 


so  THK  HISTORY  OF 


have  s  knowledge  of  the  ground  upon  which  a  tree 
grows,  we  can  form  an  idea  as  to  the  kind  of  tree.  We 
know  that  swampy  and  marshy  land  is  the  home  of  the 
pine,  cedar  and  larch;  and  we  know,  also,  that  clay  and 
rock  land  is  the  home  of  the  sturdy  oak,  beech,  hickory 
and  maple. 

No  scientific  fact  has  been  more  thoroughly  demon- 
strated, or  is  better  understood  by  the  laity,  than  that 
the  mental  and  physical  characteristics  of  the  parents 
are  transmitted  to  the  children.  Not  that  children  are 
always  the  exact  reproductions  of  their  parents— they 
may  be  better,  they  may  be  worse— but  the  strong  influ- 
ence of  heredity  is  ever  a  potent  factor  in  determining  ' 
the  moral,  mental  and  physical  status  of  the  offspring. 
"Who  shall  estimate  the  effects  of  those  latent  forces 
enfolded  in  the  spirit  of  a  new-born  child;  forces  that 
may  date  back  centuries  and  find  their  origin  in  the  life, 
thought  and  deed  of  remote  ancestors;  forces,  the  germs 
of  which  enveloped  in  the  awful  mysteries  of  life?  All- 
cherrishing  Nature,  provident  and  unforgetting,  gathers 
up  all  these  fragments  that  nothing  be  lost,  but  that  all 
may  reappear  in  new  combinations.  Each  new  life  is 
thus  the  heir  of  all  the  ages." 

The  eminent  historian  and  scholar,  John  Clark  Red- 
path,  says: 

"  The  law  of  heredity  has  long  been  suspected,  and 
in  late  years  has  been,  to  a  considerable  extent,  regarded 
as  the  demonstrated  and  universal   order  of  nature.     It 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY. 


is  the  law  by  which  the  offspring  inherits  the  qualities 
and  characteristics  of  its  ancestors.  It  makes  the  oak 
the  same  kind  of  a  tree  as  the  parent  from  which  the 
seed  acorn  fell.  It  makes  a  tree  which  sprang  from  the 
seed  of  a  large  peach,  yield  downy  fruit  as  large  and 
luscious  as  the  juicy  ancestor.  It  says  that  every  thing 
shall  produce  after  its  kind;  that  small  radishes  shall 
come  from  the  seed  of  small  radishes,  and  a  richly  per- 
fumed geranium  from  the  slip  cut  from  one  of  that  kind. 
It  says  that,  other  things  being  equal,  the  descendant  of 
a  fast  horse  shall  be  fast,  and  the  posterity  of  a  plug 
shall  be  plugs.  But  a  man  has  many  more  qualities  and 
possibilities  than  a  vegetable  or  a  brute.  He  has  an  in- 
finitely wider  range  through  which  his  characteristics 
may  run.  The  color  of  his  hair,  his  size,  his  strength, 
are  but  the  smallest  par.  of  his  inheritance.  He  inherits, 
also,  the  size  and  texture  of  his  brain,  the  shape  of  his 
skull,  and  the  skill  of  his  hands.  It  is  among  his  an- 
cestry that  must  be  sought  the  reason  and  source  of  his 
powers.  It  is  there  that  is  largely  determined  the  ques- 
tion of  his  capacity  for  ideas,  and  it  is  from  his  ancestry 
that  a  man  should  form  his  ideal  of  his  capacity.  It  is 
there  that  are  largely  settled  the  matters  of  his  tastes 
and  temper,  of  his  ambitions  and  his  powers.  The  ques- 
tion of  whether  he  shall  be  a  mechanic,  a  tradesman  or 
a  lawyer  is  already  settled  before  he  gets  a  chance  at  the 
problem." 

The  old  myth  about   the  gods  holding   a  council   at 


THE  HISTORY  OF 


the  birth  of  every  mortal  and  determining  his  destiny 
has  some  truth  in  it.  In  one  respect  it  is  wrong.  The 
council  of  the  gods  is  held  years  before  his  birth;  it  has 
been  in  session  all  the  time.  If  a  man  has  musical  skill, 
he  gets  it  from  his  ancestry.  It  is  the  same  with  an  in- 
ventor, or  an  artist,  or  a  scholar,  or  a  preacher.  This 
looks  like  the  law  of  fate.  It  is  not.  It  is  the  fate  of 
law. 

But  this  is  not  all  of  the  law  of  inheritance.  Men 
have  an  inherited  moral  nature,  as  well  as  an  intellectual 
one.  Drunkenness,  sensuality,  laziness,  extravagance 
and  pauperism  are  handed  down  from  father  to  son. 
Appetites  are  inherited,  2nd  so  are  habits.  On  the  other 
hand,  courage,  energy,  self-denial,  the  power  of  work, 
are  also  transmitted  and  inherited.  If  a  man's  ancestry 
were  thieves,  it  will  not  do  to  trust  him.  If  they  were 
bold,  true,  honest  men  and  women,  it  will  do  to  rely 
upon  him. 

In  late  years  this  law  of  inheritance  has  been  much 
studied  by  scientists.  The  general  law  is  about  as  has 
been  stated;  but  it  has  innumerable  offsets  and  quallin- 
cations  which  are  not  understood.  Sometimes  a  child  is 
a  compound  of  the  qualities  of  both  parents.  More  fre- 
quently the  son  resembles  the  mother,  and  the  daughter 
the  father.  Sometimes  the  child  resembles  neither  par- 
ent, but  seems  to  inherit  everything  from  an  uncle  or  an 
aunt.  Often  the  resemblance  to  the  grand-parent  is  the 
most   marked.      That    these   complications  are   governed 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  23 

by  fixed,  though  at  present  unknown,  laws  cannot  be 
doubted,  but  for  the  purposes  of  biography  the  question 
is  unessential.  Scientists  say  that  nine-tenths  of  a 
man's  genius  is  hereditary  and  one-tenth  accidental. 
The  inherited  portion  may  appear  large,  but  it  is  to  be 
remembered  that  only  possibilities  are  inherited,  and 
that  not  one  man  in  a  million  reaches  the  limit  of  his 
possibilities. 

It  is  undoubtedly  the  desire  of  everybody  to  know 
something  about  his  "  ancestral  blood;"  for  if  he  has  a 
knowledge  of  this,  he  most  assuredly  has  a  fair  under- 
standing of  himself.  To  strengthen  this  statement  we 
need  only  add  the  old  adage,  "know  thyself."  But 
how  can  we  know  ourselves  when  we  know  not  who  our 
forefathers  were?  Hence,  it  is  among  his  ancestry  that 
we  can  largely  determine  the  question  of  his  capacity  of 
ideas,  his  taste,  temper,  ambition  and  power. 

The  old  adage  "blood  will  tell,"  is  one  which  the 
science  of  to  day  has  proven  to  be  correct.  But  other 
conditions  and  circumstances  will  tell.  Education  and 
environment  will  tell.  A  body  weak  by  inheritance  may 
be  strengthened  and  made  vigorous  by  proper  exercise, 
nourishment  and  careful  observations  of  hygenic  laws; 
but  the  inherited  weakness  will  ever  render  it  more  sus- 
ceptible to  disease.  A  mind  torpid  by  inheritance  may 
by  education  and  cultivation  be  brought  to  the  highest 
possible  level  of  which  mind  is  capable,  but  the  influence 
of  heredity  will  still  be  manifest.     The  law  of  heredity 


24  THE  HISTORY  OF 


is  most  strikingly  exemplified  in  the  musical  families  of 
Bach  and  Strauss,  of  Germany,  and  the  love  of  law  in 
the  Adams  family  in  America.  For  generations  the 
former  have  been  the  great  musicians  of  the  Teutonic 
race,  and  the  latter  have  been  prominent  at  the  bar  in 
the  United  States  for  four  generations. 

The  old  Saxon  saying,  "What  the  gods  have  be- 
stowed upon  you  the  winds  can't  blow  away,"  is  gospel, 
and  to  know  what  this  heritage  is,  you  must  acquaint 
yourself  with  those  of  your  family  who  have  "gone 
before." 


O 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY  OF  EUROPE. 


France  and  England. 


V 


mm 


m 


\uu>i^i^.^t^^^^t^t^Lii^&kM^r. 


CRISPES   AS  NORMAN-FRENCH  SOLDIERS. 
(William  the  Conqueror,   1066.) 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  29 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  FAMILY. 
The  Crispe  family  takes  its  origin  in  the  northern 
portion  of  France,  where  as  early  as  1027  we  find  they 
were  land  owners,  and  by  occupation  horseshoe-smiths. 
In  the  Archaeological  Archives  at  Paris  can  be  seen  a  great 
variety  of  deeds,  wills,  abstracts  and  contracts  which 
contain  the  name  of  Crispe.  It  would  be  interesting,  and 
instructive  as  well,  to  include  these  strangely  written 
documents  in  this  history  of  the  family,  but  it  would  add 
considerable  to  the  size  of  this  volume,  and  would  not 
assist  much  in  delineating  these  people.  However,  while 
on  my  trip  through  Europe  I  took  special  pains  to  deter- 
mine the  origin  and  career  of  this  family  in  the  old 
world,  and  I  am  impelled  to  believe  that  the  Crispe 
family  was  an  integral  part  of  the  nobility  of  the  ancient 
French  monarchy.  There  is  every  evidence  possible 
that  they  were  among  the  active  and  prominent  people  of 
Northern  France,  and  they  were  enlisted  in  the  French 
armies  as  early  as  1016.  The  family  name  occurs  only 
in  the  northern  territory,  and  the  name  also  appears  in 
the  records  of  Flanders.  Among  the  Crispes  of  France 
there  were  a  few  of  the  family  who  were  quite  wealthy, 
at  least  their  wills  specify  a  distribution  of  considerable 
money,  land  and  horses;  while  several  wills  indicate  that 
the  family  were  largely  engaged  in  farming  and  cattle 
raising.     These  wills  for  the  most  part  are  not  written  in 


30  THE  HISTORY  OF 

French,  but  in  Latin,  as  all  wills  of  Continental  Europe 
were  written  prior  to  1 500. 

The  earl}'  Crispe  family  was  closely  identified  with 
stock  farms,  and  they  seemed  especially  interested  in 
horses;  this  latter  tendency,  however,  may  have  been 
the  result  of  having  been  reared  in  a  portion  of  France 
where  the  horse-pride  was  universal. 

Among  the  Crispe  people  there  were  a  large  number 
who  devoted  their  time  to  horseshoeing,  and  this  leads 
us  to  determine  the  derivation  of  the  name  Crispe. 
In  the  study  of  history  we  find  that  the  people  of  old 
were  accustomed  to  applying  the  name  of  their  trade  to 
the  individual;  often  the  name  was  derived  from  some 
special  trait  of  the  person,  or  the  peculiar  place  of  his 
abode;  hence,  the  Miller,  Baker,  Smith,  Carpenter,  Hill, 
Black  and  Steinhouse.  This  agrees  with  the  name  of 
Crispe — meaning,  in  French,  a  "shoer."  We  need  not 
seek  far  to  ascertain  why  this  name  was  applied  to  the 
family,  since  the  earliest  known  kin  of  this  name  gave 
their  attention  to  making  "horseshoes."  And  we  are 
thoroughly  convinced  of  this  when  we  examine  the  her- 
aldic emblems  which  adorn  the  family  escutcheon,  for 
we  find  that  there  is  blazoned  on  the  family  shield  sev- 
eral horseshoes.  Of  this  emblematic  token  we  will  learn 
more  when  we  study  the  arms  and  crest  of  the  Crispe 
family. 

The  name,  not  unlike  that  of  other  families,  occurs 
in  various  forms  of  spelling.     Though   the   old   French 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY 


name— Crispe,  from  Crispin — has  had  several  changes  to 
conform  to  the  euphony  of  the  various  decades,  strange 
as  it  may  seem  the  name  Crispe  is  often  written  differ- 
ently in  the  same  document,  and  I  am  in  possession  of 
one  of  these  old  scripts  where,  in  referring  to  sisters  and 
brothers  of  the  same  family,  the  name  is  spelled  Cryspe, 
Crisp,  Crispe  or  Chrispe.  This  is  due  to  three  causes,  first 
among  which  is  the  carelessness  of  many  officials  in 
writing  or  recording  family  names.  The  justice  of  the 
peace,  or  register  of  deeds,  in  those  times  was  indifferent 
to  the  precise  or  authentic  way  of  spelling  the  name, 
consequently  brothers  of  the  same  blood  were  often  car- 
rying papers  with  the  family  name  spelled  to  suit  the 
pleasure  of  the  writer  of  the  documents.  In  the  second 
place,  the  people  of  those  olden  times  were  unable,  in 
many  instances,  to  spell  their  name,  hence  necessitating 
the  official  to  write  it  as  nearly  correct  as  the  voiced 
name  would  dictate.  And  in  the  third  cause,  the  peo- 
ple often  wrote  the  name  to  suit  the  locality  in  which 
they  lived,  hence  the  variety  of  forms  for  the  same  name. 
The  name  C-r-i-s-p-e  was  spelled  with  a  "y"  during 
the  centuries  of  12,  13  and  14,  after  which  it  was  changed 
to  "i."  When  the  name  was  written  with  an  "h,"  as  in 
Chrispe — the  people  were  likely  inhabiting  an  Anglo- 
Saxon  settlement,  or  a  Teuton  was  the  official  who  wrote 
it.  And  it  is  worthy  of  observation  that  a  large  number 
of  the  Crispe  people  were  wedded  to  Saxon  blood.  The 
German    stock    which    enters    into    the    Anglo-French 


32  THE  HISTORY  OF 


Crispes  would  induce  us  to  believe  that  the  family  was  a 
trinity  of  French,  German  and  English".  The  pages  of 
this  book  will  show  that  the  Crispe  ancestors  were  mostly 
married  to  these  three  nationalities.  There  are  some 
few  of  the  family  of  Crispe  who  wrote  their  names 
C-r-i-s-p,  omitting  the  final  "e."  But  these  are  of  the 
same  family  and  have  Anglonized  the  name.  The  Her- 
ald's College,  London,  an  institution  founded  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  keeping  records  of  the  English  families, 
writes  me  that  the  names  of  Crispe,  Cryspe,  Kryspe, 
Crisp,  Chrisp,  Crysp,  Chryspe,  Krispe,  all  come  from 
the  same  family,  and  the  original  spelling  is  C-r-i  s-p-e. 
The  Crispe  family  of  France  also  wrote  the  name  with 
a  double  "p" — Crisppe. 

The  name  in  France  is  pronounced  with  the  accent 
on  the  last  syllable,  while  in  the  English  tongue  it  is 
pronounced  as  though  containing  the  letters  of  K-r-i-s-p. 


THE  CRISPK  FAMILY. 


SOLDIFRS  IN  THK  FRENCH  ARMY. 
For  bravery  shown  in  battle  several  of  the  Crispe 
family  were  knighted,  and  the  government  granted  them 
a  family  mark,  or  coat-of-arms.  In  order  that  we  may 
more  thoroughly  understand  the  significance  of  these 
considerations  of  honor,  it  will  be  wise  to  refresh  our 
memory  on  such  points  of  heraldry  as  relates  to  the 
Crispe  bearings.  These  peculiar  devices  and  symbols 
have  in  all  governments  of  the  medieval  times  been 
granted  to  such  of  the  inhabitants  who  shall  merit  them 
either  for  bravery  or  intellectual  accomplishments,  but 
primarily  they  were  afforded  to  the  soldiery.  These 
marks  of  distinction  served  to  identify  the  person  at 
sight,  and  were  especially  valuable  during  times  of  war. 
The  soldiers,  or  knights,  of  those  warring  days  wore  an 
apparatus,  or  suit,  made  of  metal,  and  known  as  an 
armor,  which  completely  covered  the  head,  face,  limbs 
and  body,  and  thus  hid  from  view  the  individual  and 
also  protected  him  from  the  arrow-points  of  the  enemy. 
Leather,  brass,  iron,  silver  and  even  gold  were  used  in 
the  fabrication  of  this  instrument  of  protection.  From 
the  fact  of  the  warrior  being  thus  concealed,  it  became 
necessary  to  devise  some  plan  whereby  the  knights  could 
be  recognized  at  sight  by  means  of  some  external  bearing 
or  mark.  From  this  circumstance  sprang  the  idea  of 
placing  a  family  ensign  about  the  person,  generally  em- 


34  THE  HISTORY  OF 

broidered  upon  the  coat  or  garment,  which  usually  cov- 
ered the  armor;  and  so  the  ensign  came  to  be  called  the 
coat-of-arms.  These  coats  or  frocks  of  cloth  were  worn 
over  the  armor  to  protect  the  knight  from  the  piercing 
rays  of  the  sun  in  the  summer,  and  the  cold  in  winter 
was  thus  kept  out.  This  ensign  was  also  engraven  on 
the  shield  he  used,  and  if  he  was  a  mounted  knight,  the 
blanket  on  his  charger  also  had  the  family  ensign. 

The  coat-of-arms  thus  became  a  mark  of  honor,  de- 
noting by  different  figures  and  colors  variously  arranged 
the  descent,  alliance  and  service  of  the  bearer.  These 
family  distinctions  were  elaborated  by  the  Germans  in 
the  ioth  century,  but  to  the  French  is  due  the  credit  of 
perfecting  it  and  reducing  it  to  a  system  of  technical 
nomenclature.  England  soon  adopted  the  system  with 
but  few  alterations.  The  colorings,  or  tinctures,  are  ex- 
pressed by  plain  surfaces,  dots  or  lines,  as  follows: 

White,  or  argent,  represented  by  a  plain  surface, 
and  is  intended  to  symbolize  purity,  innocence,  beauty 
and  clear  conscience. 

Yellow,  or  or,  is  expressed  by  numerous  black  dots, 
and  indicates  wealth,  abundance,  power  and  sovereignty. 

Red,  or  gules,  is  designated  by  perpendicular  lines, 
and  betokens  strength,  boldness  and  hardiness. 

Blue,  or  azure,  indicated  by  horizontal  lines,  sig- 
nified virtue  and  Godly  disposition. 

Green,  or  vert,  is  denoted  by  diagonal  lines,  and 
meant  love  and  gladness. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  35 


Black,  or  sable,  is  distinguished  by  perpendicular 
and  horizontal  lines  criss-crossing,  indicating  constancy 
and  divine  doctrines. 

Purple,  or  PURPURE,  is  characterized  by  diagonal 
lines,  from  upper  left  to  lower  right,  and  represented 
jurisdiction  and  rights. 

Orange,  or  TENNEY,  is  specified  by  perpendicular 
Hues  from  upper  right  to  lower  left  division,  and  charac- 
terized self-esteem  and  self -glory. 

Ermine,  or  fur,  is  indicated  by  a  peculiar  black 
mark  similar  to  a  cross,  and  signifies  slowness  and  surety. 

The  Chief,  figure  a;  Pale,  figure  b;  Fess,  figure  c; 
Shevron,  figure  d;  Band  Dexter,  figure,  e;  Band  Sinister, 
figure  f;  Barry,  figure  g;  Cross,  figure  h;  Saltier,  figure 
i — these,  as  the  engraving  show,  were  additional  marks, 
and  the  subordinaries  were  known  as  Engrailed,  Invect- 
ed,  Wavy,  Nebule,  Dancitte,  Patent,  Embattled,  Dove- 
tailed and  Ragule.  With  these  few  marks  the  entire 
knighthood  was  symbolized  and  distinguished. 

In  conjunction  with  these  symbols  there  were  hel- 
mets of  four  varieties;  the  coronets  of  four  kinds;  the 
crowns,  the  wreaths,  the  crest  and  motto.  The  Crispe 
family  at  an  early  date  had  these  marks  of  distinction  con- 
ferred on  them  by  the  French  government,  for  we  find 
that  the  Crispe  people  possessed  in  their  family  records  in 
France  a  family  escutcheon;  and  the  family  contributed 
to  the  French  army  several  brave  and  notable  soldiers, 
who  became  a  part  of  the  knights  of  the  Norman-French. 


36  THE   HISTORY  OF 


In  the  great  wars  with  England  and  other  neighbor- 
ing nations  the}'  were  engaged  in  the  cavalry  of  the 
French  army;  and  when  the  Norman-French,  under 
William  the  Conqurer,  made  war  on  England  lie  selected 
as  his  bodyguard  the  best  archers  and  the  bravest  knights 
from  the  countries  of  Normandy,  Orleans,  Euxenburg, 
Maine  and  Flanders,  and  with  this  "  Flower  of  France," 
as  he  called  them,  he  crossed  the  English  Channel,  and 
in  one  of  the  fiercest  battles  ever  waged  on  British  soil 
he  conquored  the  Britons  and  Saxons  and  established  the 
reign  of  France.  The  day  before  the  battle,  William 
sent  an  officer  to  the  English  and  asked  that  the  differ- 
ence between  the  great  nations  be  settled  by  single  com- 
bat, and  thus  spare  the  blood  of  thousands.  But  the 
English  refused  such  a  decision,  and  welcomed  battle. 
Both  armies  that  night  pitched  their  tents  within  easy 
sight  of  each  other,  expecting  the  dawn  of  day  with  im- 
patience. The  English  passed  the  night  in  song  and 
feasting;  the  French  in  devotion  and  prayer.  This  bat- 
tle, known  as  the  "Carnage  of  Hastings,"  marks  the 
end  of  Saxon  reign  in  England,  which  had  continued  for 
upwards  of  six  hundred  years. 

In  this  great  and  memorable  strife,  the  Crispe  family 
fought  in  the  French  lines,  and  though  a  few  of  the 
Crispe  people  were  engaged  at  the  battle,  they,  like  most 
of  the  brave  and  daring  soldiers  of  William  the  Cou- 
quorer,  returned  with  the  King  to  France,  receiving  the 
praise  and  tokens  of  the  jubilant  Norman-French.      It  is 


HERALDIC  TINCTURES. 


/ 

\3 

a- 

\jT 

(J 

HERALDIC  TINCTURES 

AND 
HERALDIC  BORDERS. 


SLMsniinniri 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  41 

a  part  of  the  tradition  of  the  Crispe  family  that  a  certain 
Sir  Knight  Crispe  merited  the  highest  commendation  of 
William  the  Conqueror:  and  in  letters  in  my  possession, 
written  by  relatives,  reference  is  made  of  the  gallant 
fight  made  by  the  Crispes  at  the  battle  of  Hastings. 

Some  have  supposed  that  this  war  of  1066  marks 
the  era  when  the  Crispes  emigrated  to  England,  but  this 
evidently  is  erroneous,  since  their  visit  to  England  was 
purely  that  of  soldiers,  and  after  they  saw  their  leader 
crowned  at  Westminster  by  the  Archbishop  of  York,  as 
William  the  Conqueror,  King  of  Britain,  the  soldiers  all 
accompanied  the  enthroned  monarch  back  to  the  Conti- 
nent, while  a  few  of  his  high  officials  remained  in  Eng- 
land to  execute  the  will  of  the  conqueror.  It  is  most 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  Crispe  soldiers  returned 
to  France,  where  they  possessed  great  land  tracts,  and 
where  their  families  resided. 

Fully  three  hundred  years  elapsed  before  the  Crispe 
family  emigrated  from  France  to  England,  and  during 
this  long  period  they  were  loyal  subjects  to  the  changing 
governments  of  Northern  France,  and  they  embraced, 
like  other  citizens  of  that  country,  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith — the  established  church  of  France.  But  they  were 
not  destined  to  remain  French  subjects,  nor  were  they 
devined  to  adhere  to  the  teachings  of  this  ancient  form 
of  worship. 

The  early  portion  of  the  15th  century  will  always 
be  remembered  as  having  brought  about  greater  changes 


42  THE  HISTORY  OF 

in  religion,  politics  and  habitation  than  any  other  period 
of  the  world's  history.  During  this  epoch  the  rulers  of 
Europe  were  enthroned  and  dethroned,  and  the  religious 
dispositions  of  nations  so  changed  that  historians  will 
never  cease  picturing  to  rising  generations,  the  tragic 
scenes  at  the  world's  theater  of  religious  intoleration. 
At  this  time  of  the  human  career,  thousands  of  families 
which  for  generations  had  inhabited  certain  portions  of 
country  were  by  sad  fate  driven  from  house  and  home, 
and  not  infrequently  forced  to  leave  the  country. 

The  writings  of  the  Englishman,  John  Wyckliffe,  and 
of  the  Bohemian,  John  Huss,  had  so  inflamed  the  minds 
of  the  reading  people  that  whole  communities  denied  the 
power  and  divinity  of  the  Popes,  and  this  provoked  such 
a  storm  of  indignation  that,  as  a  consequence,  an  inqui- 
sition became  the  mother  of  a  reformation.  The  great 
and  inspiring  war-cry  of  these  times  was  "  Religious 
Freedom."  It  is  unnecessary  to  recite  to  the  readers  of 
this  book  the  awful  carnage  and  torture  of  those  days, 
since  a  recitation  of  these  direful  events  would  contribute 
little  to  the  value  of  this  task,  yet  we  are  impelled  to  call 
attention  to  a  brief  resume'  of  the  character  of  the  early 
Protestants,  as  the  Crispe  family  was  among  the  early 
religionists  who  fought  against  the  established  church  of 
France,  and  suffered  expulsion  from  the  land  of  the 
fluer-de-lys,  and  they  were  Huguenot  refugees  who 
sought  shelter  under  the  tolerant   laws  of  old  England. 

These  Huguenots   and    Lollards,  as   the  early    Pro- 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  43 


testants  were  called,  were  sober,  earnest  and  faithful 
men,  and  were  for  the  most  part  farmers  and  mechanics; 
and  through  their  efforts  France  was  about  to  become 
the  industrial  center  of  the  civilized  world.  The  re- 
formers were  excellent  farmers  and  mechanics;  every- 
where the  land  gave  evidence  of  their  skillful  culture. 
The  Huguenots  were  noted  for  their  integrity,  as  well  as 
their  industry.  The  Huguenots'  word  was  as  good  as 
his  bond,  and  to  be  "  honest  as  a  Huguenot  "  became 
proverbial.  This  quality  of  integrity  so  characterized 
these  people  that  the  foreign  trade  fell  almost  entirely 
into  the  hands  of  these  honest  toilers.  The  English  and 
Dutch  were  always  prepared  to  deal  with  the  Huguenots, 
and  this  tendency  provoked  the  ire  of  those  of  the 
French  who  sought  to  maintain  the  established  church, 
and  the  French  Catholics  looked  with  stern  disfavor  on 
the  tolerance  shown  to  these  French  Protestants,  and 
the  feeling  finally  gave  way  to  laws  of  expulsion  and 
persecution.  The  Huguenots  were  noted  for  being  kind, 
generous  and  peaceable,  and  they  preferred  to  leave 
France  "  for  conscience  sake  "  rather  than  take  up  arms 
and  render  needless  bloodshed.  But  they  were  not  al- 
lowed to  depart  in  peace,  as  laws  had  been  immediately 
enacted  which  carried  within  the  statue  the  severest 
punishment  in  the  event  of  emigration.  Notwithstand- 
ing their  great  usefulness  to  the  integrity  and  prosperity 
of  France,  the  King  had  been  lead  to  regard  them  with 
open  hostilities. 


44  THIC  HISTORY  OF 


It  was  generally  understood  that  the  Huguenots 
had  no  claim  to  the  law;  they  were  treated  as  "traitors," 
and  their  lands  were  taken  from  them  and  all  property 
confiscated.  The  plunder  was  so  extensive  that  for  years 
King  Phillip  realized  upwards  of  twenty  millions  of  coin 
and  laud  annually.  Any  citizen  of  France  might  mal- 
treat these  reformers  and  .suffer  no  harm  in  return. 
Their  children  might  be  stolen  and  enslaved,  and  the 
laws  of  these  terrible  times  made  no  response.  The 
fiercest  and  most  brutal  of  the  royal  soldiers  were  turned 
against  helpless  communities  of  the  reformed.  The  re- 
fusal to  abjure  the  Protestant  faith  was  invariably  fol- 
lowed by  death  or  imprisonment.  The  Huguenots  were 
forbidden  to  bury  their  dead  or  to  comfort  their  dying. 
The  dead  were  usually  carried  to  the  open  pasture  to  lie 
subject  to  the  elements  and  beasts  of  prey. 

The  persecution  was  so  severe  that  the  reformers 
fled  from  France  by  the  thousands,  notwithstanding  the 
cruel  laws  against  emigration.  Many  were  shot  down 
on  their  way  to  the  sea,  or  captured  in  their  attempt  to 
cross  the  border;  and  those  who  were  captured  were  con- 
fined in  prison  or  given  to  slavery;  others  were  sent  to 
the  galleys;  the  purest  and  gentlest  of  the  men  were 
sent  to  prisons  and  chained  to  the  sides  of  the  vilest 
criminals.  To  each  captive  Huguenot  was  held  out  the 
pardon  writ,  if  he  abandoned  the  avowed  faith.  Among 
the  exiles  were  some  of  the  noblest  names  of  France. 
The  greater   number  of  the  refugees  were   literary  men 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  45 

and  those  of  good  education.  There  were  man}-  fair- 
minded  people  in  France  who  labored  earnestly  to  lend 
the  Huguenots  a  protecting  hand;  these  people,  though 
they  did  not  believe  with  them,  cheerfully  lent  them 
aid  and  expressed  sympathy  for  their  cause;  and  even 
these  sympathisers  did  not  escape  the  cruelties  of  the 
prison  life. 

Oppression  followed  ridicule,  and  banishment  grew 
out  of  persecution.  But  all  this  harsh  and  unjust  treat- 
ment only  strengthened  these  determined  disciples  of 
Christ  to  continue  in  their  happy  belief.  Nothing  could 
have  had  a  more  encouraging  effect  on  their  minds  than 
abuse  and  persecution;  these  two  agencies  were  necessary 
to  make  a  rock-founded  faith.  These  reformers  learned 
from  the  scriptures  that  conscience  was  a  far  more  sacred 
thing  than  an  institution;  that  man's  duty  was  first  to 
his  God,  and  next  to  his  government;  that  piety  meant 
something  more  than  mere  observance  of  forms  and  cere- 
monies; that  love  of  justice  and  individual  virtue  was  a 
nobler  sentiment  than  loyalty — when  loyalty  meant  tol- 
eration of  iniquity  and  scandal. 

The  untold  suffering  which  was  heaped  upon  these 
sincere  worshipers  can  be  better  imagined  than  described, 
and  all  students  of  history  are  familiar  with  their  heroic 
sacrifices. 

These  fugitives  fled  leaving  all  they  possessed  to  the 
intollerant;  and  at  night,  in  open  boats,  the  refugees 
braved  the  fury  of  the  English  Channel. 


46  THE  HISTORY  OF 


Among  those  who  endured  the  hardships  and  priva- 
tions of  those  days  were  the  family  of  Crispe. 

It  is  needless  to  quote  the  authority  of  the  foregoing, 
since  any  history  of  those  times  will  portray  the  same  in- 
cidents, with  possibly  this  difference:  that  the  severity 
and  torture  is  considerably  elimiated  and  abridged  in  my 
account. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  47 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY  IN  ENGLAND. 

The  Crispe  family  came  from  the  Province  of  Fland- 
ria,  and  landed  in  Rye,  Sussex  county,  England;  but 
the  accommodations  at  this  small  seaport  were  inadequate, 
and  the  Crispe  family,  with  others,  was  compelled  to 
make  their  abode  in  the  moors  of  Sussex.  They  re- 
mained in  this  hiding  place  for  upwards  of  three  months 
and  then  went  inland.  From  Rye  many  proceeded  to 
London,  to  join  their  countrymen  who  had  settled  there; 
others  went  forward  to  Canterbury  and  towns  where  con- 
gregations of  Huguenots  were  organizing. 

Full  particulars  of  these  "  Refugees  of  France"  can 
be  gotten  at  the  Sussex  Archaeological  Collections,  vol- 
ume XIII;  also  in  Samuel  Smiles'  "  The  Huguenots." 

What  earthly  possessions  the  Crispe  family  had  after 
leaving  their  lands,  cattle  and  estates  in  France  is  not 
definitely  known,  but  tradition  and  stray  records  indicate 
that  they  brought  with  them  considerable  coin  and  a  few 
valuables.  The  family  settled  in  Kent  for  the  most  part, 
though  some  few  emigrated  to  the  Shires  and  into  Nor- 
wich. The  family  in  the  Kentish  district  soon  became 
a  prominent  family,  identified  with  the  Protestant  move- 
ment of  England;  but  the  incident  which  contributed 
most  to  the  prominence  and  success  was  the  marriage  of 
a  Crispe  to  the  daughter  of  the  famous  house  of  Quex. 
The  importance  of  these  people  and  the  character  of  this 


4§  THE  HISTORY  OF 

kinship  is  best  described  in  the  following  article,  which 
can  be  found  in  "  Chambers'  Journal  of  Popular  Litera- 
ture, Science  and  Art,"  volume  VI,  page  173,  Saturday, 
March  16,   1SS9: 

"  THE    STORY    OF    QUEX. 

"  111  the  Isle  of  Thanet  and  the  near  vicinage  of  that 
favorite  seaside  resort  of  Londoners,  Margate,  is  a  resi- 
dence bearing  the  somewhat  uneuphonious  name  of  Quex. 
This  house  is  a  modern  building,  and  though  not  occupy- 
ing precisely  the  same  site,  is  the  successor  of  an  older 
mansion  which  was  not  wanting  in  historical  associations, 
besides  being  noteworthy  as  the  scene  of  the  remarkable 
occurrence  about  to  be  narrated.  From  a  view  taken  in 
17S1,  the  old  house  of  Quex — or  Quekes  as  it  was  some- 
times spelled — appears  to  have  been  an  extensive  brick 
building  in  the  ornate  Elizabeth  style,  with  decorati  :e 
gables,  but  having  large  bay  windows  of  stone.  Yet 
even  at  that  time  it  had  fallen  into  an  almost  ruinous  con- 
dition. Some  of  the  dilapidated  rooms  had  already  been 
pulled  down;  others  followed  from  time  to  time;  and 
early  in  the  present  century  the  whole  of  what  remained 
was,  with  the  exception  of  some  unimportant  fragments, 
demolished.  A  cellar  and  portions  of  a  garden  wall  are 
alone  left  of  it,  though  panelling  and  some  other  relics 
were  removed  to  the  new  house. 

"Such  was  its  fate.  Yet,  in  addition  to  that  story 
with  which  we  have  chiefly  to  do,  an  interest  attached  to 
the  old  house  at  Quex  as  having  been  an  occasional  place 


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ADDITIONAL  HERALDIC  ORDINARIES. 


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CASTLE   HOME, 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY. 


of  sojourn  of  king  William  III.  If,  when  that  sovereign 
was  about  to  pay  one  of  his  numerous  visits  to  his  native 
country,  he  was  detained  by  contrary  winds,  it  was  here 
that  he  was  accustomed  to  take  up  his  abode.  The 
King's  bedchamber  was  long  pointed  out.  His  guards 
encamped  in  the  enclosures  round  the  house. 

"  This  place  was  in  ancient  times  the  seat  of  a  fam- 
ily who  derived  their  name  from  it;  but  in  the  15th  cen- 
tury (about  14S5)  an  heir-female  of  the  Quekes  brought 
the  manor  to  a  family  previously  seated  at  Stanlake,  in 
Oxfordshire — the  Crispes.  That  house  became  thence- 
forward important  in  Kent;  and  a  certain  Henry  Crispe, 
who  died  in  1575,  acquired  so  much  local  influence  as  to 
be  commonly  styled   '  King  of  the  Isle  of  Thanet.' 

"  In  Commonwealth  times  another  Henry  Crispe,  a 
grand-nephew  of  the  King  of  Thanet,  was  Master  of 
Quex.  This  gentleman  had  acquired  the  nickname  of 
'  Bonjour  Crispe  '  from  the  circumstance  that  during  a 
residence  in  France  he  had  learned  no  more  of  the  French 
language  than  that  one  word.  But  if  not  distinguished 
as  a  linguist,  his  birth  and  position  caused  him  to  be  re- 
spected among  his  neighbours.  He  had  served  his  year  as 
High  Sheriff  of  Kent,  and  unlike  many  of  his  class,  he 
had  not  been  so  indiscreet  as  to  impoverish  himself  by 
any  unnecessary  display  of  loyalty  for  King  Charles. 
He  seems,  indeed,  so  far  as  there  is  material  on  which 
to  form  a  judgment,  to  have  been  one  of  those  prudent 
politicians    who    endeavored    to    stand    well    with    both 


54  THE  HISTORY  OF 

parties.  At  the  time  in  question  he  was  considerably  ad- 
vanced in  years  and  in  infirm  health,  and  was  leading  a 
life  of  easy  and  affluent  retirement  in  his  paternal 
mansion. 

"  But  his  dignified  repose  was  not  destined  to  con- 
tinue. A  warning  was  conveyed  to  Mr.  Crispe  that  he 
was  in  danger — that  he  had  enemies  whose  machinations 
threatened  his  safety.  The  exact  nature  of  the  impend- 
ing peril  does  not  appear  to  have  been  hinted,  and  in- 
deed the  whole  warning  seems  to  have  been  of  the  most 
vague  and  unsatisfactory  description.  Most  men,  per- 
haps, would  have  treated  such  an  anonymous  alarm  with 
contempt;  but  it  filled  the  worthy  owner  of  Quex  with 
uneasiness.  He  took  measures  for  his  own  defence.  He 
armed  his  servants;  he  caused  holes  to  be  made  in  the 
walls  of  his  house  in  such  places  as  he  considered  desira- 
ble for  the  more  effectual  use  of  firearms;  and  is  said  to 
have  offered  bountiful  entertainment  to  all  those  of  his 
neighbours  who  by  lodging  for  a  night  in  Quex  might  aid 
in  his  protection. 

"But  the  scare  blew  by.  It  seemed  as  if  it  had 
been  a  mere  idle  and  groundless  alarm.  Indeed,  the 
times  were  not  now  such  as  to  favour  any  scheme  of  law- 
less violence.  Oliver  had  seated  himself  firmly  in  the 
place  of  supreme  power,  and  maintained  order  through- 
out the  land  with  a  hand  of  iron.  Mr.  Crispe  allowed  his 
precaution  to  be  relaxed,  and  life  in  Quex  resumed  its 
ordinary  calm. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY. 


"How  or  by  whom  the  mysterious  warning  had 
been  conveyed  to  Mr.  Crispe  is  uncertain.  But  it  was  no 
idle  rumour;  nor  was  the  danger  by  any  means  past. 
His  enemies  were  simply  waiting  for  a  convenient  season 
in  which  to  put  their  plans  in  practice;  for  a  plot  had  ac- 
tually been  arranged  in  which  this  unfortunate  gentleman 
had  been  marked  out  as  a  victim,  and  that  plot  was  under 
the  direction  of  a  leader  of  no  ordinary  qualities  or  char- 
acter. 

"  Among  the  daring  spirits  developed  by  the  great 
civil  war  there  was  no  loyalist  more  enthusiastically  de- 
voted to  the  Crown,  more  fertile  in  expedient,  or  of  more 
dashing  bravery  than  Captain  Golding  of  Ramsgate. 
Had  he  been  a  rider  instead  of  a  sailor,  he  would  have 
been  a  cavalier  after  Prince  Rupert's  own  heart.  One  of 
his  exploits  during  the  Commonwealth  had  been  carrying 
off  a  rich  merchantman,  the  '  Blackamoor  Queen;'  and 
after  converting  both  ship  and  cargo  into  money,  handing 
over  the  proceeds  to  the  exiled  Prince  Charles,  to  whom 
at  that  time,  perhaps,  a  proof  of  loyalty  in  no  other  form 
could  have  been  so  welcome. 

"  Captain  Golding  it  was  who  was  the  originator  and 
moving  spirit  of  the  plot,  and  as  a  Thauet  man,  the 
house  of  Quex  and  all  its  surroundings  were  perfectly 
familiar  to  him.  He  proceeded  to  carry  out  his  plans  in 
due  time.  One  night  in  the  month  of  August,  1657; 
Golding  with  a  number  of  resolute  men,  partly  English 
and   partly  foreigners,   landed    unobserved  at    Gore-end, 


56  THK  HISTORY  OF 


near  Birchington-on-Sea,  and  marched  to  Ouex.  So  well 
did  he  order  matters  that  he  was  able  to  reach  it  and  force 
an  entrance  without  giving  any  alarm  to  the  neighbour- 
hood. None  of  those  who  had  feasted  on  Mr.  Crispe's 
good  cheer  were  there  to  defend  him;  not  a  shot  was  fired 
through  the  loopholes  he  had  made;  and  his  servants, 
taken  by  surprise,  were  too  completely  overawed  and 
overpowered  to  offer  the  least  resistance.  The  unlucky 
gentleman  woke  from  his  slumbers  only  to  find  his  bed 
surrounded  by  armed  men.  He  was  ordered  to  rise,  and 
the  horses  having  been  put  to  his  own  coach,  he  was 
placed  within  and  escorted  by  his  captors  to  the  beach. 
When  he  became  aware  that  he  was  to  be  carried  be- 
yond the  seas,  he  made  earnest  entreaty  to  be  allowed  to 
take  one  of  his  own  servants  with  him;  but  this  was  re- 
fused, though  the  state  of  his  health  rendered  such  an 
indulgence  very  desirable.  He  was  thrust  into  an  open 
boat  and  carried  off  to  Captain  Golding's  ship,  in  which 
he  was  at  once  conveyed  as  a  prisoner  to  the  Low  Coun- 
tries. 

"  The  abduction  of  Mr.  Crispe  of  Quex  is  interest- 
ing from  the  fact  that  it  is  a  solitary  case.  In  modern 
times  it  has  no  parallel  in  England.  We  have  no  other 
instance  of  an  English  gentleman  of  position  being  forci- 
bly carried  off  from  his  home  in  an  English  county,  al- 
though in  some  other  countries  such  affairs  have  by  no 
means  been  exceptional. 

"  The  unfortunate   Mr.   Crispe  was  conveyed  to  Os- 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  57 

tend,  and  thence  to  Bruges,  both  of  which  places  were 
then  subject  to  Spain,  a  power  against  which  the  English 
Commonwealth  was  at  that  time  at  war.  No  redress  was 
therefore  to  be  hoped  for  through  the  intervention  of  the 
Spanish  Government,  and  indeed,  as  will  be  seen  in  the 
sequel,  it  was  in  his  own  Government  that  the  prisoner 
found  his  worst  obstacle  to  the  recovery  of  liberty. 
However,  from  his  prison-house  in  Bruges  Mr.  Crispe 
was  allowed  to  communicate  with  his  friends,  and  in  es- 
especial  to  inform  them  that  a  sum  of  three  thousand 
pounds  would  be  required  for  his  ransom. 

"  Mr.  Crispe  had  an  only  son,  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe; 
but  for  some  reason — probably  owing  to  the  declining 
health  of  Sir  Nicholas — a  nephew  who  resided  not  far 
from  Quex,  a  Mr.  Thomas  Crispe,  appears  to  have  been 
the  relative  upon  whose  good  offices  the  captive  chiefly 
relied.  This  nephew  at  once  set  out  for  the  Low  Coun- 
tries. Arrived  at  Bruges,  he  found  no  difficulty  in  ob- 
taining access  to  his  uncle,  to  whom  indeed,  apart  from 
the  deprivation  of  liberty,  no  ill  treatment  appears  to 
have  been  offered;  and  after  due  consultation,  it  was  de- 
termined to  agree  to  the  terms  proposed.  Thomas  Crispe 
accordingly  returned  to  England  to  arrange  with  his 
cousin,  Sir  Nicholas,  the  means  of  raising  the  sum  re- 
quired— a  far  more  serious  matter  in  those  days  than  it 
would  be  now  —  and  to  take  whatever  steps  might  be 
desirable  to  facilitate  the  payment  of  it.  But  the  un- 
happy    Squire    was    far    from    the    end    of    his    trou- 


58  THE  HISTORY  OF 

bles;    an    unlooked-for    difficulty    was    about     to    arise. 

"  Various  as  may  be  the  advantages  of  standing  well 
with  both  parties,  it  has  one  disadvantage — the  trimmer 
can  expect  to  be  trusted  by  neither  side;  and  so  found 
prudent  Mr.  Crispe.  Whilst  the  Royalists  regarded  him 
as  no  better  than  a  rebel  and  a  fit  subject  for  spoliation, 
Cromwell,  on  the  other  hand,  suspected  him  of  collusion 
with  the  King's  friends;  that  he  had,  in  brief,  been  a 
consenting  party  to  his  own  abduction,  and  that  the 
whole  affair  had  been  arranged  to  afford  a  colourable  pre- 
text for  supplying  the  exiled  Charles  with  English  money. 
All  power  was  now  in  the  Protector's  hands,  and  he  caused 
an  Order  in  Council  to  be  issued  in  which  any  ransom 
whatever  was  forbidden  to  be  paid  for  Mr.  Crispe. 

"  Between  Royalists  and  Cromwellians  the  poor  gen- 
tleman was  indeed  in  an  evil  case.  A  prisoner  he  had  to 
remain;  and  whilst  bribes  and  indirect  influence  of  vari- 
ous kinds  were  being  employed  in  all  promising  quarters 
to  obtain  a  revocation  of  the  vexatious  Order,  matters 
were  still  further  complicated  by  the  death  of  the  heir, 
Sir  Nicholas  Crispe.  The  whole  burden  of  his  uncle's 
affairs  now  fell  upon  Thomas,  who  appears  to  have  shown 
most  praiseworthy  zeal  in  their  management.  Six  times 
in  the  autum  and  winter  of  1657-58  did  he  cross  and  re- 
cross  the  narrow  seas  to  confer  with  and  console  his  af- 
flicted relative. 

"  At  last  the  desired  license  from  government  was 
obtained;  but  the  cost  of  obtaining  it,  with   other  neces- 


THE  CRISPK  FAMILY.  59 


sary  expenses,  had  so  much  impoverished  the  Crispes 
that  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  raise  the  ransom  without 
selling  some  part  of  the  estate.  To  procure  from  his 
uncle  the  necessary  legal  authority  for  doing  this  in- 
volved another  journey  to  Bruges  on  the  part  of  Thomas 
Crispe.  Eventually,  by  the  sale  of  certain  lands  and  the 
mortgage  of  the  estate  of  Stonar  in  the  isle  of  Thanet, 
the  money  was  procured  and  paid  over.  Whether  any 
part  of  it  found  its  way  into  the  coffers  of  Prince  Charles 
is  a  matter  of  conjecture  merely.  It  was  only  after  a 
captivity  of  eight  months  that  Mr.  Crispe  was  allowed  to 
return  to  his  home  a  free  man. 

"It  is  recorded  that  after  all  his  troubles  he  again 
lived  in  peace  at  Quex  for  several  years.  He  died  at  that 
place  on  the  25th  of  July,  1663,  leaving,  it  is  satisfactory 
to  learn,  his  estate  to  that  nephew  who  had  so  well  done 
a  kinsman's  part  by  him. 

"It  is  satisfactory  also  to  learn  that  Captain  Golding 
closed  his  adventerous  but  somewhat  dubuous  career  with 
honour.  Whilst  Cromwell  lived,  he  took  good  care  to 
keep  beyond  his  reach,  and  remained  in  high  favour  with 
Prince  Charles  throughout  his  exile.  At  the  Restoration 
in  1660  he  returned  with  his  master  to  England,  and,  as 
his  share  of  the  good  things  at  that  time  showered  upon 
his  party,  received  command  of  the  '  Diamond  '  man-of- 
war.  In  1665  he  fell  bravely  in  battle  whilst  fighting  his 
ship  against  the  Dutch  frigates. 

"In   the  church    of    Birchington-on-Sea,   of    which 


6o  THE  HISTORY  OF 


parish  the  manor  of  Quex  forms  a  portion,  there  is  a 
Quex  Chapel.  It  contains  monumental  brasses  and  other 
memorials  of  the  houses  of  Ouekes  and  Crispe.  Notice- 
able among  them  is  the  fine  tomb  of  Henry  Crispe.  The 
brasses,  six  in  number,  are  to  the  earlier  line. 

"  Since  the  extinction  of  the  male  line  of  the  Crispes 
in  16S0,  Quex  has  had  many  owners.  It  was  once  pur- 
chased by  the  first  Lord  Holland  for  his  famous  son, 
Charles  James  Fox.  But  that  nobleman  soon  found  him- 
self obliged  to  sell  it  again;  hence  among  the  associations 
of  Quex  it  is  unable  to  number  that  of  having  ever  been 
the  residence  of  the  great  Whig  orator  and  statesman." 

Additional  notes  of  interest  on  this  family  can  be 
found  at  the  Newberry  Library,  Chicago,  in  the  "His- 
tory of  Kent,"  by  Ireland,  page  491,  where  upwards  of 
eight  pages  are  devoted  to  the  Crispe- Quex  marriage. 
This  account  in  part  reads: 

"'The  Manor  of  Quexes,  or  Quex,'  as  it  is  often 
spelled  in  ancient  deeds.  —  This  district  occupies  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  parish,  being  about  three-quart- 
ers of  a  mile  from  the  church,  having  been  formerly  the 
seat  of  a  family,  whence  it  acquired  its  name,  many  of 
whom  are  buried  within  the  church.  This  property, 
which  belonged  to  the  Quakes  as  early  as  the  year  1400, 
was  also  possessed  by  the  Crispes,  one  of  which  family, 
in  1650,  was  appointed  Sheriff;  but  owing  to  his  advanced 
age  and  iufirmaties  his  son  was  permitted  to  execute  that 


i  mm  m  l 


Z~m  .    Y////V 


KNIGHTS  IN  FULL  ARMOR. 


zii-y /■-'■■ --7^  —f  -/  '^sStL  •-     - 


COATS-OF-ARMS  AND  HELMETS. 


THE  CRISPIi  FAMILY.  65 

office  in  his  stead.  This  individual  was  commonly  known 
by  the  appelation  of  '  Boujour  Crispe,'  from  having  been 
kept  for  a  length  of  time  prisoner  in  France,  during 
which  period  he  never  acquired  more  knowledge  of  the 
French  than  the  above  word.  The  circumstances  con- 
nected with  that  detention  being  rather  singular,  we  deem 
it  necessary  to  insert  the  account,  which  is  as  follows: 

"  '  In  August,  1657,  this  gentleman,  during  the 
night,  was  forcibly  carried  off  from  his  seat  at  Quekes  by 
several  persons,  consisting  of  Englishmen  as  well  as  for- 
eigners, conveyed  to  Bruges,  in  Flanders,  and  there  de- 
tained a  prisoner  till  the  sum  of  ,£3,000  should  be  paid 
for  his  ransom.  A  few  days  after  his  arrival  he  sent  to 
his  nephew,  Thomas,  then  residing  near  Quekes,  desiring 
he  would  repair  to  Bruges  and  assist  him  in  that  peculiar 
exigency.  Having  complied,  and  consulted  together,  he 
despatched  his  nephew  to  England  to  unite  his  endeavors 
with  those  of  his  son,  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe,  for  the  pro- 
curing his  liberation,  in  effecting  which  they  encount- 
ered great  difficulty,  as  Cromwell,  who  was  then  Pro- 
tector, suspected  the  whole  to  be  mere  collusion  in  order 
to  procure  ,£3,000  for  the  use  of  Charles  II,  then  upon 
the  Continent;  wherefor  an  order  was  issued  by  Crom- 
well, in  council,  that  Mr.  Crispe  should  not  be  ransomed. 
Sir  Nicholas  in  consequence  died  before  that  gentleman's 
wish  was  effected,  when  the  whole  management  devolved 
on  Thomas,  the  nephew,  to  obtain  the  license  and  raise 
the   funds;    which  being  unable   to   accomplish  without 


66  THE  HISTORY  OF 

selling  a  portion  of  his  uncle's  lands,  the  latter  empow- 
ered him  and  his  son-in-law,  Robert  Darell,  so  to  do;  who, 
although  every  despatch  was  resorted  to,  did  not  accom- 
plish the  release  of  Mr.  Crispe  under  eight  months,  who 
then  returned  to  England  and  ended  his  days  at  Quekes 
in  1663.' 

"The  above  singular  enterprise  was  contrived  and 
put  into  effect  by  Captain  Goldiug,  of  Ramsgate,  a 
Staunch  Royalist,  who  had  sought  refuge  with  Charles 
II  in  France.  The  party  landed  at  Gorend,  near  Birch- 
ington,  and  took  Mr.  Crispe  from  his  bed  without  the 
least  resistance;  though  it  appears  that  apprehension  of 
such  an  attack  had  been  entertained  and  precautions 
taken  to  secure  the  mansion,  the  proprietor  having  af- 
forded hospitality  to  such  among  his  neighbours  who 
would  lodge  in  his  premises  for  the  purpose  of  defending 
him.  Mr.  Crispe  was  then  conveyed  in  his  own  carriage 
to  the  sea  coast,  where  he  was  forced  into  an  open  boat, 
not  one  of  his  domestics  being  permitted  to  attend,  al- 
though he  particularly  requested  it  as  a  favor. 

"  Mr.  Crispe  died  possessed  of  his  seat,  having  had 
one  son  and  a  daughter,  the  former  of  whom  was 
knighted,  but  dying  before  his  father  in  1657,  it  devolved 
to  his  daughter,  who  espoused  Sir  Richard  Powle,  of 
Berkshire.  At  this  mansion  of  Quekes,  King  William 
was  in  the  habit  of  residing  till  the  winds  favored  his 
embarkation  for  the  Continent;  and  a  chamber  said  to 
have  been  the  sleeping  room  of  the   royal   guest   used  to 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  67 


be  shown.  During  those  visits  the  monarch's  guards 
were  encamped  in  the  adjoining  enclosure. 

"  The  mansion  in  question  was  a  large,  commodious 
edifice,  built  partly  of  timber  and  brick,  upon  the  sight 
of  which  was  erected  the  present  seat,  now  in  possession 
of  J.  W.  Powell,  Esq.  This  gentleman  has  also  caused 
to  be  built  two  beautiful  towers,  presenting  very  pictur- 
esque objects:  the  one  containing  a  set  of  most  sonorous 
bells;  the  structure  being  internally  fitted  up  in  a  very 
beautiful  manner  with  mahogany  stair-cases,  etc.  The 
other  tower  is  appropriated  by  its  munificent  owner  to 
the  pastime  of  discharges  of  canon,  which  with  the  peals 
of  his  bells  constitute  a  favorite  amusement  of  the  gen- 
tleman in  question.  These  towers  standing  contiguous 
to  Birchington,  and  opposite  to  Cleeve,  are  perceptible  in 
every  direction  to  a  great  distance,  and  may  be  regarded 
as  very  picturesque  in  the  embellishments  of  the  Isle  of 
Thanet." 

It  will  be  of  interest  to  all  to  read  the  will  of  this 
captive,  and  to  learn  of  the  generous  consideration  he 
showed  to  Thomas  Crispe,  who  was  the  cause  of  his  re- 
lease: I  am  indebted  to  Fred.  A.  Crispe,  of  London,  for 
the  following  extract: 

"  I,  Henry  Crispe,  late  of  Queakes,  in  the  Parish  of 
Birchington,  within  the  Isle  of  Thanett,  in  the  County 
of  Kent:  '  to  be  interred  in  the  Parish  Church  of  Birch- 
ington, neare  the  Tombe  by  me  erected  for  my  wife  and 
Children    now  departed.'      'Unto    my   grand-child,    Mrs. 


68  THK  HISTORY  OF 


Anna  Crispe  .£100  and  such  Jewells  and  Dimons  as  were 
my  wife's  in  her  life  time.'  And  to  my  daughter, 
Thomasiue  Lady  Crispe,  her  mother,  I  doe  give  my 
watch  with  ye  silver  case,  and  that  small  dimond  ring 
which  I  had  of  ye  gift  of  '  Sir  Henry  Crispe,  Knight, 
deceased.'  Unto  my  beloved  nephew,  Lieutenant 
Thomas  Crispe,  eldest  sonne  of  my  loving  brother,  Mr. 
Thomas  Crispe,  of  Cant,  my  houses,  etc.,  in  Bireh- 
ington,  knowne  by  the  name  of  Queckes,  late  in  mine 
own  occupation  before  I  was  Carried  away  Prisiner  into 
Flanders.  Also  lands  at  St.  Nicholas,  at  Wade,  neare 
Brookseud,  etc.,  one  other  small  tenement  and  windmill 
in  Birchington,  and  my  manor  of  Stoner;  leases  at  Sand- 
wich, and  houses  at  Create  Chart  and  Ashford.  My 
manor  of  Haselton,  also  Haiston.  The  same  to  my  said 
nephew  (Thomas  Crispe)  and  he  sole  owner  and  executor. 
Will  proved,  Oct.  23rd,  1667,  by  Thomas  Crispe." 

The  Kentish  Historic  Calauder,  in  describing  the  Isle 
of  Thanet,  refers  to  this  Henry  Crispe,  and  in  comment- 
ing on  the  Crispe-Quex  estate,  says  on  page  52: 

"  OUEX    PARK 

"in  which  stands  the  manor  house  of  Quex  or  Great 
Quex,  formerly  the  seat  of  the  family  of  that  name  in 
the  15th  century.  The  Crispes  succeeded  the  Quexes, 
through  intermarriage  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.  The 
old  manor  house  was  frequently  visited  by  William  III, 
on  his  journeys  to  and  from  the  continent.  Here  Henry 
Crispe,  a  wealthy  Puritan,  was   seized  in  1657  by  a  Roy- 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  69 

alist  named  Captain  Golding,  who  carried  him  off  to 
Bruges,  and  detained  him  there  until  he  paid  a  ransom  of 
^3,000.  He  was  commonly  called  'Bonjour  Crispe'  from 
his  never  learning  more  of  French  abroad  than  those  two 
words,  which  it  is  probable  he  frequently  misapplied.  In 
the  park  stand  two  elegant  towers;  one  of  which  contains 
a  fine  peal  of  twelve  belles.  The  present  owner  is  Hor- 
ace Powell  Cotton,  Esq." 

Letters  of  Stephen  Charlton  to  Sir  R.  Leveson,  Lon- 
don, 5th  Report,  page  165,  speaks  of  this  incident: 

"July  25,  1657.  There  came  this  week  from  Dun- 
kirk shallops  which  landed  a  party  of  Musketeers  upon 
the  Island  of  Thanet  and  went  to  a  knight's  house  (Crispe) 
not  far  off  the  sea,  and  plundered  his  house  and  took  from 
him  a  matter  of  1500  £  in  money  and  carried  the  Knight 
away  with  them;  and  they  would  have  taken  his  eldest 
son  and  his  wife  also  (if  it  had  not)  been  that  he  engaged 
upon  his  honor  to  cause  ^1,000  to  be  sent  to  them  to 
Bruges  within  a  certain  time  for  his  ransom.  Meantime 
they  have  taken  the  Knight  for  security  till  the  money  be 
paid.  It  is  supposed  that  they  were  most  of  them  En- 
glishmen. " 

The  Royal  Heralds  visited  the  Island  of  Thanet  early 
in  the  16th  century  and  in  their  report  to  the  King  and 
parliament  said  in  part: 

'« It  appears  that  the  following  distinguished  fami- 
ies  have  at  different  periods  been  residents  in  the  Isle  of 
Thanet:   Cleybrooke,  1574,    1619.     Petit,    of    Dandelion; 


jo  THE  HISTORY  OF 

Johnson,  of  Nether  Court;  Tenche,  of  Birehiugton,  1619: 
Curling,  of  Thanet;  Northwood,  of  Dane  Court;  Harty, 
of  Birehington;  Spracklyn,  of  St.  Lawrence;  Crispe,  of 
Ouekes  and  Clive  Court;  Paramor,  of  St.  Nicholas;  Saun- 
ders, of  St.  Lawrence;  Mason,  of  Monkton.  "  Ireland 
History  of  Kent  County,  Page  464. 

The  Heralds  Visitation  in  Kent  granted  to  the  Crispe 
family  in  1574,  the  following  family  Coat-of-Arms;  the 
copy  of  this  grant  is  taken  from  the  Heralds  College, 
Loudon,  and  reads  as  follows  : 

"'Ermine',  a  'fess'  chequy  'argent,'  and  'sable,' 
quartering  'or'  on  a  '  chevorn  sable,'  five  horseshoes  of 
the  first." 

In  1 6 19  we  find  that  the  Royal  Heralds  granted 
the  family  a  Crest  as  follows:  "  Crest,  a  camehleopard, 
'Argent'  pallettee  collared  and  lined  'or.'  " 

When  the  famous  Sir  Henry  Crispe  was  knighted 
we  learn  the  King  conferred  on  the  family  the  right  of 
decorating  the  family  ensign  with  the  helment  of  a 
Knight,  and  the  College  of  Heralds  was  instructed  to 
render  a  motto,  which  they  did  and  reads:  "Dum 
Tempus  Habemus  Peremur  Bonum."  This  coat-of- 
arms,  in  its  evolved  character,  is  well  represented  in  the 
book-plates  of  Sir  John  Crispe.  In  connection  with  the 
granting  of  coats-of-arms  to  the  Crispe  family  a  com- 
munication from  the  Honorable  William  Winde,  a  rela- 
tive of  the  Crispe  family  in  a  communication  to  the  Gen- 
tleman's Magazine  (1S47 — volume   1,    page    598)    speaks 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY 


of  a  grant  of  arms  to  the  Crispes,  and  this  ensign  is 
slightly  different  to  the  ones  previously  employed,  and 
indicates  that  a  relationship  by  marriage  exists  between 
the  Crispe  people  and  General  de  Zulestein,  first  Earl  of 
Rockford  and  grandson  of  Henry,  Prince  of  Orange.  The 
article  by  Winde  reads  as  follows  : 

"  House  of  Assembly, 
"  Montreal,  Canada,  April  10,  1847. 
"  Mr.  Urban  : 

As  one  of  the  oldest  of  a  line  of  readers  of  the  Gen- 
tleman's Magazine  for  three  generations,  my  grandfather 
commenced  his  subscription  in  the  year  1740,  I  take 
the  liberty  of  seeking  information  through  its  columns  on 
a  question  of  genealogy. 

"  I  am  engaged  in  researches  on  the  pedegree  and 
arms  of  the  ancient  family  of  Crispe,  of  Queckes  and 
Clive  Court,  in  Thanet,  Co.  Kent,  and  of  Roy  ton  Chapel, 
in  Leuham  in  the  same  county. 

"  From  the  Crispes  of  Royton  Chapel  my  descent  is 
clear  and  indesputable  on  the  parental  side,  my  paternal 
grandmother  having  been  a  Belcher  of  Field  Farm,  in 
Egerton  and  Ulcomb,  Co.  Kent,  and  her  mother  a  Crispe 
of  Royton  Chapel,  sister  of  the  late  William  Crispe,  Esq., 
my  great  uncle  who  died  issueless,  seized  in  fee  of  the 
estate  of  Royton  in  the  year  1762. 

"This  aforesaid  William  Crispe  married  the  sister  of 
niy  great  grandfather  Belcher,  and  thus  the  families  of 
Crispe  and  Belcher  became  united  by  a  double    marriage. 


72  THK  HISTORY  OF 


"  The  Belchers  of  Ulconib,  Co.  Kent,  were  three 
brothers— Peter,  ray  great  grandfather,  afterwards  of 
Field  Farm  in  Kgerton,  Samuel  and  Stringer;  the  first  of 
no  profession;  the  second,  Samuel,  a  physician,  and 
Stringer,  the  rector  of  Ulcomb. 

"They  were  originally  of  Gilsborough,  county 
Northampton  and  their  family  arms:  Or,  three  pales 
gules,  a  chief  of  vaire,  which  arms  are  engraved  on  the 
plate  derived  by  inheritance  from  my  great  grandfather, 
Peter  Belcher  aforesaid. 

"  The  arms  of  Crispe,  of  Oueckes  and  Clive  Court 
in  Thanet,  county  Kent,  are  those  of  Sir  Henry  Crispe 
of  Queckes,  Kent,  temp.  Henry  VIII.  Ermine,  a  fess 
chequy  arg.  and  sable,  quartering  or,  on  a  chevorn 
sable  five  horseshoes  of  the  first.  'Another  coat  of  Crispe, 
Crest  a  camel-leopard  arg.  pellettee,  collared  and  lined 
or.'  In  all  the  arms  of  the  Crispes  of  Kent  the  crest  is 
camel  leopard,  except  in  one  instance  which  I  have  re- 
cently seen  in  a  work  entitled,  'The  Book  of  Crests,' 
volumes  I  and  II  anonymous,  published  by  Henry  Wash- 
burne,  London. 

"  This  book  gives  the  crest  of  Crispe,  volume  II, 
plate  39,  No.  28,  as  'the  attires  of  a  stag  issuing  out  of 
a  ducal  coronet  all  ppr.  ' 

"  Your  heareldic  readers  will  recognize  this  crest  as 
that  of  Nassau  de  Zulestein,  first  Earl  of  Rochford,  temp. 
William  III;  and  of  Nassau,  Prince  of  Orange,  of  whom 
General   de   Zulestein,    first   Farl  of    Rochford,    was  the 


HENRY  CRISPE. 

(Prisoner  in  Flanders.) 


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HENRY  CRISPE,  PRISONER, 
(Bruges,  F landers.) 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY 


grandson  by  a  natural  son  of  Henry,  Prince  of  Orange. 
(Debritt's  Peerage,  London,  1824.) 

"The  information  that  I  seek  is,  to  what  branch  of 
the  Crispe  family  does  the  crest  mentioned  by  the  anony- 
mous author  belong?  Under  what  circumstances,  and 
by  whom  was  it  granted? 

"At  a  distance  of  4,000  miles  from  this  source  of 
direct  evidence,  and  having  only  Edmoudson  &  Burke 
without  pedigrees  to  refer  to,  I  find  nothing  to  enlighten 
me  on  this  subject,  and  am  therefore  compelled  to  crave 
the  assistance  of  those  who,  with  the  ability,  may  have 
inclination  to  aid  me  in  my  inquiries. 

"  I  further  observe  that  there  is  a  tradition  in  the 
Crispe  family,  of  Roy  ton,  Co.  Kent,  a  curious  piece  of 
secret  history  respecting  the  Orange  Massue  family,  to 
which  this  very  crest  points,  and  which  more  particular 
research  concerning  it  will  enable  me  to  elucidate  and 
explain. 

"  Should  any  of  your  learned  genealogical  readers  do 
me  the  favor  to  notice  this  communication  and  give  the 
information  I  desire,  I  shall,  (D.  V.)  at  a  future  period, 
give  a  memoir  of  the  ancient  family  of  Crispe  from  the 
time  of  Henry  VII,  when  John  Crispe  married  Agnes, 
only  daughter  and  heiress  of  John  Quekes,  to  the  present 
period . 

"  The  Crispes  appear  as  sheriffs  of  Kent,  with  the 
Septvans,  Guilfords,  Diggeses,  Darells,  etc.,  (Vide  Full- 
er's Worthies,  Vol.   I,    pp.515   note)   and  inLombarde's 


78  THK  HISTORY  OF 

Perambulations  of  Kent,  are  also  the  names  of  suche  of 
the  nobilitie  and  gentrie  as  the  heralds  recorded  in  their 
visitations  A.  D.  1574,  including  Syr  Henry  Crispe  and 
William  Crispe.  John  Crispe  was  sheriff  of  Kent,  10th 
.^enry  VIII;  Henry  Crispe,  his  son  ditto  38  Henry  VIII, 
Nicholas'Crispe,  his  son  ditto  1st  Elizabeth  (Vide  Fuller 
ut  Supra).  My  edition  of  Lombard  is  that  imprinted  at 
London  for  Ralph  Newberie,  dwelling  in  Fleete-street, 
a  little  aboute  the  Conduit,  arms  1576. 

"It  is  that  so  highly  applauded  by  Camden,  and 
other  chief  judges  in  such  matters,  and  I  was  fortunate 
enough  to  obtain  it  at  the  sale  of  the  library  of  the  late 
Mr.  Justice  Fletcher,  formerly  judge  in  this  province, 
who  was  himself  a  native  of  Kent. 
' '  Yours  etc. , 

"  William  Winde, 

"(Crispe  relative)" 

The  foregoing  letter  indicates  the  close  relations 
which  the  Crispe  family  held  to  the  regal  elements  of 
England,  and  it  also  portrays  the  fact  that  the  Crispe 
people  were  men  of  affairs,  in  that  they  held  in  their 
family  the  office  of  sheriff  of  Kent.  This  office  in  England 
is  one  of  greatest  importance,  and  not  only  must  the  per- 
son seeking  this  high  place  of  honor,  stand  well  in  the 
estimation  of  the  sovereign,  but  the  candidate  must  be 
the  largest  land-owner  in  the  county  in  which  he  seeks 
to  be  sheriff. 

The  Crispe  people  held  this  honorable  station  in  the 


T1IIC  CRISPE  FAMILY.  79 


county  of  Kent,  the  richest  and  most  beautiful  portion  of 
England,  for  a  generation  and  a  half. 

The  will  of  Sir  Henry  Crispe,  of  Oueks  but  par- 
tially demonstrates  the  effuence  of  these  early  Crispe  peo- 
ple, and  1  append  a  few  extracts  from  this  lengthy  docu- 
ment in  testimony  of  the  statement  that  these  people 
were  men  of  influence  and  importance  in  early  history 
of  England. 

CRISPE— KING    OF    THANET 

"I,  Sir  Henry  Crispe  of  the  Perish  of  Birchington,  in 
the  Isle  of  Thanet,  in  the  County  of  Kent,  Knight:  to  be 
buried  in  the  Perish  church  of  Birchington,  nigh  unto 
Katheryne,  my  wife.  To  John  Crispe  all  my  household 
stuff  belonging  to  my  house  at  Queakes,  and  all  my  ap- 
parell  and  plate  with  all  my  'Armor'  and  'Weapon.'  I 
will  that  my  wife  shall  have  all  my  Lands  and  Tenements 
in  Feusham,  Preston  aud  Ospringe  and  my  Land  called 
Slepers,  and  my  Land  in  Seasalter  and  Hernhill,  these 
to  George,  my  sonne.  To  my  wife  all  my  lands  in  Rum- 
ney  Marsh.  And  my  house  and  lands  called  Little  Buck- 
land.  And  my  lands  called  Miles  in  the  perrish  of  St. 
Nicholas.  To  my  wife  my  Lands  and  Tenements  at 
Mynster,  and  my  tenements  and  Lands  called  Pulses,  until 
Edward,  my  sonne,  comes  of  the  age  of  21,  then  the  same 
to  him.  To  my  wife  other  lands  in  Hothe,  and  at  Wade 
and  at  Rushbourne,  and  my  Wood  and  Laud  at  Chistlate 
and  at  Heme;  also  Lands  at  Whitstaple.  To  John  Crispe, 
to  Edward  Crispe,  to  Henry  Crispe  and  to  George  Crispe, 


So  THE   HISTORY  OF 


my  son nes,  an  interest  in  my  Mannor  at  Graves,  and  my 
whole  right  and  interest  that  I  have  in  Stoneharde 
Marshe  and  the  tenement  lately  built  at  Woodchurche 
and  Free  School.  To  my  wife  the  hand  and  tenement  at 
Swakelyf.  To  my  sonne  John,  my  estate  at  Oueakes  and 
Cheseman's,  and  my  other  land  in  the  Isle  of  Thanet  not 
before  given,  and  my  house  at  Tankerton  and  the  land 
thereto  belonging.  To  Elizabeth  Baker  my  tenement 
called  Downe  House.  To  John  my  sonne  the  Mill  &  the 
ground  it  standeth  on.     Will  proved   Nov.    5th,    1575.  " 

41  Pickering. 
This  will  contains  innumerable  grants  of  gold  coin 
and  other  valuable  assets,  but  I  simply  digested  from  this 
exceedingly  lengthy  testament  the  disposition  of  his  lands 
and  tenements.  This  gentleman  owned  so  much  property 
and  took  such  an  interest  in  the  history  of  Thanet  that 
he  was  styled  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  the  historians 
as  well,  as  the  "  King  of  Thanet.  "  It  would  be  exceed- 
ingly difficult  to  place  a  valuation  on  his  possessions,  but 
it  is  a  part  of  the  records  of  the  Dominion  State  Papers, 
of  the  Government,  that  he  was  the  wealthiest  citizen  of 
Kent  county.  He  was  not  infrequently  required  to  loan 
money  to  the  Royal  Coffers,  and  was  also  commanded  to 
raise  troops  and  take  charge  of  the  coast  defense.  The 
facts  relating  to  his  relations  with  the  military  division  of 
the  government  I  copied  from  the  State  papers  and  in 
the  reference  to  be  made  later  in  this  book,  I  quote  vol- 
ume and  page. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  Si 

Sir  Henry  Crispe  was  the  owner  of  an  Abbott's  Lodge, 
near  Reculver,  a  brief  description  of  which  is  given  in 
Ireland's  history  of  Kent,  page  414,  as  follows: 

"  The  Demesnes  of  this  Manor  and  Park  of  Chistlet 
have  been  demised  by  the  primates  on  beneficial  leases, 
his  grace,  however,  retaining  the  Manor  in  his  own  hands, 
(Archbishop  of  Canterbury).  Scarcely  any  remains  are 
left  of  the  abbot's  lodge,  except  an  arched  gateway.  The 
Manor  of  Grays,  or  Ores,  at  the  northeastern  boundary 
of  the  parish,  near  Reculver,  was,  at  the  dissolution, 
granted  by  the  name  of  the  manor  of  Grays,  otherwise 
Coppinheath,  to  Christopher  Hales,  Master  of  Rolls, 
whose  three  daughters  sold  it  to  Thomas  Colepeper,  Esq., 
of  Bedgeburg.  By  the  latter  it  was  alienated,  some  time 
after,  to  Henry  Crispe,  Esq.,  of  Quekes,  afterwards 
knighted,  in  whose  line  it  remained  until  1757,  when  it 
went  by  marriage  to  Capt.  John  Elliott,  afterwards  rear 
admiral,  of  Copford,  in  Essex.  " 

THE    CRISPE    CHARITY    FARM 

The  youngest  child  of  Thomas  Crispe,  of  Quex,  was 
Miss  Anna  Gertany  Crispe,  who  was  known  to  be  a  most 
charitable  person.  She  was  especially  interested  in  the 
poor  of  Thanet,  and  did  much  to  give  them  comfort.  In 
1678  she  donated  forty-seven  fertile  acres  to  the  poor  of 
Birchington.  She  erected  a  number  of  beautiful  alms- 
houses on  the  acreage,  and  the  place  is  known  as  the 
Crispe  Charity  Farm.  The  peculiar  part  about  this  alms- 
house,   is   the  fact  that  "any  person  who  cannot  produce 


82  THE  HISTORY  OF 

sufficient  to  earn  a  livelihood,  shall  be  privileged  to  come 
to  this  farm  and  be  allowed  to  labor,  and  receive  during 
their  stay,  three  good  meals  a  day  and  all  the  comforts 
of  a  home." 

The  buildings  which  she  had  erected  are  still  in  ex- 
cellent condition,  and  as  Mary  Vinson  writes  : 

"  We  lately  saw  the  substantial  rows  of  almshouses 
at  the  Crispe  Charity  Farm.  The  buildings  are  likely  to 
remain  for  two  centuries  more.  " 

This  farm  is  kept  up  from  large  sums  of  money, 
which  Anna  Gertany  Crispe  so  willed  as  to  secure  the 
principal,  and  the  interest  is  donated  to  the  expense  ac- 
count of  the  farm. 

Additional  statements  of  her  will  follow  when  con- 
sidering the  monuments  to  the  Crispe  family  of  Quex. 

NOTKS  FROM  STATE  PAPERS. 

The  following  notes  appear  in  the  Royal  Dominion 
State  papers  of  the  Kings  and  Queens  of  England,  con- 
cerning the  Crispe  family  at  Quex  : 

1553 
"April  4.   Sir  H.  Jernegan  informs  the  Queen  that  he  has 
committed   the   Isle  of  Thanet  to  Crispe.   (Queen 
Mary,  Vol.  8,  Xo.  85). 

"April  8.  Sir  H.  Jernegan  informs  Queen  Mary  that  he 
has  committed  the  coast  defense  to  Sir  Henry 
Crispe,  Mr.  Kempe  and  Mr.  Tyuche.  (Dom.S.  P. 
Mary,  Vol.  12,  No.  64). 


THE  CRISPK  FAMILY.  S3 


1559 
"March.     Sir   Henry  Crispe's  letter  to  Thomas  Wot  ton 
touching  tranquilly  of  the  realm,  and  is  sent  to  Ceal 
on   important   business.    (D,   S.    P.   Eliz.,   Vol.   3, 
No.  12). 

1565 

''September  3.  Sir  Henry  Crispe  is  appointed  by  Queen  to 
attend  the  Lady  Cecilia,  at  Dover,  at  her  arrival 
in  England.  Cecilia,  the  daughter  of  the  King  of 
Sweden,  and  wife  of  Christopher  of  Baden.  (.Dom, 
S.  P.  Elizabeth,  Vol.  37,  No.  28). 
1568 

"June  i^.  Sir  Henry  Crispe  returns  from  his  survey  of 
Queen's  Castle  Forts  of  5  Ports.  (Dom.  S.  P. 
Elizabeth,  Vol.  46,  No.  77). 

1573 
"June  22.     Sir  Henry  Crispe  was  counciled  in  regard  to 
able-bodied  men   for  muster.    (Dom.   S.  P.  Eliza- 
beth, Vol.  91,  No.  55). 
1614 
"Sir  Henry  Crispe,   (II)    1614,   Oct.    12-13.     Sir  Henry 
Crispe   appears  in  Muster  Roll  as  liable  to  furnish 
four  corslets,  four  muskets  and  two   Light  horses. 
(Dom.  S.  P.  James  I,  Vol.  78,  No.  32). 
1627 
"June  22.    For  one  week  Lieutenant  Chaunbell  and  John 
Little  were  billited  upon  Sir  Henry  Crispe.  (Dom. 
S.  P.  Charles  I,  Vol.  113,  No.  59). 


84  THE  HISTORY  OF 

1627 
March  13.     Sir   Henry   Crispe  writes  for  the  Lord  War- 
den's  commission  to  call  together  soldiers  of  St. 
Johns,    Birchington,   Wood  and  Sarre,  whom,    by 
warrant    dated    25th    July    last,    be    appointed    to 
command;  and  he  seeks  power  to  appoint  officers. 
(Letter  to  King  Charles  I,  D.  S.  P.,  Chas.  I,  vol. 
95, No.  82)." 
In  the  history  of   "  Isle  of  Thanet,"  page  49,  occurs 
this  paragragh  regarding  Birchington  and  vicinity: 

"The  name  'West-gate'  explains  itself,  being  a  way 
or  approach  to  the  sea-shore,  west  of  Margate,  and  the 
district  has  been  so  called  from  the  time  of  Egbert.  In 
Hasted  it  is  recorded  that  this  manor  was  held  by  Robert 
de  Westgate,  temps  Henry  III.,  Sir  Henry  de  Sandwich 
afterwards  held  it  in  trust  for  Robert,  the  former's  youth- 
ful sou  and  heir.  Lewis,  in  his  history  of  Thanet,  de- 
scribes it  as  a  little  manor  held  by  William  de  Leybourne, 
in  the  reign  of  Edward  the  II.,  whose  grand-daughter, 
Juliana  de  Leybourne,  (after  surviving  two  husbands, 
John  de  Hastings,  brother  of  the  Earl  of  Pembroke,  and 
William  de  Clinton,  Earl  of  Huntington),  left  the  same 
to  the  Abbey  of  St.  Austin  near  Canterbury.  After  the 
dissolution  of  this  Abbey,  by  Henry  the  VIII.,  the  manor 
in  question  often  changed  owners  until  it  came  into  pos- 
session of  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe,  of  Quex,  near  Birchingon, 
then  of  the  late  Mr.  Edward  Taddy,  and  ultimately  of  the 
present  owner.     There  is  a  very  interesting  tradition,  or 


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ROOM  IN  OLD  QUEX  MANSION. 
(Early  in  the   17th  Century.) 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  89 

monkish   legend,  connected  with  Westgate,  which  we  re- 
late in  our  account  of  Minster." 

•  The  description  of  the  parish  of  Birchington  occurs 
on  page  52,  of  the  Kentish  Historical  Calendar,  as  follows: 
"The  Parish  Church,  dedicated  to  All  Saints',  is  of 
great  age  and  is  well  worth)'  a  visit.  One  peculiar 
feature  is  the  position  of  the  tower  which  stands  at  the 
northeast  angle;  it  is  surmounted  by  a  shingled  spire 
which  is  serviceable  to  shipping  on  their  way  from  the 
Thames  to  the  North  Foreland.  The  Church  contains 
brasses  to  John  Felde,  1404;  John  Heynys,  vicar  (repre- 
sented elevating  the  host,)  152S;  and  several  others  to  the 
Quex  and  Crispe  families  dating  from  1449  to  1533.  The 
north  Chancel  belongs  to  the  ancient  seat  in  this  parish 
called  Quex,  and  in  it  are  several  family  monuments. 
The  tomb  and  memorial  window  of  Rosetti,  the  painter 
and  poet,  are  objects  of  interest.  The  Queen's  Jubilee 
has  been  commemorated  by  the  restoration  of  the  spire; 
the  re-hanging  the  bells,  and  an  addition  of  a  sixth  bell, 
also  by  the  erection  of  a  clock  in  the  tower,  presented  by 
Major  Bell." 

CRISPE  MONUMENTS  AT  QUEX. 
The  monuments  and  brasses  which  were  executed  for 
the  Crispe  family  at  Quex  have  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  art  students  and  sculptors  for  some  time,  but  of  late 
the  sculptural  world  has  given  these  architectural  monu- 
ments considerable  notice.  Few  things  which  our  fore- 
fathers have  left   us  seem   to  describe  their   features  or 


9o  THE  HISTORY  OF 


dress,  since  the  art  of  photography  was  to  them  unknown, 
and  word-pictures  were  too  often  unreliable.  The  pro- 
ductions of  the  brush  in  early  times  were  indeed  excel- 
lent: but  they  too  frequently  did  not  have  the  enduring 
qualities,  and  were  in  the  course  of  a  generation  found 
spoiled  or  destroyed.  Only  the  elite  of  the  14th  century 
and  those  of  means  were  able  to  pay  the  prices  of  por- 
traiture work,  and  hence  many  of  the  faces  of  olden  peo- 
ple are  not  preserved.  The  cost  of  having  monumental 
effigies,  as  they  were  called  in  the  15th  century,  pro- 
duced, involved  an  enormous  outlay  of  money,  and  few, 
save  the  Kings,  Queens  and  those  immediately  associated, 
could  claim  sufficient  attention  to  invite  the  sculptural 
genius  of  those  times  to  reproduce  in  stone,  marble  or 
metal  the  image  of  either  living  or  dead. 

Not  in  all  England  can  be  found  such  magnificently 
executed  monumental  images  of  distinguished  personages 
as  those  erected  to  the  Crispe  family  of  Quex. 

Reverend  Charles  Boutell,  who  is  a  recognized  au- 
thority of  these  productions,  says  of  these  designs:  "Till 
recently  these  monumental  effigies  were  mere  antiquarian 
curriosities,  but  they  await  the  formation  of  a  just  esti- 
mate of  their  true  worth  as  face  portraiture.  Observant 
students  of  monumental  effigies  assuredly  will  not  fail  to 
appreciate  the  singular  felicity  with  which  the  mediaeval 
sculptors  adjusted  their  compositions  to  the  recumbent  po- 
sition. Equally  worthy  of  regard  is  the  manner  in  which 
these  monumental  effigies  are  found  to  have  assumed  an 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  91 

aspect    '  neither  living  or  lifeless,   and   yet   impressively 
life-like.'  " 

It  would  be  difficult  to  describe  these  memorial  mon- 
uments, and  so  I  have  at  considerable  cost  ordered  them 
photographed,  and  I  am  indebted  to  Fred.  A.  Crispe,  of 
London,  for  these  beautiful  reproductions  of  the  Crispe 
monuments  at  Ouex.  It  would  have  been  simpler  and 
less  costly  to  engrave  them,  but  the  half-tone  process 
would  not  retain  the  minute  lines  and  delicate  design. 
What  the  cost  of  these  monuments  has  been  would  be 
difficult  to  determine,  but  experts  have  estimated  that 
many  thousands  of  pounds  were  expended  in  their  exe- 
cution. 

MONUMENT    XO.     I. 

Against  the  north  wall  of  the  Quex  chapel  is  a  mon- 
ument with  six  tablets,  each  surmounted  by  a  bust. 

On  the  first  tablet: 

"Sir  Henry  Crispe,  Knight,  married  his  first  wife 
Marie  ye  daughter  of  Sir  Edward  Moniugs  of  Walde- 
shier,  near  Dover,  by  whom  he  had  noe  issue.  She  died 
A.  D.  1606." 

On  the  second  tablet  the  inscription  is  in  Latin,  but 
relates  to  Henry  Crispe,  who  died  in  1651. 

On  the  third  tablet: 

"Sir  Henry  Crispe,  of  Quakes,  Knight;  married 
Ann,  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Xeviuson,  of  Eastrie, 
Esq.,  for  his  second  wife,  by  whom  he  had  no  issue. 
She  died  Anno  1629." 


92  THK  HISTORY  OF 


On  the  fourth  tablet: 

"John  Crispe,  Esq.,  sonne  of  Sir  Henry  Crispe, 
Knight;  first  married  Margret,  the  daughter  of  Thomas 
Harlackeude'ii,  who  left  noe  issue,  and  died  A.  D.  1576." 

On  the  fifth  tablet: 

"  Neere  this  lieth  interred  the  bodies  of  Sir  Henry 
Crispe,  of  Quecks,  Knighted,  &  of  John  Crispe,  Esq., 
his  sonne  and  heir  of  Sir  Henry  Crispe,  of  Queeks, 
Knight.  The  onely  sonne  of  John  Crispe  aforesaid.  Sir 
Henry,  the  grand-father,  married  first  one  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  Thomas  Seott,  of  Scott's  Hall.,  Esq.,  and  by  her 
had  issue  of  onely  one  sonne,  who  married  sole  daughter 
of  ye  Eorde  Cheyney  &  died  without  issue.  Sir  Henry 
married  also  for  his  second  wife  Ann,  the  daughter  of 
John  Haselhurst,  Esq.,  by  whom  he  left  fower  sonnes 
and  two  daughters,  and  died  A.  D.  1575." 

On  the  sixth  tablet: 

"John  Crispe,  Esq.,  married  for  his  second  wife 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Thomas  Roper,  of  Eltam,  Esq., 
and  by  her  had  issue,  one  sonne,  and  she  died  A.  D. 
1626." 

The  first  tablet  has  above  it  the  bust  of  Mary  Moil- 
ing, first  wife  of  Sir  Henry  Crispe. 

The  second  tablet  has  above  it  the  bust  of  Sir  Henry 
Crispe. 

The  third  tablet  has  above  it  the  bust  of  Ann  Nevi- 
son,  second  wife  of  Henry  Crispe. 

The   fourth   tablet   has  above  it  the  bust  of  Margret 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  93 

Harlackenden,  the  first  wife  of  John  Crispe. 

The  fifth  tablet  has  above  it  the  bust  of  John  Crispe. 

The  sixth  tablet  has  above  it  the  bust  of  Elizabeth 
Roper,  second  wife  of  John  Crispe. 

MONUMENT    NO.    2. 

On  the  south  wall  of  the  south  chancel  ore  the  fig- 
ures of  Henry  Crispe  and  Mar}-,  his  wife,  behind  which 
are  several  images.  These  effigies  are  in  Puritanic  dress 
and  are  in  a  prayerful  attitude.  The  coat-of-arms  of  the 
Crispe  family  is  in  several  places  on  the  monument.  Be- 
tween the  two  figures  can  be  seeu  the  following  inscrip- 
tion: 

"  Here  lieth  ye  bodie  of  Marie  Crispe,  eldest  daugh- 
ter of  Sir  Anthony  Colepepyr,  of  Bedgeboerie,  descended 
of  ye  Honorable  Familie  of  ye  Eorde  Daces.  She  mar- 
ried Henry  Crispe,  of  Quex,  Esq.,  and  had  By  him  fower 
sonnes,  viz:  Nicholas,  Henry,  Anthony  and  Henry,  and 
one  daughter,  viz:  Ann,  of  which  Nicholas  and  Henry 
only  survive  there  mother,  whoe  departed  this  life  Octo- 
ber 3,  Ao  Dni  1618.     Aetatis  Svae,  34." 

MONUMENT    NO.    3. 

In  the  north  chapel  of  Quex  Chapel,  against  the 
north  wall,  is  a  monument  divided  into  three  tablets  sep- 
arated by  two  pillars.  In  the  upper  part  of  each  tablet 
is  a  shield  of  arms  of  the  Crispe  and  Denne  families. 
On  the  first  of  these  tablets  are  these  words: 

"  Here  lieth  the  body  of  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe,  of 
Quex,  Knight,  who   died   November,    1657.      He  was  ye 


94  THE  HISTORY  OF 

only  son  of  Henry  Crispe,  of  Quex,  Esq,,  who  died  1663. 
Near  this  place  also  lies  ye  body  of  Henry  Crispe,  Esq., 
formerly  of  Dover,  Cousin  Germain  to  ye  above  Sir 
Nicholas  Crispe;  he  died  167S.  He  was  receiver  of  the 
subsidy  outwards  of  London,  An.  1650,  and  afterwards 
comptroller  of  the  customs  at  Dover." 

On  the  second  tablet: 

"To  the  memory  of  Dame  Ann  Powle,  only  daugh- 
ter and  heiress  of  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe,  of  Quex,  Esq., 
Knight,  and  relict  of  Sir  Richard  Powle,  Knight,  of  Bath. 
She  died  27  Dec.  1707,  leaving  issue  one  son,  John  Powle, 
of  Lincoln's  Inn.,  I£sq.,  who  died  unmarried  21  Feb. 
1740,  whose  body  lies  here  interred.  By  his  death  all 
his  mother's  estates  in  this  county  of  Kent  are  pursuant 
to  her  deeds  of  settlement  descended  to  Henry  and 
Thomas  Crispe,  of  ye  Custom  House  of  London,  only  sur- 
viving- branch  in  ye  male  line  of  this  ancient  name  and 
family,  by  whom  this  monument  was  erected  A.  D.  1744." 

On  the  third  tablet: 

"  Here  lies  interred  ye  body  of  Thomasine,  daughter 
of  Thomas  Denne,  of  Dennehill,  Esq.,  and  wife  of  Nich- 
olas Crispe,  of  Quex,  who  departed  this  life  March, 
1679." 

On  the  base  of  the  first  tablet: 

"The  Reverend  Henry  Crispe,  son  of  the  above 
Henry  Crispe,  of  Dover,  who  was  Rector  of  Catton,  near 
York,  and  died  there  23  Feby,  1736,  leaving  issue  male 
only  Henry  and  Thomas  Crispe,  Esqrs." 


THK  CRISPE  FAMILY 


95 


On  the  base  of  the  second  tablet: 
"The  above  named  Henry  Crispe,  Esq.,  was  Regr 
of  Certificates  &  Examiner  of  Debentures  in  the  Custom 
House,  London.  He  married  Mary,  relict  of  Levin 
Cholmley,  Esq.,  and  died  without  issue  15  Oct.,  1747. 
In  him  was  shewn  that  polite  literature  and  even  poetical 
genius  best  from  the  man  of  business." 
On  the  base  of  the  third  tablet: 

"Here  lieth  interred  the  body  of  Thomas  Crispe 
Esq.,  who  departed  this  life  the  2nd  of  January  i~,~ 
Aged  62.  /D/" 

MONUMENT    NO.    4. 

An  altar  tomb  of  a  Crispe  and  his  wife  (a  Scott) 
with  recumbent  effigies  of  husband  and  wife.  These  re- 
tires are  well  executed,  though  they  have  suffered  much 
injury.  In  quarterns  on  the  front  of  the  tomb  are  four 
shields  bearing  the  following  coats:  1st,  on  a  shevron 
five  borse-shoes-Crispe:  2nd,  Crispe;  3rd,  Scott;  4th, 
Crispe.  The  tomb  is  that  of  Henry  Crispe,  of  Ouex 
and  his  wife,  Katherne  Scott. 

MONUMENT    NO.     5. 

In  the  north  Quex  chapel,  against  the  north  wall  is 
a  monument  surmounted  by  a  bust,  over  which  are  the 
arms  of  the  Crispe  family. 

The  monument  contains  the  following  inscription: 
"M.    S.    (Monumental   Souvenir;  of  Anna  Gerteny 
Crispe,    fourth    daughter,    and    one   of    the    co-heirs   of 
Thomas  Crispe,  of  Quex,  Esq.     She  lived  an  example  of 


96  THE  HISTORY  OF 


Piety  &  Charity;  dyed  March  ye  23d,  170S,  much  la- 
mented. By  will  dated  Feby  ye  13,  1707,  Devised  to 
overseers  of  the  '  Poor  of  Birchington  &  vill  of  Acole,' 
and  their  successors  forever,  47  acres  of  Land  in  Birch- 
ington &  Monkton;  then  in  lease  at  18^  per  ami  in  trust 
to  pa3-  to  Ellen  Window  for  life.  3/  to  the  Clerk  of  the 
parish  yearly.  20  s.  to  keep  clean  the  isle  and  monu- 
ments Belonging  to  the  Crispe-Qutx.  To  $£  to  widows 
of  Birchington.  3^  to  two  widows  of  Acole.  2£  for 
wearing  apperal  to  appear  at  church.  To  keep  at  school 
with  dame  or  master  12  boys  and  girls  &  to  take  yearly 
10  s.  to  dispose  the  remaining  money  for  binding  a 
school  boy  apprentice,  that  the  overseers  fix  up  a  yearly 
account  of  receipts  and  payments,  and  pass  the  same  be- 
fore a  Justice  of  the  Peace.  This  monument  pursuant  to 
the  will  erected  by  Frances  Wiat,  (wife  of  Edwin  Wiat, 
of  Boxley,  serg.  of  Paw)  her  sister  and  Executrix." 

OTHER    MONUMENTS. 

There  are  upwards  of  fifteen  other  beautiful  monu- 
ments to  the  Crispe  family  in  this,  the  Ouex,  chapel,  but 
space  will  not  admit  of  their  appearance  in  this  book. 

The  importance  of  this  family  and  the  incidents 
connected  with  their  lives  has  attracted  the  playright  and 
poet. 

The  Chicago  Daily  News  of  Thursday,  August  r, 
1S99,  under  a  quadra-title,  speaks  of  the  dramatization 
of  the  eventful  career  of  one  of  the  Crispe-Quex  people 
as  follows: 


-     -  cx 

■    ■ 


■  I  I 


< 


'  •  i  '       '      'J      \ 

j  1  S '  ■  ! 

•  ■   " '     "if    •  ,        J  "" 


CRISPE   MONUMENT  NO. 


CRISPE   MONUMENT  N< 


.>• 


: ' .-. 


CR1SPE  MONUMENT  NO.  5. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY. 


'ANCIENT    FAMILY    OF    QUEX. 


Successful   Play   by   Pinero  Now   Running  in  London 
Revives  Interest  in  a  Famous  Name — -But  Few  Rel- 
ics Now  Remain — Romance  of  One  of  the  Race 
Who   Was  Captured  and  Held  for  Ransom 
—  House   is   Not    Very    Picturesque. 


"  One  of  the  great  London  successes  this  spring  has 
been  Pinero's  play,  '  The  Gay  Lord  Quex,'  and  it  is 
promised  the  drama  is  to  be  brought  to  this  country. 
Says  a  writer  in  the  Sketch:  '  While  The  Gay  Lord 
Quex  has  during  the  bright  summer  weather  been  draw- 
ing crowds  to  the  theater  in  Newcastle  street,  I  have 
been  staying  in  that  quiet  corner  of  Kent  where  once  the 
ancient  family  of  Quex  (from  whom  perchance  that  very 
up-to-date  nobleman  at  the  Globe  may  in  Mr.  Pinero's 
imagination  be  descended)  were  lords  of  broad  acres  and 
a  stately  home.  Of  the  Quex  family  to-day  but  little  re- 
mains in  the  Isle  of  Thanet,  save  the  demense  of  which 
they  were  masters,  a  few  of  the  rooms  of  the  old  early 
Tudor  house,  with  its  long  facade,  gabeled  and  cloistered, 
a  stone  and  brass  or  two  in  the  Quex  chapel  in  Birching- 
ton  church,  and  the  moldering  bones  of  many  of  a  Quex 
who,  doubtless,  though  now  unrecorded,  sleeps  the  long 
sleep  beneath  it. 

"  The  house  where  the  Quex  once  reigned  is  de- 
scribed  by    one  old-world   chronicler   as  a  large  building 


THE  HISTORY  OF 


composed  partly  of  timber  and  brick  and  in  its  ancient  form 
it  was  a  place  of  importance  till,  at  any  rate,  the  close  of 
the  last  century.  The  earliest  Quex  of  whom  I  could 
find  a  record  was  one  John  Quyek,  as  he  is  described  in 
certain  old  documents,  who  in  141 5  was  a  man  of  mark 
in  Ringslo  hundred.  The  family  name  is,  of  course, 
spelt  in  half  a  dozen  different  ways,  and  one  notes  a  Joan 
Queyk  and  a  Richard  Ouek,  as  well  as  the  John  Quyek 
referred  to,  within  a  space  of  but  a  few  short  years.  The 
brass  in  the  Quex  chapel  is  in  memory  of  Johan  Ouex, 
who  died  in  October,  1559;  it  is  a  full  length  figure,  in 
good  condition,  and  is  probably  that  of  the  John  Quyek 
of  141 5.  What,  one  may  wonder,  were  the  arms  of  this 
honorable  family?  They  are  not  found  in  the  Ouex 
chapel;  but,  as  the  Crispes,  one  of  whom  married  the 
sole  survivor  and  heiress  of  the  Quekes  in  1485,  quart- 
ered in  the  place  of  honor  on  their  shield  a  chequy  fess 
on  an  ermine  field,  we  may  with  probability  conclude  that 
these  were  the  Quex  arms,  and  this  theory  is  certainly 
supported  by  the  fact  that  Quek  is  an  old  Kentish  name 
for  the  game  of  checkers,  which  was  played  upon  a 
black-and-white  board,  and  punning  was,  we  know,  a 
somewhat  favorite  pastime  with  the  heralds. 

"The  old  Quex  house,  its  charming  park,  its  broad 
fields  and  its  ancient  rights  and  honors,  passed,  as  I  have 
said,  by  marriage  to  a  Crispe,  of  Oxfordshire.  This 
John  Crispe  had  a  descendant,  son  or  grandson,  Sir 
Henry,  who  won  much  honor  and  distinction  in  Thanet, 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  103 

being,  indeed,  styled  its  King.  He  went  to  his  own 
place  in  1575,  and  lies  in  effigy  with  his  spouse  (his  sec- 
ond wife,  I  think)  carved  in  stone  on  a  Tudor  tomb  in  the 
old  Qnex  chapel.  A  Crispe  with  a  strain  of  the  old  Quex 
blood  in  him  was  a  curious  figure  in  the  next  century. 
About  him  there  is  a  well  authenticated  story  which  re- 
minds one  of  d'Artagnan  and  General  Monk  in  Le  Vi- 
comte  de  Bragelonne.  He  was  kidnaped  by  a  certain 
Captain  Golding,  of  Ramsgate,  and  carried  to  Holland, 
where  Charles  II.  was  then  in  exile.  Here  he  remained 
for  three  years  awaiting  the  payment  of  a  ransom  of 
$15,000.  For  all  this  weary  time  Cromwell  refused 
to  permit  his  family  to  make  the  payment,  believing  that 
the  money  was  demanded  for  the  benefit  of  the  royal  ex- 
ile. At  length,  assent  was  unwillingly  given,  a  portion 
of  the  Crispe  estate  was  sold,  th<  ransom  was  paid,  and 
the  victim  returned,  having  learned,  it  is  said,  two 
foreign  words,  and  two  only — Bon  jour — and  Bon  Jour 
Crispe  he  was  called  to  the  end  of  his  days.  A  former 
Crispe,  by  the  way,  Richard  of  Cleave,  near  Minster, 
was  Captain  of  the  Kent  Light  Horse  at  the  time  of  the 
Armada  scare.  He  married  a  Paramore  (a  very  ancient 
.Thanet  family  this). 

"  The  manor  of  Quex,  as  I  have  said,  still  remains; 
but  the  Quexes  are  gone;  so  are  the  Crispes,  who  suc- 
ceeded them.  The  Wyats  have  held  Quex  since  then, 
and  so  have  some  of  the  old  Cornish  Bullers,  and  once  the 
place  was    possessed   by    the    Kentish    Furnesses.     The 


io4  THE  HISTORY  OF 

house  as  it  now  exists  has  but  little  of  interest  or  pictur- 
esqueness  from  the  outside,  but  within  are  one  or  two 
of  the  old  rooms  (that  which  was  often  occupied  by  the 
third  William  may  be  mentioned  in  particular)  a  fine  col- 
lection of  arms,  a  statue  of  Democritus,  which  once 
adorned  Lord  Holland's  great  house  at  Kiugsgate,  and 
many  other  more  or  less  interesting  relics  of  the  old  fam- 
ily of  Ouex  and  its  various  successors." 

This  play  has  since  come  to  America,  and  is  at  this 
time  being  played  at  the  principal  theaters  of  the  larger 
cities,  and  attracting  considerable  attention. 

The  Crispe  family  were  in  possession  of  the  famous 
Abbey  at  Sandwich  in  1614. 

"  In  the  town  of  Sandwich,  Henry  Crowfield,  a  Ger- 
man, in  1272  founded  a  priory  in  this  town,  for  the  Car- 
melite Fraternity,  subsequently,  from  the  color  of  their 
habit,  called  the  '  White  Friars.'  The  endowment,  how- 
ever, proving  insufficient,  Raymond,  or  more  properly 
speaking,  William  Lord  Clinton  in  the  20th  reign  of  Ed- 
ward I.  proved  a  much  greater  benefactor,  and  was  in 
aftertimes  regarded  sole  founder  of  that  institution, 
which  had  subsequently  several  benefactors  towards  its 
re-edification. 

"  The  Carmelite  monasteries  and  churches  were  gen- 
erally spacious  and  stately;  this  at  Sandwich  possessing 
the  privilege  of  affording  sanctuary  to  criminals.  Within 
the  cemetery  many  principal  families,  inhabitants  of  this 
place,  were  buried,  independent  of  members  of  the  house. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  105 

No  further  mention  is  made  of  this  establishment  until 
the  dissolution  of  the  monasteries  under  Henry  VIII. 
This  priory  was  in  the  32nd  of  the  above  reign  granted 
under  the  title  of  '  White  Fryers  near  Sandwich,'  with 
the  church  bells  and  all  messuages  in  the  town,  to 
Thomas  Arderne,  Gent.,  of  Faversham,  to  hold  of  the 
King  '  in  capite.'  Subsequent  to  that  period  we  find  no 
further  mention  of  the  possessors  of  this  property  until 
1 614,  when  it  was  sold  by  George,  Samuel  and  John 
Crispe  to  Nicholas  Richardson,  who  settled  the  same  on 
his  daughter  Elizabeth  upon  her  marriage  with  Edmund 
Barbee.  The  Friery  is  situated  on  the  southwest  side  of 
Sandwich,  between  the  Rampart  and  New  street,  and 
from  the  remains  of  the  foundations  must  have  occupied  a 
considerable  extent,  the  house,  garden  and  meadows  hav- 
ing covered  an  area  of  more  than  five  acres." 

Page  624  Ireland's  History  of  Kent. 

The  following  letter  by  Charles  Crispe,  of  Dornford, 
dated  February  u,  1739,1s  a  communication  worthy  of 
place  in  the  History  of  England,  since  it  demonstrates 
conclusively  the  sacrifice  the  Crispe  family  made  in  behalf 
of  their  country.  The  correspondence  was  between 
Thomas  Wotton  and  Sir  Charles  Crispe,  and  can  be  seen 
at  the  Royal  Archives,  in  Vol.  IV,  p.  2  of  Crispe  Mis- 
cellanea: 

"  Sir:  I  reed  yours  of  the  20th  of  Decern  last,  But 
I  have  had  a  very  Grat  Cold,  and  the  Weather  has  been 
so  exceedingly  cold,   that    I   could   hardly    hold  a  pen  in 


io6  THK  HISTORY  OF 

my  hand,  Else  would  have  answered  yours  sooner: 

"The  case  of  our  Family  was  so  far  Unlike  other 
Gentlemen,  what,  Sr.  Nicholas  Crispe,  my  Great  Grand- 
Father  Spent  for  K.  Cha.  ye  ist,  altho  as  any  private 
Gentleman  in  England  spent,  was  all  Lost,  So  far  as  I 
will  allow  it  to  be  a  Parallel  case  according  to  every  Gen- 
tleman's estate  so  expended  so  far  is  certainly  right  with 
all  of  them  that  lost  their  money  as  our  Family  did.  Rut 
what  I  am  going  to  mention  now  admitted  of  Neither 
Comparison  or  Parallel. 

"  This  Gentleman  went  over  a  Commissioner  from 
ye  City  of  London  to  invite  the  King  over  at  the  Restor- 
ation, when  ye  King  saw  him  a  Rreda  he  took  him  in  his 
arms  and  Kist  him,  and  said  shurely  the  City  had  a  mind 
highly  to  Oblige  me  by  sending  over  My  Father's  old 
Friend  to  invite  me  into  ye  Kingdom. 

"  I  only  write  this  to  Shew  how  some  peoples  ex- 
pressions and  Actions  agree. 

"  This  Gentleman  settled  a  Trade  to  the  whole  Coast 
of  Affrica  Upon  a  Contrauct  made  with  King  Cha.  the 
ist,  wch  was  done  by  Carrying  out  ye  Manufactory s  of 
England  and  importing  ten  Thousand  pounds  in  Gold 
where  never  Englishman  traded  before,  he  performed  his 
Contract  and  imported  more  Gold  than  was  agreed  on, 
So  his  Pattent  was  Confirmed.  But  after  King  Cha.  ye 
ist  Death,  he  was  in  some  fear  of  the  Parlimt,  to  whom 
he  had  been  so  Great  an  Enemy,  But  so  far  from  deny- 
ing him,  they  said   it   was  ye'  justest  grant  that  ever  was 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY 


made,  and  they  would  protect  him  in  it,  and  Wished  he 
might  go  on  and  Prosper,  for  the)-  believed  their  never 
was  an  instance  where  any  Private  Gentleman  had  done 
so  grate  a  Service  for  his  Country. 

"  But  could  it  be  expected  that  what  our  Enemy  al- 
lowed our  Family  a  just  right  to,  should  be  takeu  away 
from  us  by  those  who  called  themselves  our  Friends.  For 
Presently  after  ye  Restoration,  the  Duke  of  York  sent 
Men  of  Warr  down  on  that  Coast  and  took  away  by 
virtue  of  the  King's  authority  all  our  Forts,  Castles,  and 
Factorys,  and  said  if  they  made  any  resistance  they 
would  Declare  them  Rebells  and  Trators  to  their  King 
and  Country,  and  took  away  from  him  all  his  Forts,  Cas- 
tles, Settlemts  and  Factorys,  from  ye  one  end  of  the 
Coast  to  the  other.  For  I  have  read  his  Petition  to  the 
King  in  Couucill  in  the  Councill  Books  in  1662.  There- 
fore it  was  done  as  soon  as  Time  would  permitt  after  the 
Restoration.  The  Duke  of  York  did  this  Violence  on 
our  Family  to  give  it  a  Worthless  Company,  who  broke 
soon  after,  and  I  think  there  has  been  two  or  three  since, 
or  very  near  it.  Altho  called  Royall,  how  could  it  be  ex- 
pected to  be  otherwise,  when  their  very  foundation  was 
lay'd  in  Violence,  Robbery  and  Plunder.  I  should  have 
Told  you  this  Sr.  Nicholas  Crispe  Dyed  in  the  Year  1666, 
as  in  my  other  Paper,  and  by  his  last  Will  Declared  he 
was  above  One  hundred  thousand  pounds  out  of  Pockett 
over  and  above  all  Returns  he  ever  had  from  that  trade, 
for   which   he  hoped  the  Nation  would  make  some   Com- 


10S  THE  HISTORY  OF 

pensation  to  his  Family,  But  that  is  yet  to  be  done. 
Neither  did  the  company  ever  pay  One  shilling  for  all 
they  took  from  us.  When  my  Lord  Onslows  Father  was 
Speaker  of  ye  house  of  Commons,  a  fancy  came  into  ye 
Affrican  Companys  head  that  they  would  sell  all  their 
Settlements  to  Foreigners,  that  I  suppose  was  to  threaten 
the  Parliament.  My  brother  and  I  then  petitioned  the 
house  of  Commons,  that  if  they  pretended  to  sell  those 
Settlements,  etc.,  they  ought  to  pay  the  real  Proprietors, 
who  came  honestly  by  them,  as  to  their  possestions  of 
them  that  was  come  at  by  violence  and  Robbing  ye  Just 
and  real  Proprietors.  Altho'  I  have  wrote  very  largely  I 
cannot  conclude  without  giving  you  an  acc't  how  our  fam- 
ily were  used  by  him  after  he  came  to  the  Thrown  in  an 
other  instance  for  the  money  which  was  borrowed  for  his, 
(sic)  his  Brotners  and  Sisters  Subsistance  when  they 
went  abroad,  they  who  lent  it  would  not  take  their  secu- 
rity, and  they  could  not  get  Security  until  my  Great 
Grandfather,  Sr.  Nicholas  Crispe,  became  a  Counter  Se- 
curity, I  think  ye  sum  was  above  three  thousand  pounds. 
My  Father  as  succeeding  his  Grandfather  was  Sued  for 
Summe,  Principle  and  interest,  L.  Chancelour  Finch  De- 
creed ye  debt  against  him.  My  Father  desired  time  to 
Petition  and  apply  to  the  King,  ye  Royall  Family  sub- 
sisted on  that  money  when  they  went  abroad,  That  his 
Grandfather  was  Counter  Security  for  them  when  nobody 
would  take  their  Security  alone,  and  he  hoped  his  Majtie 
would  take   it  into  his   consideration  and  pay  the  money, 


Cri.spc  gdifitw  Uom  tUt  Twitstiun  of  JUnt.     1663. 


c'Jun/- 


Vru//-<vid'' &c*yis- j£ '=  £?*?w#iy  «6:  >v£ 


'2&fr/?k& 


(Crisp  tcrtiQKc  from  the  Visitation  of  london.     16S7 


^4ir  < '  rw/i>  itr/arti'  to  ttr'T&inrd-trtatui '■' dUnf- 
and  ffltdcUcOaz> ',  /xtt  ,ncrfun<?  jburid  jin  rtru/ 
ef  the  tote  Itf  if  /twit  -£cvriiA/<>,  thf  ^fmii 
fu  ft rceudd  and  eUu.>iit&!  art  /tt  /Ue-  tto  '  cf- 
sfsric&n-,  nzarfut>  t  S£  f, •  y  tf  25/  ivU /a  drtfr 
«.-/  cy/uar  /•  H  ^nia/coO  So  jutfwr  >/■  rActV 
/arm/in     — 


'<ftcrv  {/u-ud  /vfusz  /to  Udd/ 


*€du/ard  4,-nJff  of  /^runwufv  w^nO  , 
£anie/  cdr  cuux'  ajV  -fdj/ti  cUaf  iff 
CtrtnfP  jcrruttnuJ  Mia?  e/  'dnruty  SkuM 
and  /rt  rforrtmulhurn/  c/  Sfid  &katddn/ 
ffoddlt-H-M ',  ytumy  arid  font- 


£2?rcrrn'y  cC  rur  of-  ,  //laryanS  t/fyictfot/V 
ta/U-  RxhvarcU         i/d'dtSf      /fr/i/  of- 

i ' cm''  97udcti/  ,£(/jj> 


iJamutt,  dad 

ar'y  J'n/a/d 


1,  drdunrr/  ,4rW/i'  cf~  _  ^mn/j  da-    cf- 
/ffenden  ,/fart/i-ant  %f/ur/rrc*d 

cdal-Jj  aw  s6sj  <d  /Ictdt'.irr  fa^d 


dtdM-ard/     id^dntund     j  d'h fwuxi        4s€ftorgd       i&cri/du/     x^Jnru  aiat 
ad  daa '-,cjcung 


^SkM 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  113 

Since  lie  and  his  Family  had  reed  all  that  Money,  and 
our  Family  had  never  had  one  shilling  of  it.  Ac- 
cordingly my  Father  petitioned  the  King  in  Councill, 
When  there  was  not  wanting  some  Noblemen  who  told 
the  King  they  remembered  it  very  well,  that  he  had  the 
money,  and  they  hoped  a  Gentleman  whose  Grandfather 
was  bound  for  them  when  they  could  get  no  other  Secu- 
rity might  not  be  a  sufferer.  The  King  asked  what  Es- 
tate my  Father  had,  they  answered  a  very  good  private 
Gentleraans  Estate.  The  King  answer' d  Cods  fish  (an 
Expression  he  used)  he  is  as  well  able  to  pay  as  I.  This 
affair  made  a  great  noise  on  my  Fathers  appeale  to  house 
of  Lords.  The  house  of  Commons  sent  our  Councellor 
to  the  Tower,  and  it  was  said  it  would  only  expose  the 
King,  so  an  expedient  must  be  found,  and  that  was  My 
Father  should  pay  the  money,  both  Principle  and  Inter- 
est, which  he  did  without  any  compensation.  The  King 
had  decreed  it  against  him,  which  he  did  to  shew  his 
good  nature,  he  seem'd  soe  cry'd  up  for,  as  I  have  heard, 
how  he  could  have  that  Quallity  without  one  Grain  of 
Equity  or  Justice  I  can't  comprehend.  I  hope  you  will 
find  the  other  paper  to  your  mind,  but  if  you  should  have 
any  objection  let  me  know  it  and  I  will  set  you  to  rights, 
and  am,  Sr. 

"  Your  humble  Servt, 
"  Dornford,  nth  Feb.  1739.  Cha:  Crispk. 

"The  money  paid  by  my  Father  was  between  four  and 
five  thousand  pounds,  ye  interest  had  run  on  so  long." 


ii4  '  THE  HISTORY  OF 


In  conjunction  with  this  very  interesting  bit  of  Eng- 
lish history  it  will  be  quite  in  order  to  render  a  copy  of 
the  will  of  this  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe,  whose  wealth  was  so 
great  that  he  was  known  to  be  "the  richest  man  in  all 
England."  It  will  appeal  to  all  readers,  since  it  tells  in 
undisputing  language  of  the  patriotism  and  liberality  of 
this  fearless  patriot  and  statesman: 
"  1666. 

"  I  Nicholas  Crispe  of  Hammersmith  in  the  County 
of  Middlesex  Knight  and  Barronett" —  "for  my  buriall  I 
would  have  my  body  opened  That  the  Phisitians  may  see 
the  cause  of  soe  longshortness  of  breath  to  be  helpful  to 
my  Posterity  that  are  troubled  with  the  same  Infirmity. 
And  I  order  and  appoint  that  my  Executors  cause  my 
Heart  to  be  Imbalmed  And  to  be  put  into  a  small  urne 
made  of  the  hardest  stone  and  fastened  in  it  placed  upon 
a  Pillor  of  the  best  and  hardest  Black  Marble  to  be  set  up 
in  Hammersmith  Chappell  near  my  Pew  the  place  I  so 
dearly  loved.  And  I  appoint  my  body  to  be  put  into  a 
Leaden  Coffin  and  laid  in  a  vault  in  St.  Mildred's  Church 
in  Bread-street  in  London.  That  I  made  for  my  Parents 
and  Posterity  which  Leaden  Coffin  I  appoint  to  be  put 
into  a  Stone  Coffin  to  be  covered  with  a  stone.  Testa- 
tor '  first  discovered  and  settled  the  Trade  of  Gold  in 
Affrica  and  built  there  the  Castle  of  Cormentine,'  and 
'  lost  out  of  purse  above  ,£100,000.'  I  desire  my  worthy 
Kinsman  Mr.  Andrew  Crispe  fellow  of  Corpus  Christi 
Colledge  in  Oxford  to  doe  that   last  service  for  me  as  to 


THE  CRISPK  FAMILY.  115 

Preach  my  funeral  Sermon  to  whom  mourning  and  £10. 
Testator  confirms  an  Indenture  dated  2S  Feb.  1664  for  the 
conveyance  to  his  wife  and  two  sons  John  and  Thomas  of 
all  his  Messurges  Lands  etc  to  the  uses  of  his  Will  and 
appoints  them  Kxt'x  Fx'ors  and  Trustees  To  said  wife 
/600  a  year  for  life  and  ^2000  to  dispose  of  to  such  of 
her  Children  and  Grand  Children  one  or  more  of  them  as 
she  shall  by  her  last  will  direct  or  appoint.  I  alsoe  give 
unto  my  said  wife  for  her  life  soe  much  of  my  dwelling 
house  in  Charterhouse  Yard  London  as  I  did  lately  use 
for  myself  and  family  And  I  doe  further  give  unto  my 
said  wife  All  my  Lynneu  which  I  have  in  any  of  my 
houses,  and  the  use  of  all  my  Householdgoods  Plate 
and  furniture  of  Household  which  I  shall  dye  possessed 
of  for  her  life.  To  my  daughter  in  law  Ann  Crispe 
widdow  of  my  sonne  Ellys  Crispe  deceased  £500  a  year 
for  her  life  for  her  Joynture  and  ^iooa  year  for  the  Ed- 
ucation and  breeding  of  her  Daughters  by  her  said  Hus- 
band until  they  attain  21  or  marry.  And  I  doe  give  unto 
my  said  daughter  Crispe  ^100  to  buy  her  a  Ring  or  Jew- 
ell unto  m}'  Grandaughfer  Rebecca  Crispe  ^1000  when 
21  or  married  and  if  she  dies  under  that  age  or  unmarried 
then  the  same  unto  the  Surviving  Sister  or  Sisters  of  the 
said  Rebecca  when  of  the  same  age  or  married.  LTnto 
Elizabeth  Ann  and  Mary  the  Three  other  daughters  of 
my  said  sonne  Ellis  Crispe  ^600  apiece  when  21  or  mar- 
ried. To  Prescott  Crispe  younger  sonne  of  my  said 
sonne  Ellis    Crispe     ^1600    when  21    conditionally.     To 


n6  THE  HISTORY  OF 

Nicholas  Crispe  elder  brother  of  the  said  Prescott  £200 
a  year  for  soe  long  tyme  and  until  the  said  Nicholas  shall 
have  settled  upon  him  lauds  or  other  Estate  which  shall 
amount  to  a  better  yearly  value  Item  whereas  1  have 
given  and  paid  unto  my  sonne  Thomas  ffownes  in  portion 
with  his  wife  Hester  ffownes  my  daughter  a  greate  por- 
tion farre  exceeding  that  which  would  have  accrued  unto 
them  or  either  of  them  by  their  Customary  part  accord- 
ing to  the  Custome  of  the  City  of  London  if  they  legally 
release  and  acquit  unto  my  said  Trustees  etc  all  and 
every  right  etc  which  they  or  either  of  them  have  or 
clayme  out  of  my  personall  estate  etc  I  declare  and  ap- 
point /2000  to  said  Trustees  for  the  benefit  of  said 
daughter  unto  my  said  sonne  Thomas  ffownes  if  he  shall 
make  the  said  release  ,£100.  Item  If  my  sonne  William 
Robinson  and  my  daughter  Anne  his  wife  release  etc 
all  and  every  their  Claymes  etc  out  of  my  personall  Es- 
tate etc  unto  my  said  daughter  Robinson  ^1800.  Item 
whereas  my  sonne  John  Polstead  hath  under  his  hand 
and  seale  acknowledged  himself  fully  advanced  in  portion 
with  rny  daughter  Rebecca  his  wife  yet  in  regard  to  my 
affection  to  my  said  daughter  ,£1800  to  said  Trustees  for 
her  benefit,  if  my  Two  daughters  Elizabeth  and  Abi- 
gaill  release  etc  their  claims  etc  out  of  my  personall  Es- 
tate etc  I  doe  give  unto  each  of  my  said  daughters  ^2000 
within  one  year  after  my  decease  or  when  they  marry  if 
my  Neice  Martha  Martyne  the  wife  of  -Benjamin  Mar- 
tyne  and  her    said  husband  release  etc  their  claims  etc  to 


THE  CRISPK  FAMILY.  117 

any  sum  orsums  of  money  from  me  etc  'unto  my  said  niece 
Martha'  ^100.  'if  my  niece  Hester  Viccaridge  wife  of 
Robert  Viccaridge  and  the  said  Robert  Yieearidge'  release 
etc  'unto  my  saide  niece  Hester,  ,-£100.  'if  my  nieces 
Rebecca  and  Mary  Crispe  Two  of  the  daughters  of  my 
brother  Samuell  Crispe'  release  etc  'unto  each  of  my  said 
Nieces'  jCSoo  'if  my  Nephews  Ellis  Crispe  and  Samuell 
Crispe  sonues  of  my  said  brother  Samuell  Crispe'  release 
etc  'unto  each  of  them'  /-500.  'unto  my  deare  and  Lov- 
ing Nephew  Ellis  Crispe  of  Martyne  Abbey,  Esquire,' 
^50  'to  buy  him  a  ring.'  'to  my  sister  Rowe'  £20  to buy 
her  a  ring'  'to  my  nephew  Robert  Chsrnock'  /50  'to  my 
niece  Talkenberg'  £50  'to  my  brother  and  sister  Leman 
mourning  at  my  funeral'  'to  the  company  of  Salters 
in  the  Citty  of  London,  silver  plate  to  the  value  of  ^100. 
'to  the  now  wife  of  my  >onne  John  Crispe  ,£50  to  buy 
her  a  ring  or  Jewell.'  'During  the  continuance  of  Tes- 
tator's Trusts  the  further  sums  of  £100  a  year  to  said 
wife  and  ^500  a  year  apiece  to  said  John  and  Thomas. 
Other  Legatees  not  called  relations:  Said  grandson  Nich- 
olas Crispe  resid'y  Legatee.  Witness  Charles  Dalyson, 
Daniel  Colwall,  Edw.  King,  Ro  Saunderson,  Win.  Jack- 
son, John  Mussie.  Dated  23  February  1665.  Proved  5 
April  1666  by  Lady  Anne  Crispe  the  Relict  &  John  & 
Thomas  Crispe  the  sons."  42  Mico. 


An    incident    in    connection    with    the  burial  of  Sir 
Nicholas  Crispe  is  given,  as  it  seems  to  indicate  the  cau- 


nS  THE  HISTORY  OF 

tious  methods  observed  in  storing  away  his  remains.  We 
remember  that  he  wished  to  be  buried  in  a  leaden  coffin, 
and  this  to  be  deposited  in  a  stone  coffin,  all  to  be  buried 
under  stone.  Shortly  after  his  burial  the  Great  Fire  of 
London  took  place  and  it  destroyed  four-fifths  of  the  city 
of  London.  The  fire  raged  for  four  days  and  three 
nights,  and  completely  destroyed  every  vestige  of  the  old 
town.  The  loss  to  the  civilized  world,  in  the  form  of 
books,  documents,  scientific  works  and  histoiical  build- 
ings, together  with  all  the  points  of  interest,  made  this 
fire  a  dire  calamity.  Recently  while  digging  at  a  point 
where  the  old  church  of  St.  Mildred  stood,  the  working- 
men  came  to  the  stone  coffin  of  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe.  In  a 
letter  which  I  have  just  received  from  Mr.  Fred.  A.  Crispe, 
of  London,  occurs  this  note:  "  You  may  be  interested 
to  know  that  the  coffin  of  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe  has  just 
been  found  at  St.  Mildred's,  Bread  street,  London.  I 
have  had  a  photograph  made  of  it  which  I  will  repro- 
duce. Sir  Nicholas  Crispe  died  the  year  btfore  the  Great 
Fire  of  London,  in  which  the  church  was  burnt,  but  he 
had  been  buried  so  deep  (about  eighteen  feet  down)  that 
his  remains  were  uninjured." 


In  a  letter  dated  1739,  Charles  Crispe,  of  Doruford, 
writes  to  a  distinguished  gentleman  by  the  name  of 
Wootten  relative  to  editing  an  account  of  the  Crispe  fam- 
ily. It  appears  by  this  correspondence  that  this  Crispe 
entertained  the   idea  of  writing  up,  or  compiling,  a  line- 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  119 

nge  of  the  Crispes.  I  have  diligently  searched  for  his 
work,  but  evidently  he  did  not  carry  out  the  project.  In 
this  letter  he  also  refers  to  the  great  loss  of  the  Crispe 
people.     It  reads: 

"  Mr.  Wootten. 

"Sir:  1  received  both  of  your  letters  of  the  6th  of 
September  last  as  also  the  27th  of  Xovr  last,  with  the  last 
acc't  of  My  family  printed,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  Title 
of  Barronets.  I  should  have  answered  your  first  long 
before  this  time.  Business  of  the  utmost  importance 
still  prevented  me  sending  you  any  perfect  account  of 
what  you  desired.  I  will  only  add  that  every  article 
printed  in  your  'first'  acc't  is  grossly  mistaken. 

"  You  call  ye  Alderman  Elias  Crispe,  his  name  was 
Ellis  Crispe,  who  dyed  in  1625,  Ellis  having  been  a  con- 
stant Christian  name  in  my  family,  it  was  my  Grand- 
father's name. 

"  Then  you  mention  his  son,  who  that  printed  paper 
says,  died  next  year  after  his  father.  So  far  from  that 
he  lived  and  served  the  King  through  all  the  Civille 
Warrs  and  was  first  a  Knight  and  after  a  Baronet. 

"  I  only  mention  this  as  a  specimen  to  show  you  how 
the  first  printed  acc't  was  mistaken  in  every  particular. 
I  am  drawing  out  an  account  of  the  particulars  of  my 
family  which  I  will  send  you  in  a  little  time,  if  your  acc't 
don't  go  too  suddenly  to  the  Press,  for  then  it  will  be  a 
labour  in  vain,  therefore  desire  to  know  by  a  line  from 
you. 


THE  HISTORY  OF 


"  I  cannot  but  say  that  I  wish  there  had  been  a 
prophet  in  our  family.  Then  he  might  have  told  us  how 
to  have  kept  our  money  for  the  use  of  our  family,  as  the 
custome  is  nowadays,  and  not  spend  so  many  Thousands. 
I  might  add  one  hundred  thousand,  for  ye  goode  of  ye 
pitblick  without  any  return  for  the  same,  although  of  ye 
Greatest  Service  to  the  Nation  and  both  forcibly  and  un- 
justly taken  from  us. 

"  I  am  Sir,  Your  Humble  Servant, 

"  Chap.  Crispe. 
"  Dor  n  ford  15th  Dec  1739" 


Additional  light  is  thrown  on  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe  in 
the  reading  of  portions  of  the  will  of  Thomas  Crispe,  his 
son: 

"  I  Thomas  Crispe  of  Dornford  and  Ludwell  Parish 
of  Wool  ten  in  the  County  of  Oxon  Knit.  To  be  buried 
in  St.  Mildred's  Church  in  Bread  street  in  the  vault  there 
belonging  to  the  famil)-  with  the  rest  of  my  ancestors, 
and  I  direct  a  Monument  to  be  Erected  for  mee  in  the 
Church  after  the  modell  of  that  I  made  for  my  Wife  in 
my  Parish  church  of  Wootten  in  Oxfordshier,  and  would 
have  the  following  inscription  thereon:  (M.  S.  of  Thomas 
Crispe  of  Dornford  and  Ludwell,  Knight,  Deputy  Lieu- 
tenant of  the  said  Count)-  in  which  Post  he  served  the 
Crown  under  the  last  Five  Subsequent  Lords  Lieutenants 
of  the  said  County.  He  was  one  of  the  younger  sons 
and   Executors  of  the  Ould  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe,  Knight 


Amcrat  Certificate  of  Cflli.S  Crtepe.     1625. 


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THE  CR1SPE  FAMILY.  12s 


and  Barronett,  Anciently  Inhabitant  in  this  Parish  and 
Great  Benefactor  to  it  and  who  was  the  ould  faithful  ser- 
vant of  King  Charles  the  first  and  King  Charles  the  sec- 
ond, and  for  whom  he  suffered  very  much  and  Lost  One 
Hundred  Thousand  Pounds  in  their  services,  but  was  re- 
paid in  great  Measure  by  King  Charles  the  Second  his 
Justice  and  Bounty  and  is  here  mentioned  by  his  Exec- 
utor as  a  Grateful  Acknowledgement.  The  said  Sir 
Nicholas  Crispe  was  the  first  that  opened  the  trade  to 
Ginuey  and  there  built  the  Castle  of  Cormantine.  This 
said  Sir  Thomas  Crispe  left  only  One  Daughter  Anne 
Crispe  lately  Married  to  Charles  Crispe  Esqr.,  great 
Grandson  to  the  aforesaid  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe  Kn't  and 
Barronett  and  who  with  his  Daughter  and  himself  make 
up  three  Generations  from  the  said  Ould  Sir  Nicholas 
Crispe  vizt:  Son,  Grandson  i.nd  Great  Grandson.) 

"  I  confirm  the  Settlement  of  my  Mannors  or 
affairs  of  Dornford  and  Ludwell  in  the  County  of  Oxon 
on  my  Daughter  and  Son  and  their  Heirs  Male,  by  my 
Deed  of  the  2 1st  day  of  April  1714.  And  also  the  Set- 
tlement of  part  of  my  personall  estate  in  and  by  a  Deed 
of  the  fifth  of  May  17 14  on  my  Son  and  Daughter  upon 
their  marriage.  'To  my  son  my  fine  Ring  being  a  Gre- 
tiau  Priest  and  Priestess  cut  in  an  Onix  in  Greece  about 
2000  years  since.' 

"Proved  20  Aug  17 14."  156  Aston. 


The   following    manuscript  written    by   Sir    Charle: 


126  THE  HISTORY  OF 


Crispe  can  be  seen  at  the  British  Museum.  It  relates  to 
the  pedigree  of  the  family  of  Crispes.  Catalogue  mark: 
Add.   Manuscripts  24120,  British  Museum: 

"The  Pedigree  of  the  Family  of  Crispe,  Baniouets. 
How  Descended.  Who  They  Married  and  the  Names  of 
Their  Seats: 

"  Ellis  Crispe  Esqr.,  Alderman,  who  died  Sheriff  of 
London  in  1625,  lies  Burried  in  my  vault  in  St.  Mildred's, 
Bread  street.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Ire- 
land of  that  Ward,  who  with  his  wife  lies  also  burried  in 
my  said  vault,  as  may  be  seen  in  Old  Stow.  Ellis 
Crispe's  was  Nicholas  Crispe  (who  did  not  die  in  the 
year  after  his  father )  But  was  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe,  Knight 
and  after  the  Restoration  made  a  Baronet  14th  April 
1655,  his  body  lies  buried  in  My  Vault  in  Bread  Street 
Aforesaid.  But  his  heart  was  by  his  Will  put  into  a 
Marble  Urne  in  Hammersmith  Chappell  with  the  Bust  of 
King  Charles  the  1st  over  it  as  being  the  Place  he  so 
Greatly  Delighted  in.  For  he  gave  the  Bricks  for  build- 
ing it,  Gave  the  Bells  and  Beautified  ye  Chappel  at  his 
own  expense.  This  is  the  Gentleman  mentioned  in  My 
EordClarondine's  History.  He  went  through  ye  Civille 
Warr  with  King  Charles  ye  1st  &  raised  a  Regiment  of 
Horse  and  another  of  Foot  for  him  at  his  own  Expence, 
besides  Emense  sums  of  Money,  and  was  in  ye  sharpest 
service  for  he  took  out  ye  Commission  Army  for  ye  Citty 
of  Eondon,  for  which  Parliament  proffered  One  Thousand 
Pounds   to  bring  him    in  a   live  or  dead.      He  being  the 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY. 


first  Baronet  must  begin  with  him.  The  inscription  on 
this  monument  in  Hammersmith  Chappell  is  worth  read- 
ing to  any  body  who  is  curious  that  way." 


The  Manor  Roy  ton,  of  which  Hon.  William  Winde's 
writes  on  page  71  of  this  book,  is  well  described  in  Vol- 
ume III,  pages  58,  59  and  60,  of  Ireland's  History  of 
Kent  County,  as  follows: 

"  Royton,  otherwise  Rayton,  is  a  manor  in  this  par- 
ish situated  a  small  distance  eastward  from  Chilston,  the 
mansion  of  which  had  a  free  chapel  annexed  to  it,  the 
ruins  whereof  were  still  remaining  some  years  back. 

"  In  the  year  1259,  under  Henry  III.,  this  manor 
was  in  the  possession  of  Simon  Fitzalian;  at  which  time 
a  final  agreement  was  ratified  in  the  King's  Court  at 
Westminster  between  Roger,  abbot  of  St.  Augustine's, 
and  the  said  Simon  concerning  the  customs  and  services 
which  the  abbot  demanded  of  him  for  his  tenement,  which 
he  held  of  that  ecclesiastic  in  Royton,  viz:  one  mark  of 
silver  annually,  and  suit  at  the  Court  of  Lenham;  which 
suit  the  abbot  released  to  him  on  his  agreeing  to  pay  the 
rent  above  mentioned  and  suit  at  Court  of  St.  Augus- 
tine's at  Canterbury. 

"  He  was  succeeded  by  Robert  Royton,  who  most 
probably  assumed  his  name  from  his  possession  at  this 
place.  The  latter  founded  a  free  chapel  here  and  annexed 
it  to  the  mansion,  which  thence  acquired  the  name  of 
Royton   Chapel.      It   continued   in   the  above  name  until 


1 28  THK  HISTORY  OF 


the  reign  of  Henry  VI.,  when  by  an  only  daughter  the 
property  conveyed  in  marriage  to  James  Dryland,  Esq., 
of  Davington,  whose  daughter  and  sole  heir  Constance, 
entitled  her  husband,  Sir  Thomas  Walsingham,  to  its 
possession.  He  died  in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.,  when 
one  of  his  descendants,  under  Henry  VIII.,  alineated  this 
manor  to  Edward  Myllys,  who  did  homage  to  the  abbot 
of  St.  Augustine's  for  the  same  as  half  a  Knight's  fee, 
which  he  had  purchased  in  Royton,  near  Lenham.  It 
was  soon  afterwards  sold  to  Robert  Atwater,  who  leaving 
two  daughters  and  co-heirs,  Mary,  the  youngest  carried 
it  with  other  estates  at  Charing  and  elsewhere  in  this 
neighborhood  to  Robert  Houywood,  Esq.,  of  Henwood, 
in   Postling. 

"  He  afterward  resided  at  Pett,  in  Charing,  being 
part  of  his  wife's  inheritance,  and  dying  in  1576  was 
buried  in  Lenham  Church,  bearing  for  his  arms  those  of 
Honywood,  with  a  crescent  gules  for  difference.  He  left 
a  numerous  issue  by  his  wife,  who  survived  him  nearly 
forty-four  years  of  her  age,  and  was  interred  near  him, 
though  a  monument  to  her  memory  was  erected  at  Mark's 
Hall,  in  Essex.  She  had,  as  it  is  said,  at  her  decease, 
lawfully  descended  from  her  367  children — sixteen  of  her 
own,  114  grand-children,  22S  in  the  third  generation  and 
nine  in  the  fourth.  The  eldest  son,  Honywood,  of  Char- 
ing and  afterwards  of  Mark's  Hall,  in  Essex,  was  twice 
married;  first  to  Dorothy,  daughter  of  John  Crook,  L. 
L.  D.,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Sir  Robert  Honywood, 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  129 

of  Charing,  and  one  daughter.  By  his  second  marriage 
lie  had  several  sons  and  daughters,  the  eldest  of  whom, 
Thomas,  was  of  Mark's  Hall  above  mentioned.  Sir  Rob- 
ert at  his  death  devised  the  manor  of  Royton  to  Dorothy, 
his  daughter  by  his  first  wife.  His  surviving  son  An- 
thony was  of  Royton,  of  which  estate  be  died  possessed 
in  16S2,  leaving  an  only  daughter,  Dorothy,  who  carried 
it  in  marriage  to  Richard  Crispe,  Gent.,  of  Maidstone,  in 
whose  descendents  it  continued  down  to  William  Crispe, 
Gent.,  of  Royton.  He  dying  in  1761  devised  this  property 
by  will  to  his  surviving  wife,  Elizabeth,  for  her  life,  and  the 
fee  of  the  same  to  his  nephew,  Samuel  Belcher,  who  dying 
unmarried  and  intestate  his  interest  in  the  same  descend- 
ed to  his  only  brother,  Peter  Belcher,  who  by  will  left  it  in 
1772  to  his  brother-in-law,  John  Foster,  in  fee.  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Crispe,  before  mentioned,  died  in  1778,  and 
this  estate  then  went  into  the  possession  of  Mr.  John 
Foster,  who  afterwards  sold  it  to  Thomas  Best,  Esq.,  of 
Chilton,  on  whose  demise,  in  1793,  it  passed  by  his  will, 
among  other  estates,  to  his  nephew,  George  Best,  Esq.,  of 
Chilton." 

THE    REVERENDS    TOBIAS    AND    SAMUEL    CRISPE. 

Dr.  Tobias  Crispe  was  a  learned  man,  and  as  a  min- 
ister of  the  gospel  made  a  great  reputation.  He  was  a 
prolific  writer,  and  possessed  a  large  library  of  theologi- 
cal books.  He  died  in  March,  1644.  His  son,  Samuel, 
also  became  a  minister,  and  he  was  noted  throughout 
England   for   his   "deep  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures." 


130  THE  HISTORY  OF 

When  lie  died  he  left  an  estate  valued  at  £.800,000,  and 
this  amount  was  left  to  his  kin.  He  died  when  sixty 
years  of  age. 

His  last  will  indicates  his  possessions,  and  also  intro- 
duces his  learning-  relative  to  the  Bible.  I  have  copied 
such  portions  of  his  will  as  may  he  of  worth  and  I  give 
it  in  the  hope  of  doing  justice  to  this  great  scholar.  It 
reads  in  part  as  follows. 

"There  is  a  great  debt  owing  to  mee  out  of  my 
wife's  brother  Peter  Pheasaunt's  estate,  it  being  about 
Eleven  Hundred  pounds  in  Anno  167S  for  500  which  his 
brother  Walter  Pheasaunt  gave  me  by  will  in  166S,  etc., 
which  debt  he  (the  said  Peter)  '  partly  ownes  in  his  will 
of  12  May,  1676,  witnessed  by  Mr.  Sergeant  Goodfellow 
etc.,  which  Will  I  have  by  me  uncancelled'  etc.,  the 
'said  debt  of  1100'  and  Interest  or  what  can  be  recov- 
ered of  it  I  give  to  my  four  younger  sonns,  Ellis,  Stephen, 
Walter  and  Rowland  Wilson.'  'And  whereas  his  late 
Majestic  King  Charles  the  second  owed  to  my  grand- 
father, Mr.  Rowland  Wilson,  to  whom  I  am  Executor, 
the  one-fourth  part  of  Ten  Thousand  and  five  hundred 
pounds'  'for  gold  he  had  out  of  the  Starr  from  Ginney, 
and  a  fourth  of  4000'  for  the  Cormantine  frigott  lost  in 
his  Service,'  the  said  debts  'to  my  six  sonns  equally 
among  them.'  'Whereas  the  Crowne  of  Portugall  is  in- 
debted to  mee  as  Executor  of  my  grandfather  and  partly 
in  my  own  right  about  Two  Thousand  pounds  and  inter- 
est for  his   fourth  of  5500  odd  pounds  due  to  the  Guinea 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  131 

Company,  besides  what  is  due  to  himself,  and  for  which 
debt  the  Kiugdome  is  bound  by  Articles  of  Peace,  I  give 
the  same  or  what  can  be  recovered  to  my  four  younger 
sonns.'  'To  my  three  younger  sonns  the  One  Hundred 
pounds  I  lent  my  eldest  son  Phesaunt  in  his  straits  in  April 
or  May.  1694.'  '  To  my  five  younger  sonns  the  500  that 
my  said  eldest  Sonne  obliged  himself  by  Note  1691  to  pay 
to  them  when  he  should  be  worth  four  thousand  pounds.' 
'To  my  sonne  Phesaunt  my  gold  Watch  and  Chain  to  it 
and  the  fine  Picture  of  the  Madona  that  I  formerly  lent 
him,'  etc.,  also  '  my  pocket  bible  of  44  years  use  hoping 
he  will  make  good  use  of  it.'  'To  my  sonne  Samuel  my 
Father's  Bible  printed  in  1631  in  the  margent  of  which 
from  1675  to  16S0,  etc.,  I  made  annotations  from  I  Cor. 
to  the  end.  To  my  deare  Ellis,  in  his  hand.  I  give  my 
interleaved  Bible  with  ten  years  annotations,  etc.,  in  it. 
To  my  son  Stephen  to  furnish  him  somewhat  in  the 
blessed  work  of  the  Ministery,  I  give  all  of  my  Manu- 
scripts of  Hoebrew  and  Greek  in  my  three  times  writing 
out  the  Bible  in  Hebrew  and  Greek  in  English  Letters 
and  rendring  the  whole  into  proper  English,'  etc.,  '  my 
Books  of  the  List  of  Seven  Thousand  and  od  Sermons 
from  1648  to  1 701,  and  all  the  Sermon  Books,  about  300, 
I  give  to  my  said  sonne  Stephen,  my  Coghil's  Bible 
printed  1576,  in  folio,  with  Notes  and  Erasmus  latine 
Testament  of  1463.  I  give  my  sonne  Walter  my  im- 
broidered  Bible  and  other  greate  Bible.  I  give  my  sonne 
Rowland  Wilson  my  greate  Bible  my  wife  ust-d.     I  give 


THK  HISTORY  OF 


my  daughter  Mary  all  my  other  books."    Proved  23  Nov- 
ember, 1703."  1S2  Degg. 

ELLIS    CR1SPK,    SHERIFF    OF    LONDON. 

Ellis  Crispe,  son  of  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe  of  whom  we 
speak  on  page  114  of  this  book,  was  at  one  time  an  Alder- 
man in  London,  and  later  elected  Sheriff  of  London.  He 
was  a  very  wealthy  man,  and  died  some  twenty  years  be- 
fore his  father,  who  was  the  famous  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe, 
the  "  Ould  faithful  servant  to  Charles  the  First."  Ellis 
died  while  he  was  Sheriff,  and  the  Garter  at  the  College 
of  Heralds  issued  in  his  honor  a  funeral  certificate  signed 
by  his  wife,  Hester  Crispe.  This  certificate  has  been 
photographed  and  engraved  for  this  book.  The  Crispe 
shield  is  parted  with  that  of  the  Ireland  family,  who 
had  as  their  arms  six  fieu-de-lys.  In  his  will,  which  was 
proved  November  7,  1625,  (120  Clarke),  he  gives  to  his 
wife,  children  and  friends  upwards  of  £  17,000,  besides 
he  wills  scores  of  estates  and  a  number  of  valuable  prop- 
erties in  London.  He  also  founded  an  alms-house  at 
Marshfield,  County  of  Gloucester,  and  donated  ^600,  add- 
ing an  annual  donation.  He  was  buried  in  the  family 
vault  at  St.  Mildred's  Church,  Bread  street,  London, 
November  5,  1625.    He  had  eight  sons  and  two  daughters. 

ABIGALL    CRISPE,    WIFE     OF   THE    LORD    MAYOR 
OF    LONDON. 

Ellis  Crispe,  of  whom  we  have  just  written,  had  a 
brother,  Nicholas  Crispe,  whose  youngest  daughter,  Abi- 
gail, was  the  wife  of  the  distinguished   "  Right  Worship- 


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THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  137 

ful  Sir  Abraham  Raynardson,  Knight,  Alderman  and 
Lord  Mayor  of  London."  The  marriage  took  place 
about  162  1,  and  her  husband  was  famous  as  having  pre- 
vented the  collection  of  the  unnecessary  tax  from  the 
people  of  London  in  support  of  the  Royal  family. 

In  his  funeral  certificate  published  the  12th  day  of 
January,  1661,  the  Garter  of  the  College  of  Heralds  re- 
cites the  important  features  of  his  life.  I  had  this  cer- 
tificate photographed  and  engraved  for  this  book.  It 
says,  in  part:  "  The  corpse  was  removed  to  Merchant- 
taylor's  Hall  London,  and  there  (set  out  with  all  cere- 
monies belonging  to  his  degree)  remained  till  Thursdaj7, 
17th  day  of  the  same  October,  and  was  interred  in  the 
Parish  Church  of  St.  Martin;  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Al- 
dermen, the  Governors,  Deputies  and  assistants  of  the 
Turkey  and  East  India  Company,  and  the  Governors  of 
the  St.  Bartholomewe's  Hospital,  with  a  great  number  of 
his  relecaions  and  ffriends  and  acquaintances  attending  it 
thither.  The  said  Sir  Raynardson,  Knight,  was  Lord 
Mayor  of  London  in  the  year  1649,  but  was  by  the  then 
pretending  Parliament  discharged  from  his  Mayorality 
and  disabled  to  bare  the  office  of  Mayor  and  Alderman  of 
London  and  fined  20oo/J"  and  committed  to  the  prison  for 
refusing  to  proclaim  their  Trayterous  Act  for  abolishing 
the  Kingly  office  in  England.  The  said  fine  was  levied 
by  sale  of  the  Goods  by  the  Candle." 

This  occurred  in  the  stirring  times  of  Cromwell,  and 
a  lengthy    and    interesting    account    of  this  difficulty   of 


X3S  THE  HISTORY  OF 


the  Lord  Mayor  can   be  found  in  any  unabridged  Life  of 
Cromwell. 

This  Abigail  Crispe,  daughter  of  Nicholas  Crispe 
died  about  the  year  1635,  and  she  left  two  sons.  Abraham 
and  Nicholas  Raynardson.  Her  father  was  a  gentleman 
of  influence,  and  when  he  died  left  an  estate  valued  at 
^700,000,  besides  giving  a  large  land  grant  to  the  alms- 
house founded  by  his  brother  Ellis  at  Marshfield. 

OTHERS    OF    THE    CRISPE     FAMILY    WHO    WERE 
PROMINENT. 

The  family  of  Crispe,  was  well  intermingled  with  the 
prominent  citizens  of  Southern  England,  and  among 
those  of  the  family  who  deserve  mention  in  consideration 
of  their  marriage  we  enumerate  without  further  descrip- 
tion the  following: 

Henry  Crispe,  of  Birchingtou,  married  a  daughter 
of  Sir  Anthony  Colepepper,  of  Bedgburg.  128  Can- 

Anna  Crispe,  of  the  Parish  of  Chiswick.  County  of 
Middlesex,  had  a  daughter  whose  son  became  Sir  Harry 

Gough,  Baronet.  T       n    ,,      ,' 

100  Bedtord. 

Peter   Crispe,   of  Cobcot,  had  a  sister  whose  son  be- 
came Sir  Richard  Ingolsby.  52  Huddleston. 
Sir  Edward   Moning's  daughter  married  Sir  Henry 
Crispe,  Knight,  of  Birchingtou. 

History  of  Isle  of  Thanet. 
Sir    Christopher   Clapham,   of  Clapham,   Yorkshire, 
married  Elizabeth,  third  daughter  of  Thomas  Crispe,  of 
Quex. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  139 

Sir    Richard    Levett,     married    a    Crispe    daughter. 

56  Degg. 

The  sou  of  Sir  Henry  Crispe,  of  Ouex,  married  the 
sole  daughter  of   Lord  Cheyney. 

Hannah  Crispe,  of  Guernsey,  was  the  wife  of  Sir 
Edmund  Andros,  famous  in  the  Colonial  history  of 
America,  and  of  this  lady  we  will  write  when  treating 
the  Crispe  family  in  the  New  World.  216  Carr. 

The  Crispe  people  were  closely  identified  with  the 
English  events  of  the  16th,  r 7th  and  iSth  centuries,  and 
they  took  an  active  part  in  the  several  wars  of  those  days; 
but  not  until  the  great  strife  between  Charles  the  First 
and  Oliver  Cromwell  do  we  learn  of  their  enthusiastic  de- 
votion to  the  causes  championed.  It  was  in  this  great 
civil  war  that  the  Crispe  family  sustained  a  heavy  finan- 
cial loss  and  much  of  their  weslth  was  taken  from  them, 
and  a  considerable  portion  donated  in  the  interests  of 
opposing  factions.  In  the  fratricidal  strife  the  Crispe 
family  was  about  equally  divided,  some  siding  with 
Charles  the  First  while  others  espoused  the  cause  of 
Cromwell.  Thus  we  find  them  enlisting  in  opposing 
armies.  Prominent  among  the  Cavaliers,  as  the  support- 
ers of  Charles  were  known,  we  find  a  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe 
and  a  Sir  Charles  Crispe,  while  on  the  Cromwell  side  we 
note  a  Sir  Henry  Crispe  and  the  famous  Reverend  Tobias 
Crispe.  Hence  the  family  of  Crispe  were  divided — one 
afhrniiug  the  Episcopal  creed,  the  other  adopting  Puri- 
tanic principles,   while   both    factious   attained   eminence 


140  THE  HISTORY  OF 


and  distinction  in  antagonizing  armies.  We  will  discuss 
those  of  Puritanic  inclination  when  studying  the  early 
settlers  in  America. 

The  preceeding  pages  clearly  indicate  that  the  Crispe 
family  was  more  than  ordinarily  prominent  in  the  affairs 
of  Southern  England.  The  Crispe  people  inhabited  for 
the  most  part  the  County  of  Kent,  the  garden  spot  and  the 
battlefield  of  England.  We  find  that  they  clustered  and 
did  not  separate,  but  continued  to  live  in  several  of  the 
cities  of  Kent,  and  among  these  homes  we  mention 
Birchington,  Cleve,  Deal,  Dover,  Maidstone,  Royton, 
Leeds,  Loose  Court  and  Sutton  Valance. 

THE  CRISPE  FAMILY  OF  SUTTON  VALANCE. 

A  large  branch  of  the  Crispe  family  settled  at  Sutton 
Valance,  where  for  upwards  of  two  hundred  years  they 
were  tillers  of  the  soil  of  this  famous  valley  in  Kent 
County.  There  are  possibly  but  two  other  valleys  on 
earth  as  picturesque  as  the  Valley  of  Sutton,  and  these 
are  the  Moselle  Valley  and  Onieda  Valley.  In  this  rich 
soil  and  these  scenic  surroundings,  a  large  family  of  Crispes 
was  reared.  Though  there  are  not  at  this  time  many  of 
the  family  still  living  at  old  Sutton  Valance,  since  in  the 
year  1852  a  great  number  of  the  Crispe  people  emigrated 
to  the  United  States;  yet  there  are  are  a  few  of  the  rela- 
tives who  still  reside  in  the  vicinity  of  the  romantic  val- 
ley. The  old  town,  founded  by  King  Edward  the  First, 
is  about  forty  miles  southeast  of  London,  and  but  a  few 
miles  from  Maidstone.     As  early  as  1600  the  Crispe  folks 


THK  CRISPE  FAMILY.  141 

were  tillers  of  the  soil  at  Sutton.  The  major  portion  of 
the  Crispe  people  now  living  in  America  are  interested 
more  especially  in  a  certain  William  Crispe,  from  whom 
the  family  hailing  from  Sutton,  came. 

WILLIAM    CRISPE,    OF    SUTTON    VALANCE. 

This  William  Crispe  came  to  Sutton  and  purchased 
the  manor  known  as  "Mount  Pleasant."  Little  is  known 
of  his  early  life,  but  in  1 722  he  was  married  to  a  Miss  Susan 
Fry,  and  to  them  was  born  eight  daughters  and  one  son. 
The  names  of  these  nine  children  are:  Mary,  Anna,  Eliza- 
beth, Susan  (died  January  17S3,  age  44  years),  Sarah, 
Priseellia  (died  September  20,  1823,  age  69  years.  In  the 
church  is  a  tablet  which  says.  "  Near  this  place  on  the 
outside  of  the  church  are  deposited  the  remains  of  Pris- 
eellia Crispe  of  this  parish  who  departed  this  life  Septem- 
ber 23,  1S23.     Aged  69  ye^rs. 

How  loved,  how  valued  one 

Avails  thee  not 

To  whom  related  or  by  whom 

Begot 

A  heap  of  dust  alone  remains 

Of  thee 

Tis  all  thou  art,  and  all 

The  proud  shall  be. 

This  monument   is   created    by    her    nephew   Mr.    John 

Earl"),  Francis  and  Martha. 

The  only  son  was  John  Crispe. 

William  is  spoken  of  in  old  family  letters  as  being  "A 


142  THE   HISTORY  OF 


large  man  and  of  a  very  liberal  turn  of  minde."  He  died 
January  27,  1772,  at  the  age  of  69  years.  He  lies  buried 
at  Suttan  Valance,  as  are  all  the  relatives  under  present 
consideration.  His  wife  died  March  16,  1795,  at  the  old 
age  of  80  years.  She  was  buried  at  her  native  town 
of  Dartford,  where  her  parents  kept  the  famous  "Bull 
Tavern."  The  eight  daughters  were  married,  but  we 
will  not  describe  their  lineage,  since  the  name  Crispe 
ceased  after  their  marriage.  However,  it  is  worthy  of 
note  to  mention  that  Francis  became  the  second  wife  of 
the  noted  Henry  Earl,  who  died  February  S,  1 7S r ,  aged 
32  years.  She  died  February  3,  17S1,  aged  28  years.  A 
magnificent  monument  at  the  Suttan  Valance  cemetery 
marks  their  graves. 

The  present  generations  of  Crispes  are  particularly 
interested  in  this  only  son  of  William  Crispe  and  Susan 
Fry,  since  he   is   the  origin  of  a  large  family  of  Crispes. 

JOHN    CRISPK. 

John  Crispe,  the  only  son  of  the  foregoing,  was  born 
at  Sutton  Valance  in  1743.  He  was  married  to  Elizabeth 
Shirley,  and,  quite  contrary  to  the  existing  tendency  of 
the  Crispes,  he  became  the  possessor  of  a  large  family. 
He  lived  at  Mount  Pleasant  manor,  and  was  among  the 
prominent  citizens  of  that  section  of  the  County  of  Kent. 
The  names  of  the  thirteen  children  which  composed  his 
family  were  as  follows:  William,  Thomas,  George,  Cle- 
ment, Charles,  Mary,  Susanah,  Elizabeth,  Ann,  Sophia, 
John,  James  and  Edward. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  143 

He  was  a  prosperous  farmer  and  a  devoted  Christian, 
worshiping  in  the  Episcopal  Church  (St.  Mary's)  at  Sut- 
ton Valance,  and  in  its  cemetery  all  the  family  of  Sutton 
are  buried.  He  died  April  23,  181 1,  at  the  age  of  68. 
He  possessed  considerable  property,  and  was  considered 
wealthy,  his  daughter  Sophia  receiving  the  bulk  of  his 
worth — £5000.  His  wife,  Elizabeth,  died  June  17,  1796, 
aged  50  years.  The  old  house  in  which  he  lived  still 
stands,  and  while  I  traveled  in  this  region  I  photographed 
it  and  the  church  for  pictures  in  this  book. 

We  will  next  study  the  careers  of  his  thirteen  child- 
ren, and  in  doing  so  we  will  completely,  though  briefly, 
describe  the  entire  offspring  of  each  of  these  thirteen 
children.  In  the  appendix  of  this  book  will  be  found 
the  classified  copy  of  this  branch  of  the  Crispe  family. 
Many  of  these  children  of  John  Crispe  and  Elizabeth 
Shirley  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  so  we  will  give 
them  consideration  in  Part  II  of  this  work,  devoted  to 
the  family  of  Crispe  in  America.  The  thirteen  children 
and  their  kin  are  as  follows: 

WILLIAM    CRISPE,    NO.    I. 

He  was  born  in  Sutton  Valance  in  1764;  he  married 
Grace  Elizabeth  Goodwyn,  and  to  them  were  born  eight 
children— John  (A),  Charles  (B),  James  (C),  Priscellia 
(D),  Edward  (E),  William  (F),  Thomas  (G)  and  Sarah 
(H). 

William  died  May  29,  1S34.     His  wife  died  February 

25.  1845. 


*44  THE  HISTORY  OF 


John  (A)  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Coville,  and 
to  them  were  born  five  children— Charles  (a),  James  (b). 
Edward  (c),  William  (d),  and  Priscellia  (e).  He  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States  where  he  died  June  6,  1S34. 
The  sons  and  daughters  will  be  considered  in  Part  II. 

Charles  (B)  born  1S07;   married;   left  no  issue. 

James  (C)  was  born  September  16,  1S09;  married 
Maggie  Pandergast  in  1831;  to  them  were  born  ten 
children— Jamas  (a),  Sarah  (b),  Maggie  (c),  Charles  (d), 
Mary  (e),  Charles  (f),  William  (g),  John  (h),  Elizabeth  (i), 
and  Priscellia  (j).  This  Mr.  James  Crispe  and  entire  fam- 
ily will  be  described  in  Part  II. 

Priscellia  (D)  married  William  Smith,  of  Folkstone, 
and  to  them  were  born  three  children— William  (a),  John 
(b)  and  Charles  (c). 

William  (a);  married:  left  no  issue. 

John(b);  married;  left  no  issue. 

Charles  (c);  died  in  infancy. 

Edward  (E);  born  May  1,  1S02;  by  occupation  was  a 
farmer,  miller  and  baker;  in  1S27  was  married  to  Miss 
Elizabetn  Munn.  He  owned  a  splendid  farm  in  Sutton 
Valance,  and  it  was  known  as  the  "  Forsham  Farm," 
containing  ninety-six  acres.  This  book  contains  a  pic- 
ture of  this  old  home.  To  Edward  and  Elizabeth  were 
born  nine  children,  as  follows — Edward  (a),  Grace  (b), 
William  (c),  Priscellia  (d),  John  (e),  Anna  (f),  Sophia  (g), 
Alice  (h)  and  Emma  (i).  This  entire  family  came  to 
America  in  1S52,  and  their  accounts  will  be  in  Part  II. 


Ifetewt , — 1 


,V.. ->■■:.    /# 


MOUNT  PLEASANT  MANOR. 
(Crispe  Homestead.) 


JAMES  CRISPE  (C). 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  149 

William  (F);  little  is  known  of  him;  he  came  to 
America,  settling  near  Buffalo,  New  York;  was  married 
and  had  a  daughter;  he  died  in  America  in  1S23. 

Thomas  (G);  born  in  1811;  died  when  9  years  old; 
buried  at  Sutton,  November  9,  1820. 

Sarah  (H);  born  181 2;  died  in  infancy,  February  13, 
1814. 

THOMAS    CRISPE,    NO.    II. 

Thomas  Crispe,  No.  II,  the  second  child  of  John 
Crispe  and  Elizabeth  Shirley,  was  born  in  1765.  He  was 
married  to  Elizabeth  Wilkins,  and  to  them  were  born 
seven  children— Thomas  (A),  Henry  (B),  Elizabeth  (C), 
Mary  (D),  Sarah  (E),  Anna  (F)  and  Clement  (G).  He 
died  July  1,  1S1S,  and  his  wife  died  April  7,  1817. 

Thomas  (A);  married;  had  two  children — Thomas 
'a),  and  Mary  Ann  (b);  he  died  October  4,  1S75;  buried 
at  Sutton  Valance. 

Thomas  (a);  died  in  infancy. 

Mary  Ann  (b);  married;  had  two  sons. 

Henry  (B);  married  Susan  Coulter;  they  had  one 
child,  Susan  (a):  Henry  died  August  2,  1875;  buried  at 
Sutton  Valance. 

Susan  (a);  married  a  Mr.  Samuel  Payne;  had  no  issue. 

Elizabeth  (C);  became  second  wife  of  Mr.  Samuel 
Buss;  they  had  four  children — Samuel  (a),  Harriet  (b), 
John  (c),  Fanny  (d).      Elizabeth  died  June  5,  1846. 

Samuel  (a);  died  at  an  early  age;  he  was  married 
and  had  two  children — Mary  Ann  (1),  and  Harry  (2). 


150  THE  HISTORY  OF 

Harriet  (b);  married  Edward  Brooks;  they  had  no 
children. 

John  (c);  bachelor;  still  living. 

Fanny  (d);  married  Thomas  Adams. 

Mary  (D);  married  to  Thomas  Vinson;  they  had  six 
children — Thomas  (a),  John  (b),  Mary  (c),  William 
(d),  Edward  (e)  and  Elizabeth  (f). 

Thomas  (a)j   no  particulars. 

John  (b);  no  particulars. 

Mary  (C);  lives  at  Maidstone,  England.  She  deserves 
praise  for  having  assisted  me  in  getting  many  of  the  facts 
concerning  the  Crispe  people  at  Birchington,  Deal,  Cleve, 
Leeds,  Maidstone  and  Sutton  Valance.  I  take  this  op- 
portunity of  thanking  her  for  this  valuable  aid  in  for- 
warding this  information. 

William  (d);  no  particulars. 

Edward  (e);  no  particulars. 

Elizabeth  (f);  no  particulars. 

Sarah  (E);  married  Thomas  Biggs;  they  had  one 
daughter,  Sophia  (a);  Mrs.  Sarah  Biggs  came  to  America 
and  died  in  1S56. 

Sophia  Biggs  (a);  was  married  to  a  Mr.  Parker. 

Anna  (F);  died  at  Sutton  Valance,  October,  1870, 
leaving  no  issue. 

Clement  (G);  died  at  Sutton  Valance. 

GEORGE    CRISPE,    XO.    III. 

George  Crispe,  No  III,  the  third  child  of  John  Crispe 
and  Elizabeth   Shirley,  was   born   in  1767.     He  married 


THE  CRISPK  FAMILY.  151 


Miss  Mercy  Link.  He  died  August  24,  1S24;  she  died 
August  S,  1S4S.  To  these  people  were  born  seven  child- 
ren—John (A),  Stephen  (B),  George  (O,  Elizabeth  (D), 
Mercy  (E),  Eliza  (F)  and  Mary  Ann  (G). 

John  (A);   was  married  and  had  two  daughters. 

Stephen  (B);  married;  had  two  children — Bertha  (a), 
George  (b).     Stephen  died  about  1830. 

Bertha  (a);  married  a  Mr.  Thomas  Cooper. 

George  (b);  still  living  at  Suttan  Valance. 

George  (C);  died  in  1S30;  left  his  estate  to  his  two 
brothers. 

Elizabeth  (D);  died  at  Sutton  Place. 

Mercy  (E);  died  June  11,  1825,  nt  Sutton  Place. 

Eliza  (F);  died  March  11,  1S69,  at  Sutton  Place. 

Mary  Ann  lG';  died  January  7,  1844. 

CLEMENT    CKISPE,    NO.    IV. 

Clement  Crispe,  No.  IV,  the  fourth  child  of  John 
Crispe  and  Elizabeth  Shirley,  was  married  to  Mary  Nash 
Dickinson;  he  died  October  20,  1829;  she  died  November 
20,  1822;  their  children  were— Clement  (A)  and  John  (B). 

Clement  (A);  was  married  to  Miss  Armstrong;  they 
had  two  children — Mary  (a)  and  Armstrong  <b). 

Mary  (a)  is  still  living. 

Armstrong  (b)  is  still  living. 

John  <B);  remained  single;  died  at  Sutton  Place,  No- 
vember,  1870. 

CHARLES    CRISPE,    NO.    V. 

Charles  Crispe,  No.  V,  the  fifth  child  of  John  Crispe 


152  THE  HISTORY  OF 


and  Elizabeth  Shirley,  remained  a  bachelor,  and  in  his 
will  left  his  estate  to  his  brothers.  He  died  August  26, 
1827. 

MARY    CRISPE,    NO.    VI. 

Mary  Crispe,  No.  VI,  the  sixth  child  of  John  Crispe 
and  Elizabeth  Shirley,  was  married  to  Samuel  Hood;  the 
marriage  was  without  issue.  She  died  November  24, 
1S51.      Samuel  Hood  died  in  1873. 

SUSANAH    CRISPE,    NO.    VII. 

Susanah  Crispe,  No.  YII,  the  seventh  child  of  John 
Crispe  and  Elizabeth  Shirley,  was  married  to  Daniel 
Coulter;  she  died  December  29,  1S44.  Mr.  Coulter  died 
April  25,  1S54.  They  had  four  children— Elizabeth  (A), 
Sophia  (B),   Ann   (C)  and  Susanah  (D). 

Elizabeth  (A);  was  married  to  Mr.  Samuel  Buss; 
she  died  May  16,  1822;  he  died  in  1830;  they  had  twD 
children— Elizabeth  (a)  and  Susan  (b). 

Elizabeth  (a);  no  particulars. 

Susan  (b);  no  particulars. 

Sophia  (B);  married  to  Samuel  Harman;  they  had 
four  children — Susan  (1),  Sarah  (2),    Samuel  (3);  John  (4). 

Susan  (1);  no  particulars. 

Sarah  (2);  no  particulars. 

Samuel  (3);  no  particulars. 

John  (4);  no  particulars. 

Ann  (C);  married  William  Jarrett;  they  had  one  son 
— William  (a).     She  died  September  12,  1S48. 

William  (a);  still  living. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  153 

Susanah  (D);  married  Dr.  Henry  Crispe,  surgeon; 
they  lived  at  Sutton;  she  died  April  27,  1879;  he  died 
shortly  after;  they  had  one  daughter — Susanah  (a). 

Susanah  (a);   married  a  Samuel  Payne. 

ELIZABETH    CRISPE,    NO.    VIII. 

Elizabeth  Crispe  No  VIII,  the  eighth  child  of  John 
Crispe  and  Elizabeth  Shirley;  married  Edward  Shirley; 
she  died  December  4,  1861;  he  died  March  14,  1S56;  they 
had  eighteen  children — Edward  (A),  Thomas  (B),  Anna 
(C),  Charles  (D),  George  (E),  Edwin  (F),  William  (G>,  John 
Richard  (ID,  Samuel  (I),  Pettenden  (J),  James  (K),  Henry 
(D),  Samuel  Hood  (M),  Clement  (N),  Elizabeth  (O), 
Sophia  (P),  Stephen  (Q),  William  (R). 

Edward  (A);  married;  had  two  sons;  one  died,  one 
still  living. 

Thomas  (B);  married;  died  April  2,  1S63;  had  one 
son;  still  living. 

Anna  (C);  married  to  Charles  Norrington;  she  died 
March  25,    1S30;  one  son— Edward  (a). 

Edward  (a);  still  living. 

Charles  (D);  married;  had  two  sons;  died  January 
31,  1874. 

George  (E);  married;  had  one  son.  George  died 
July  9,  1865. 

Edwin  (F);  still  living. 

William  (G);  died  August  6,  1795. 

John  Richard  (H);  died  September  10,  1S27. 

Samuel  (I);  died  September  6,  i860. 


154 


THE   HISTORY  OF 


Pettenden  (J);  died  November,  1S70. 
James  (K);  died  February  17,  1S60. 
Henry  (L);  died  September  12,  1S74. 
Samuel  Hood  (M);  died  October  17,  1S67. 
Clement  (N);  died  September  20,  1S76. 
Elizabeth  (0>;  died  June  4,  1S09. 
Sophia  (P);  died  August  21 ,    1S11. 
Stephen  (Q);   died  in  infancy. 
William  (R);  died  January  21,  1S39. 

ANN    CRISPE,    NO.    IX. 

Ann  Crispe,  No.  IX,  the  ninth  child  of  John  Crispe 
and  Elizabeth  Shirley,  married  Edward  Norrington. 
She  died  Jauuary  15,  1S58.  He  died  September  28,  1859. 
They  had  110  children. 

SOPHIA    CRISPE.    NO.     X. 

Sophia  Crispe,  No.  X,  the  tenth  child  of  John  Crispe 
and  Elizabeth  Shirley;  born  1781;  married  Stephen 
Wilkins.  She  died  March  1,1841.  He  died  March  17, 
1826.  They  had  five  children— Stephen  (A),  William 
(B),  Mary  (C),  Sophia  (D)  and  Margret  (E). 

Stephen  (A);  died  at  Sutton  Place,  January  9,  1877, 
aged  74  years. 

William  (B);  died  June  5,  186S. 

Mary  (C);  died  January  io,  1854, 

Sophia  (D);  no  particulars. 

Margret  (E);  died  January  2,    1877. 

JOHN    CRISPE,    NO.    XI. 

John  Crispe,   No.    XI,    the    eleventh    child    of  John 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  155 

Crispe  and  Elizabeth  Shirley,  was  married  to  Mary  Wilk- 
ins.  John  died  March  21,  1S07.  His  wife  died  April  21, 
1816.     They  had  one  daughter — Mary  Ann  (A). 

Mary  Ann  (A);  was  married  to  W.  B.  Eagles,  She 
died  December  8,  1S77.  He  died  April  iS,  1879.  They 
had  seven  children-— Marian  (a),  Albert  (b),  Edmund  <e>, 
Charles  (d,)  George  (e),  Frank  (f)  and  Philip  (g). 

Marian  (a*;   was  married;  had  two  children. 

Albert  (b);   still  living. 

Edmund  (c);  still  living. 

Charles  (d);  still  living. 

George  <e);  still  living. 

Frank  <f);   still  living. 

Philip  (g);  still  living. 

JAMES    CRISPK,    NO.    XII. 

James  Crispe,  No.  XII,  the  twelfth  child  of  John 
Crispe  and  Elizabeth  Shirley,  was  a  bachelor.  He  died 
when  21  years  of  age. 

EDWARD    CRISPK,    NO.    XIII. 

Edward  Crispe,  Xo.  XIII,  the  thirteenth  child  of 
John  Crispe  and  Elizabeth  Shirley,  was  a  bachelor,  and 
died  in  1800. 

In  connection  with  the  Crispe  folks  at  Sutton  Val- 
ance, I  am  pleased  to  mention  that  I  am  under  obliga- 
tions to  Miss  Farmer  for  the  very  generous  assistance 
she  gave  me  in  looking  up  the  records  at  the  church,  and 
I  remember  her  for  her  hospitality,  which  she  rendered  to 


156  THE  HISTORY  OF 


my  wife  and  self  while  we  were  gathering  notes  at  Sutton 
Valance  in  1900. 

The  Crispe  family  at  Sutton  Valance  were  all  mem- 
bers of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  their  sympathies  in- 
clined towards  Charles  the  First  in  the  memorable  strife 
with  Cromwell;  and  among  them  were  some  few  who 
raised  troops  and  fought  in  the  ranks  of  the  Cavaliers. 

The  Puritanic  branch  of  the  Crispe  family  dates  back 
to  the  days  of  persecution  in  England.  Henry  Crispe, 
of  Birchington,  whom  we  remember  was  a  Puritan,  and 
kidnapped  to  raise  a  ransom  of  .£3000;  and  also  to  the 
famous  and  learned  Reverends  Tobias  and  Samuel  Crispe. 
The  Puritanic  branch  of  the  family  emigrated  to  Amer- 
ica with  the  Puritans,  and  they  played  an  important  part 
in  the  Colonial  history  of  the  United  States;  while  the 
Episcopal  Crispes  did  not  come  to  America  until  1S52. 


I  ri   '  ''''?'-••  V*'-  . 


MRS.  JAMES  CRISPE 


t .  ... 

,,4  r 


>s  lis  »*:       ■  _.,..     a 


•:  ^s 


C:-:-Vi 


ST.  MARY'S  KPISCOPAL  CHURCH, 
(Sutton  Valance.) 


PART  II, 


LIBERTY  WELCOMING  THE  WORLD. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY  OF  AMERICA. 


United  States  and   Canada. 


THE  LANDING  OF  THE  PILGRIMS. 


The  breaking  waves  dashed  high 

On  a  stern  and  rock-bound  coast, 

And  the  woods  against  a  stormy  sky 
Their  giant  branches  tossed. 

And  the  heavy  night  hung  dark 

The  hills  and  waters  o'er, 
.When  a  band  of  exiles  moored  their  bark 

On  the  wild  New  England  shore. 

Not  as  the  conqueror  comes, 

They,  the  true-hearted,  came; 
Not  with  the  roll  of  stirring  drums 

And  the  trumpets  that  sings  a  flame. 

What  sought  they  thus  afar? 

Bright  jewels  of  the  mine, 
The  wealth  of  seas,  the  spoils  of  war? 

They  sought  a  faith's  pure  shrine! 

Ay,  call  it  holy  ground, 

The  soil  where  first  they  trod; 
They  have  left  unstained  what  there  they  found, 

Freedom  to  worship  God. 

— Felicia  Hetnans. 


FREEDOM. 


America  for  freedoml 

That  was  the  old-time   cry. 
The  word  for  which  our  father's  stood 

To  battle  or  to  die. 
From  throned  oppression  fleeing 

They  felt  the  galling  chain 
A  tyrant  held  within  his  hand 

To  pluck  them  back  again. 


The  word  from  which  they  started 

The  globe  has  girdled  round; 
Across  the  seas  and  deserts — 

The  wild  man  knows  the  sound; 
And  something  of  its  story 

That  lifts  our  hearts  to-day, 
How  one  heroic  handful  barred 

The  old  wrong  from  its  way. 

—Ju lia  Ward  Hoi 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  165 


PROEM   TO   THE    CRISPE    FAMILY 
OF    THE    NEW  WORLD. 

The  following  from  J.  G.  Blaine's  memorial  address 
on  James  A.  Garfield  is  of  considerable  interst  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Huguenot  and  Puritan  extraction: 

"From  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth 
till  the  uprising  against  Charles  I.,  about  twenty  thous- 
and emigrants  came  from  Old  England  to  New  England. 
As  they  came  in  pursuit  of  intellectual  freedom  and  ec- 
clesiastical independence  rather  than  for  worldly  honor  or 
profit,  the  emigration  naturally  ceased  when  the  contest 
for  religious  liberty  began  in  earnest  at  home.  The  man 
who  struck  his  most  effective  blow  for  freedom  of  con- 
science by  sailing  for  the  Colonies  in  1620  would  have 
been  accounted  a  deserter  to  leave  after  1640.  The  op- 
portunity had  then  come  on  the  soil  of  England  for  that 
great  contest  which  established  the  authority  of  Parlia- 
ment, gave  religious  freedom  to  the  people,  sent  Charles 
to  the  block,  and  committed  to  the  hands  of  Oliver 
Cromwell  the  supreme  executive  authority  of  England. 
The  English  emigration  was  never  renewed,  and  from 
these  twenty  thousand  men,  with  a  small  emigration 
from  Scotland  and  from  France,  are  descended  the  vast 
numbers  who  have  New  England  blood  in  their  veins. 

In  16S5  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  by 
Louis  XIV.,  scattered  to  other    countries  four  hundred 


1 66  THE  HISTORY  OF 


thousand  Protestants,  who  were  among  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  enterprising  of  French  subjects— merchants  of 
capital,  skilled  manufacturers  and  handicraftsmen,  super- 
ior at  the  time  to  all  others  in  Europe.  A  considerable 
number  of  these  Huguenot-French  came  to  America;  a 
few  landed  in  New  Kugland  and  became  honorably  prom- 
inent in  its  history.  Their  names  have,  in  large  part, 
became  Anglicized,  or  have  disappeared,  but  their  blood 
is  traceable  in  many  of  the  most  reputable  families,  and 
their  fame  is  perpetuated  in  honorable  memorials  and  use- 
ful institutions.  From  these  two  sources,  the  Fnglish- 
Puritan  and  French-Huguenots,  came  the  late  President; 
his  father,  Abraham  Garfield,  being  descended  from  the 
one,  and  his  mother,  Fliza  Ballon,  from  the  other. 

"  It  was  good  stock  on  both  sides — none  better,  none- 
braver,  none  truer.  There  was  in  it  an  inheritance  of 
courage,  of  manliness,  of  imperishable  love  of  liberty, 
of  undying  adherance  to  principle.  Garfield  was  proud 
of  his  blood;  and,  with  as  much  satisfaction  as  if  he  were 
a  British  nobleman  reading  his  stately  ancestral  record  in 
Burke's  Peerage,  he  spoke  of  himself  as  ninth  in  descent 
from  those  who  would  not  endure  the  oppression  of  the 
Stuarts,  and  seventh  in  descent  from  the  brave  French 
Protestants  who  refused  to  submit  to  tyrany  even  from 
the  Grand  Monarque. 

"  General  Garfield  delighted  to  dwell  on  these  traits; 
and  during  his  only  visit  to  England  he  busied  himself  in 
discovering  every  trace  of  his   forefathers   in  parish  reg- 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  167, 


isters  and  on  ancient  army  rolls.  Sitting  with  a  friend 
in  the  gallery  of  the  House  of  Commons  one  night  after 
a  long  day's  labor  in  this  field  of  research,  he  said,  with 
evident  elation,  that  in  every  war  in  which,  for  three 
centuries,  patriots  of  English  blood  had  struck  sturdy 
blows  for  constitutional  government  and  human  liberty, 
his  family  had  been  represented.  They  were  at  Marston 
Moore,  at  Xaseby  and  at  Preston;  they  were  at  Bunker 
Hill,  at  Saratoga,  and  at  Monmouth,  and  in  his  own  per- 
son had  battled  for  the  same  great  cause  in  the  war 
which  preserved  the  Union  of  the  States." 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY  IN  COLONIAL  AMERICA. 

Of  the  many  classes  of  colonists  who  settled  this 
Western  Republic,  by  far  the  most  illustrious  were  the 
Puritans  and  the  Huguenots.  Their  names,  alike  coined 
as  epithets  of  contempt  and  derision,  have  become  the 
brightest  on  the  historic  pages  of  America.  Their  fame 
rests  on  their  heroic  sacrifices.  Not  for  gold,  nor  adven- 
ture, nor  discovery,  did  they  seek  the  forest-clad  shores 
of  Xew  England,  but  for  the  sake  of  worshiping  God  ac- 
cording to  the  dictates  of  their  conscience.  The  one  peo- 
ple exiled  and  exterminated,  the  other  persecuted  and 
tortured,  they  alike  fled  from  the  intolerance  of  the 
governments,  and  this  crime  cost  Charles  the  First  his 
head  and  revolutionized  the  English  monarchy,  and 
Louis  XIV.  paid  the  penalty  by  receiving  the  scorn  of 
all  lovers  of  liberty. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  recite  the  gross  injustice  done  to 
the  Puritans,  nor  need  I  detail  to  the  readers  of  this  book 
the  long  siege  of  suffering  of  these  champions  of  relig- 
ious freedom. 

The  Crispe  people  were  among  this  sturdy  folk,  and 
their  devotion  to  the  cause  was  proven  in  their  deserting 
friends  and  home,  and  chosing  the  snow-clad  hills  to 
warm  hearths  at  home. 

The  Crispe  people  came  over  with  Rodger  Williams 
and    John    Eliot,    the  latter  young  ministers;    and  John 


174  THE  HISTORY  OF 


Winthrop,  Jr.,  son  of  Governor  Winthrop,  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Colony,  came  with  them.  The  Crispes  set- 
tled at  Watertown,  near  Old  Salem,  Massachusetts, 
where  they  continued  to  live  and  prosper  for  many  gen- 
erations. Benjamin  Crispe  and  Bridget,  his  wife,  had 
five  children — Elizabeth,  Mary,  Jonathan,  Mehitable  and 
Zachariah.  Benjamin  Crispe  was  married  a  second  time, 
his  next  wife  being  Joanna  Longley,  and  to  them  was 
born  one  daughter,  Deliverance  Crispe.  Benjamin  and 
his  wife  lived  for  a  short  time  at  Groteu,  Massachusetts, 
and  we  will  learn  more  of  him  and  his  family  later  in  this 
book.  Among  the  other  Crispe  emigrants  were  Richard 
Crispe  and  family,  George  Crispe  and  family  and  Sarah 
Crispe. 

Before  giving  an  extended  account  of  the  interesting 
careers  of  these  earl}-  settlers,  it  will  be  wise  to  describe 
and  finish  the  sketch  of  the  "Crispe  Grant  of  Laud  in 
Maine,"  since  this  grant  was  cotemporary  with  the  laud- 
ing of  the  Crispes  at  Boston,  Massachusetts.  After  de- 
scribing the  history  of  this  grant  of  land  in  Maine  we  will 
return  to  the  Crispes  of  Boston  and  resume  our  study  of 
these  Puritans. 

The  following  occurs  in  the  records  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  Company,  page  92,  volune    I: 

"Oct.  28,  163 1.  It  is  ordered  that  there  shall  be 
taken  out  of  the  estate  of  Mr.  Crispe  and  his  Company 
the  some  of  xij  £-  js.-vd;  and  delivered  to  John  Kirman, 
as  his  p.  p.  goods,  and  after  the  whole  estate  to  be  inveu- 


THE  CRISPK  FAMILY. 


toryed  thereof  the  said  John  Kirman  is  to  have  an  Sth 
parte;  this  to  be  done  with  all  convenient  speed  by  theis 
five  commissioners,  or  any  three  of  them,  vz:  Mr.  John 
Masters,  Robert  Feakes,  Mr.  Edward  Gibbons,  Epharim 
Childe,  Daniel  Fynch." 

THE    CRISPE    GRANT    OF    LAND. 

The  particulars  of  this  grant  are  taken  from  the 
Maine  Historical  and  Genealogical  Record.  The  article 
is  by  Alexander  Rigby,  and  can  be  found  on  pages  66-77, 
Volume  II.      It  reads  as  follows: 

"  The  Plough  Patent.— On  the  6th  of  July,  1631, 
Governor  Winthrop  made  the  following  entry  in  his 
journal: 

"' A  small  ship  of  sixty  tons  arrived  at  Natascott, 
Mr.  Graves,  Master.  She  brought  ten  passengers  from 
London.  They  came  with  a  patent  to  Sagadahock,  but 
not  liking  the  place,  they  came  hither.  These  were  the 
company  called  the  Husbandmen,  and  their  ship  called 
the  Plough.' 

"[Note:  Winthrop  Journal,  3rd  edition,  I,  69;  comp. 
Hubbard,  New  England,  141-142 — There  was  a  ship 
called  the  Plough,  160  tons,  owned  in  1627  by  James, 
Earl  of  Carlisle,  and  afterwards  sold  (1628)  to  Captain 
Thomas  Combes  &  Morrice  Thompson,  who  were  granted 
letters  of  marque  that  year.  The  next  year  (23  Nov., 
1629)  William  Cock,  master  of  the  'Plough  of  London,' 
relates  the  circumstances  of  the  capture  of  the  island  of 
St.  Christopher's  by   a   large   Spanish    fleet.      (Calendar 


176  THE  HISTORY  OF 


Domestic  State  Papers,  1627-1629).  The  Plough  which 
carried  the  Husbandmen  left  Boston  for  St.  Christopher's 
a  few  weeks  after  her  arrival,  but  was  compelled  to  put 
back  on  account  of  stress  of  weather,  'and  was  so  broke 
she  could  not  return  home'  (  Winthrop,  Journal,  3d 
edition,  I,  72).  Hubbard  adds:  'They  laid  her  bones 
there.'     History  of  New  England,  141 -142.] 

"We  are  here  first  introduced  to  a  body  of  emigrants 
constituting  the  advance  guard  of  a  society  of  religious 
people  who  intended  to  establish  a  colony  on  the  new 
English  shores,  where  they  hoped  to  be  freed  from  the 
persecutions  which  had  followed  them  at  home.  This 
'  Company  of  Husbandmen'  brought  with  them  a  pat- 
ent from  the  Council  for  New  England,  dated  26  June, 
1630,  [Note:  This  date  is  taken  from  a  contemporary  man- 
uscript in  the  possession  of  the  Maine  Historical  Society, 
and,  to  my  knowledge,  has  never  before  been  published], 
which  granted  unto  Bryan  Bincks,  John  Dye,  John 
Smith,  Thomas  Jupe,  JohnCrispe,  and  their  associates,  a 
> tract  of  land  forty  miles  square,  [Note:  The  loss  of  the 
original  patent  (and  no  verbatim  copies  are  known  to  be 
in  existence)  precludes  the  formation  of  any  definite 
knowledge  of  the  boundaries  of  this  patent.  Hubbard 
locates  it  'south  of  the  Sagadahoc  river'  and  'twenty 
miles  from  the  sea  side.'  (History  of  New  England, 
510.)  Maverick,  writing  in  1660,  says:  '  There  was  a 
patent  granted  to  Christo.  Balcelor  and  Company  in  the 
year  1632,   or  thereabouts,   for    the    mouth   of  the    river 


-?r~*—  -  sgg 


THE  SHIP  PLOUGH. 


SEALS  ON  CRISP]".   PAPERS. 


THE  CRISP}-:  FAMILY.  1S1 

Kennebec,  and  some  tract  of  land  adjacent.'  (Egerton 
MSS.  2395,  folio  397.)  An  anonymous  writer,  about 
163S,  speaks  of  '  a  patent  of  Sagadahock  granted  Crispe 
and  others,'  (MSS.  No.  3448,  British  Museum),  and  an- 
other contemporary  alludes  to  it  as  '  a  Patent  for  Mr. 
Crispe  and  others  for  Sagadahock.'  (Colonial  Papers, 
Public  Record  Office,  II,  16).  'Two  islends  in  the  river 
Sagadahock  near  the  South  Side  thereof,  about  sixty 
miles  from  the  Sea  '  were  included  in  the  grant,  but  it  is 
not  possible  to  locate  such  islands  in  this  river  (Sullivan, 
History  of  Maine,  310),  though  it  is  evident  that  the 
Council  supposed  them  to  be  there.  In  the  minutes  of 
their  proceedings  they  decided  to  reserve  'for  the  publike 
plantation  *  *  the  two  great  Islands  lying  in  ye  river 
of  Sagadahoc'  (Colonial  Papers;  II,  6.)  The  location  and 
extent  of  this  grant  weie  never  distinctly  understood, 
and  from  the  first  the  indefinite  terms  and  description 
became  frequent  sources  of  controversy  and  misunder- 
standing between  the  grantors  and  grantees  of  the  patent. 
"  The  partners  remaining  in  London  wrote,  under 
date  of  March  8,  1631,  to  the  Colonists,  as  fol- 
lows: '  We  gave  you  nottes  by  Mr.  Allerton  [Note: 
This  was  Isaac  Allerton,  of  the  Pilgrim  Colony 
at  Plymouth].  Wee  hope  you  have  long  since  re- 
ceived it;  that  wee  have  had  much  ado  abought  our 
pattent,  &  that  there  was  one  Bradshaw  that  had  pro- 
cured letters  of  pattent  for  a  part,  as  we  supposed,  of  our 
former  grant,   and   so  wee  think  still,  but  he  and  Sir  Fer- 


THE  HISTORY  OF 


dinando  Georgas  think  it  is  not  in  our  bounds.  [Note: 
Richard  Bradshaw  was  granted  a  patent  for  1500  acres 
of  land  'above  the  hedd  of  Pashippscot  on  the  north  side 
thereof,'  2,  Nov.,  1 63 1 ,  having  been  'living  there  some 
years  before.'  (Minutes,  Council  for  New  England). 
Bradshaw,  however,  was  given  possession  of  this  amount 
of  land  at  the  Spurwink  river  by  Captain  Neale,  and 
afterwards  sold  his  rights  there  to  Richard  Tucker,  who 
settled  thereon  and,  with  his  partner  George  Cleeve, 
tried  to  maintain  this  claim  against  theTrelawny  Patent, 
but  unsuccessfully.  Trelawny  Papers,  32,  207,  229,  30S]  . 
He  was  frustrated  of  his  furst  purpose  of  coming  over, 
but  is  now  joyned  with  2  vere  able  captens  &  merchants, 
which  will  set  him  over,  &  wee  sopowse  will  be  ther  as 
sown  as  this  ship,  if  not  before.  Wee  can  not  posible 
relate  unto  you  the  labur  and  truble  that  wee  have  had  to 
establish  our  former  grant.  [Note:  This  would  indicate 
the  existence  of  a  prior  grant  which  became  void,  and 
may  account  for  the  allusions  to  the  various  patents  'for 
vSagadahock'  spoken  of  in  a  previous  note.]  Mane  rufe 
words  wee  have  had  from  Sir  Fferdiniando  at  the  ffurst, 
and  to  this  houer  he  douth  afferm  that  he  never  gave 
consent,  that  you  should  have  alxnite  forte  milles  in 
length  and  twenty  milles  in  breath,  and  says  that  his 
own  laud  is  not  to  your  pattent  if  it  is  to  have  any  more; 
so  we  have  done  our  goode  willes  and  have  procured  his 
lease  and  the  man  promises  that  wee  shall  have  no 
wronge.     Wee  have  bestowed   a  sugar  lofe  upon  him,  of 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY 


some  1 6  s.  prise  ami  he  hath  promised  to  do  us  all  the 
good  he  can.'  [Note:  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  VII,  94-96: 
'The  company  further  says  respecting  the  difficulty  about 
their  grant:  'Wee  can  proquer  nothinge  vder  his  hand, 
but  iu  our  hiringe  he  gave  order  unto  Mr.  Aires  to  wright 
unto  Captin  Neyle,  of  Pascatoway,  that  Bradshaw  &  wee 
might  be  bounded,  that  wee  mayght  not  truble  ech  other, 
and  have  given  the  Captin  comand  to  serch  your  patten, 
what  it  is  you  have  vder  ray  lords  hand  and  his.  Wee 
need  not  Counsel]  you  what  to  do  in  that  case,  only  wee 
give  you  nottes  of  it,  desiringe  God  to  direct  you  that 
no  just  ocation  may  be  given  one  our  parts  to  be  evell 
spoken  of.  Wee  gave  Sir  Fferdingaud  this  resen  why 
wee  desired  so  larg  a  patten,  because  that  the  grettest 
part  of  it  was  not  habitable,  being  rocke,  wer  no  man 
could  life;  &  he  ansored  wee  shoulld  not  doubt  but 
be  allowed  enofe  for  vs  all,  &  in  the  best  part  of  it, 
according  to  our  desire;  but  if  wee  should  have  so  much 
as  wee  say  they  have  granted  vs,  then  do  wee  include 
difers  of  ther  former  plantations,  which  they  never 
intended.  This  conterfers  must  be  ended  between  your 
sellfes  and  such  guferners  of  them  of  Pinequed  as  they 
have  apointed.'] 

"  The  owners  of  this  patent  with  its  perpetual  lease 
to  heirs  and  assigns  were  members  of  the  strange  sect  of 
religious  enthusiasts  called  the  Family  of  Love,  or  Fam- 
ilists,  who  flourished  in  Holland  and  England  during  the 
hitter  half  of  the  sixteen  and  first  half  of  the  seventeenth 


184     .  THK  HISTORY  OF 


centuries.  The  founder,  Henry  Nicholas,  a  native  of 
Westpahlia,  originally  an  Anabaptist,  taught  that  re- 
ligion conriority  over  Christ  on  the  ground  that  Moses 
only  preached  hope,  Christ  faith,  while  he  preached  love. 
Queen  Elizabeth  instituted  an  investigation  into 
their  practices,  which  resulted  in  their  dispersion  and 
the  burning  of  their  books  and  property.  They  continued 
to  flourish,  however,  in  a  precarious  way  for  about  a  cen- 
tury, but  finally  expired  under  a  continual  battery  of  ridi- 
cule in  prose  and  verse.  [Note:  Interesting  particulars 
concerning  this  peculiar  sect  may  be  read  in  Knewstub's 
'Computation  of  Monstrous  &  Horrible  Heresies  Taught,' 
by  H.  X.  &c,  London  1579;  Rogers'  'Displaying  of  an 
Horrible  Seete,  &c.,'  London,  1579;  'Baster's  Autobiog- 
raphy' 77;  'Strype's  Annals,'  ij  57;  'Mosheim's  Eccles- 
iastical History,'  chap.  xvi].  The  Loudon  partners  al- 
lude to  this  persecution  when  they  adjur  the  Colonists  to 
be  united  and  '  put  to  shame  and  silance  mane  that  do 
now  shamfulle  ris  up  against  vs.  [Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  vii 
94-96] .  Such  were  the  Company  of  Husbandmen  who 
came  to  our  shores  in  the  Plough,  and  their  proposed 
colony  was  to  be  operated  upon  the  communistic  principle 
of  equal  division  of  expenses  and  profits,  and  would  be- 
come in  time  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed  brethren  in 
England.  [Note:  The  'ten  passengers'  constituting  the 
first  lot  of  colonists  cannot  be  all  identified.  So  far  as 
determined  they  were  Bryan  Binckes,  Peter  Johnson, 
John  Kerman,  John  Smith,  'Mr.'  (John)  Crispe,  and  the 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  189 


•sons'  of  'Goodman  Taraage'].  The  condition  of  mem- 
bership in  this  adventure  were  religious  affiliation  and  a 
subscription  of  ,/io  to  the  common  stock,  but  though 
the  former  was  not  strictly  essential  the  latter  was  a 
necessary  requisite.  The  business  management  of  this 
religious  scheme  was  conducted  by  members  of  the  society 
in  London,  principally  by  John  Dye,  'dwelling  in  Fillpott 
Lane,'  Grace  Hard  win,  Thomas  Jupe  and  John  Roch, 
'dwelling  in  Crooked  Lane,'  but  it  may  here  be  said  in 
proceedings  in  bankruptcy,  for  the  colonists  never  settled 
on  their  patent,  before  brethren  in  London  could  hear 
from  their  friends  on  the  Plough,  the  obituary  of  the 
colony  had  been  written  by  YVinthrop. 

"  [A  contemporary  manuscript  in  the  possession  of 
the  Maine  Historical  Society,  which  was  drawn  up  by  the 
attorney  for  the  Rigby  heirs,  contains  the  following  state- 
ment: 'In  the  year  1630,  the  sd  Bryan  Bincks,  John 
Smith  and  others  associates,  go  personally  into  New 
England  and  settle  themselves  in  Casco  Bay,  near  the 
south  side  of  Sagadahock,  and  lay  out  considerable  sums 
of  money  in  planting  there,  and  make  laws  and  consti- 
tutions for  the  well  ruling  and  governing  of  their  sd 
Plantations  and  Province.  With  the  positive  statements 
of  Winthrop,  Hubbard,  Maverick  and  other  contempor- 
ary writers  to  the  contrary,  it  is  not  probable  that  this 
authority  is  entitled  to  full  credit.] 

"  It  would  be  unnecessary  to  occupy  further  space 
than  to  record   their   epitaph    did  not    the   letters  of  the 


J9°  THE  HISTORY  OF 


London  partners,  written  to  the  colonists  in    ignorance  of 
the  collapse   of  the   scheme,    unfold  to   us    the  elaborate 
preparations  made  by  them  for  securing  a  permanent  es- 
tablishment,  and    sending    reinforcements  to  it.     Under 
date    of  March,    1631,    they   say:       'Our  tim    hath    bin 
taken  up  with    fordringe,  helpinge  and  providing  thinges 
fittiuge  for  these  our  brethren  that  are  now  to  come  unto 
you,'  and  we  are  informed  therein  that   two  vessells  with 
colonists    were  to   be  dispatched   forthwith.      These  two 
vessells,  the  Whale  and  the  William  and  Francis,  both  of 
London,  set  sail  March  9th  and  April  8th,  1632,  respect- 
ively, bearing,   in  addition  to  the  colonists,  a  number  of 
disginshed  persons.      In    the   Whale,  which   arrived  May 
26th  came  John  Wilson  and  Richard  Dummer  (who  held 
a  commission  from  the  London  partners)  'and  about  thirty 
passengers,  all  in   health.'      In  the  William  and  Francis, 
which  arrived  June   5th,  came   Governor  Edward  Wins- 
low,  Thomas  Wilde    (who  published   twelve   years  later 
'A  Short  Story  of  the  Rise,  Reign  and  Ruin  of  the  Anti- 
nomians,    Familists    and    Libertines    that     Infested    the 
Churches  of  New  England'),  Stephen  Bachiler,  their  aged 
pastor  in  London,  transferred  from  thence   to  missionary 
labors  in  the  colony,  and  about  sixty  passengers.      [Note: 
The  members  of  the  'Companie  Husbandmen,'   as  far  as 
has  been  determined,  comprise  twenty-three  names,  viz: 
John  Dye,  John   Roach,  Grace   Hard  win,   Thomas  Jupe, 
John    Robinson,    Roger    Binks,     Nathaniel     Whetham, 
Henry  Fawkes,  Brian  Kipling,  Nathaniel  Harresse,  John 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  191 

Aslen,  Peter  Wooster,  Thomas  Payne,  Stephen  Bacheler, 
Richard  Dumraer,  John  Kerrnan,  John  Smith,  Nathaniel 
Merriman,  John  Banester,  Peter  Johnson,  Bryan  Binkes, 
'Goodman'  Tamadge,  John  Crispe — the  last  eleven  of 
whom  were  colonists.  In  the  cargo  of  these  two  vessels 
came  invoices  of  merchandise  for  the  use  and  profit  of 
the  colony,  and  an  enumeration  of  some  of  them  might  be 
the  best  evidence  of  the  ignorance  of  the  business  mana- 
gers of  the  conditions  necessary  to  the  success  of  their 
venture." 

Reverend  Stephen  Bachiler,  a  distant  relative  of  the 
emigrant,  has  written  the  following: 

"  As  early  as  1630  Bachiler  had  determined  to  leave 
England  and  settle  in  America.  At  all  events  he  had 
made  preparations  for  such  a  removal.  Maverick,  in  his 
'  Descriptions  of  New  England,'  says:  '  There  was  a 
patent  granted  to  Christo.  Batchelor  &  Companie,  [Note: 
This  must  mean  Chrispe,  Batchelor  &  Company.  John 
Chrispe,  or  Crispe,  as  the  name  was  commonly  spelled 
and  written,  and  Stephen  Bachiler  were  grantees  named 
in  the  patent],  in  the  year  1632,  or  thereabouts,  for  the 
mouth  of  the  river  (Sagadahocke)  and  some  tract  of  laud 
adjacent  who  came  over  in  the  ship  Plough  and  termed 
themselves  the  Plough  Companie,  but  soon  scattered, 
some  for  Virginia,  some  for  England,  some  to  the  Mas- 
sachusetts, never  settling  on  the  laud.'  Some  gave  the 
date  of  the  Plough  landing  as  June  26,  1630."  [See  Maine 
Hist,  and  Geneo.  Record-; --volume    II,    page    66.     Addi- 


192  THE  HISTORY  OF 


tional  references  on  this  grant  page  62,  volume  XI, VI, 
1892.  Additional  notes  in  the  Sagadahocke  grant,  page 
34,  volume  XXXIX,  continued  page  157  of  same 
volume.  Crispe  and  Sagadahock  patents,  volume  VII, 
page  31,  Collections  of  Mass.  Hist.  Society.  Plough, 
Ship,  volume  V,  page  141,  Mass.  Hist.  Society.  New 
England  Hist,  and  Geneo.  Reg.,  volume  XL,  page  71]. 
The  phraseology  and  spelling  of  the  foregoing  old 
Colonial  article  is  rather  an  anomaly  in  present  time 
English,  but  I  reproduced  it  as  it  was  found  from  docu- 
mentary evidence.  It  may  seem  to  those  who  are  un- 
familiar with  these  old-time  writings  as  being  evidence  of 
iliteracy,  but  such  is  not  the  case,  since  in  those  days 
our  language  contained  such  expressions,  and  the  words 
were  thus  peculiarly  spelled.  The  Colonial  history  of  our 
country  abounds  in  grants  of  this  character,  and  the 
•terminology  is  quite  in  keeping  with  the  progress  of  the 
epoch . 

CRISPHS    WITH    THE    PILGRIMS    AT    BOSTON. 

In  the  study  of  these  people  of  the  Plymouth  Colony 
the  first  political  interest  in  Amercan  history  is  developed. 
We  see  the  first  faint  expression  of  principles  which  have 
become  cherished  household  words  to  later  generations, 
and  have  to  a  very  great  extent  influenced  the  structure 
and  fabric  of  our  form  of  government.  No  doubt  the 
Crispe  Pilgrims  assisted  in  this  initiatory  work,  and  lent 
every  possible  strength  to  carry  out  the  purpose  of  the 
will    of  these  devout    settlers.     Though    the   records    of 


X 


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LURKING  WARRIORS. 


COLONIAL  SOLDIERS 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  197 

these  early  comers  are  not  as  extensive  as  we  wish,  yet 
sufficient  evidence  is  at  hand  to  demonstrate  the  active 
part  taken  by  the  Crispe  emigrants. 

The  first  incident  worthy  of  record  after  the  arrival 
of  the  Crispe  people  at  Salem,  Plymouth,  Boston  and 
Watertown  is  in  the  form  of  a  memoranda  that  ' '  Benja- 
min Crispe  assisted  in  the  building  of  the  first  church  in 
Boston.  The  church  was  made  of  mud- walls  and  the 
roof  was  thatched."      (Newman's    America,   page    192). 

The  first  election  ballots  of  paper-slips  were  used  in 
a  local  election  in  Boston  in  1635,  and  George  Crispe  in  a 
letter  speaks  of  them  as  follows: 

1 '  Paper  ballot  slips  were  used  to-day  and  by  an  order 
of  the  authorities  this  manner  of  electing  shall  continue 
hereafter." 

On  page  191  of  the  New  England  Historical  and 
Genealogical  Register  we  learn  that  "Benjamin  Crispe  has 
taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Plymouth  Colony." 
This  oath  of  fidelity  meant  that  he  acknowledged  the 
laws  coming  from  the  Plymouth  Colony  as  superior  to 
those  coming  from  England.     The  date  is  given  as  1641. 

In  volume  VIII,  page  187,  of  the  Record  of  Ply- 
mouth Colony,  it  gives  the  "names  of  males  who  are  able 
to  bear  arms  and  under  the  age  of  sixty  years."  Among 
these  names  is  that  of  George  Crispe,  and  the  registra- 
tion is  dated   1643. 

The  New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Reg- 
ister,   page   159,    volume   VII,  has  the   following  entry: 


198  THE  HISTORY  OF 


"  Benjamin  Crispe  and  his  wife,  Bridget,  had  two  daugh- 
ters, Elizabeth,  born  at  Watertown,  Massachusetts.  She- 
was  born  November  the  8th.  Johnathan  Crispe,  their 
son,  was  born  November  29,  1639.  Eleazar,  their  son, 
was  born  November  14,  1641.  They  also  had  Mary  (no 
birthday  given),  Mehi table  (no  birthdey  given),  and 
Zachariah  (no  birthday  given).  Benjamin  Crispe  was 
married  a  second  time,  his  second  wife  being  Joanna 
Longley.  To  them  were  born  one  daughter,  Deliverance 
Crispe." 

A  more  precise  account  is  given  in  the  Savage  Gen- 
ealogical Dictionary,  page  473,   volume  I,  and  reads: 

"Crisp,  or  Crispe — Benjamin,  of  Watertown,  1650, 
freeman,  1646,  had  by  wife  Bridget:  Elizabeth,  who  was 
born  Jan.  8th,  1637;  Mary,  born  20th  May,  1638;  Jona- 
than, born  29th  Jan.,  1640;  Eleazar,  born  14  Jan.,  1642; 
Mehitable,  born  21  Jan.,  1646;  and  Zachariah.  From 
Bond  we  learn  that  in  1630  he  was  servant  of  Major 
Gibbons,  and  perhaps  came  as  early  as  1629;  late  in  life 
rem.  to  Groten,  or  Groton,  but  was  ret.  before  16S2  to 
W.,  and  had  m.  Joanna,  widow  of  William  Longley. 
Elizabeth  married  27  or  29,  Sept.,  1657,  George  Law- 
rence." 

"  In  1644,  George  Crispe  and  a  few  friends  founded 
the  village  of  Eastham,  Massachusetts."  (Volume  VI, 
1S52,  New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register. 

George  Crispe  was  very  much  interested  in  the  wel- 
fare of  Eastham,    and   he  was    several   times   elected    to 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  199 


town  offices.  An  entry  made  in  1656  reads:  "Surveyors 
of  the  Highwaies,  Easthatn,  Mass.,  George  Crispe,  John 
Mayo."  (Page  101,  volume  III,  Records  of  Plymouth 
Colony.     Nath.  B.  Schurtleff). 

Among  the  jurors  of  the  first  inquest  known  to  New 
England  we  observe  the  name  of  George  Crispe.  The 
jury  reported  to  the  Court  as  follows: 

"  1667-8,  wee,  whose  names  are  underwritten,  being 
impaneled  upon  a  jury,  the  first  day  of  January,  1667, 
to  search  and  inquire,  according  to  best  measure  of  wis- 
dome  and  discretion  God  hath  given  us,  concerning  a 
child  about  five  or  six  years  old  which  was  kept  by  John 
Smalley,  Sen.,  of  Eastham,  Mass.,  being  found  dead  in 
the  woods,  about  six  or  seven  miles  from  the  house  of 
John  Smalley  aforesaid,  wee  doe  all  judge  that  it  came  to 
his  death  by  straying  away  lost  its  right  path  to  gett 
home  againe,  and  was  killed  by  cold.  Benjamin  Hig- 
gins,  Will.  Sutton,  Sam.  Dolten,  Elles  White,  Edm. 
Foard,  Benj.  Spiller,  Rob.  Wixam,  George  Crispe,  Will. 
T wning,  Rich.  Knowls,  John  Young."  (Page  177,  vol- 
ume IV,  Record  of  Plymouth  Colony.) 

This  may  not  seem  in  strict  accordance  with  Puri- 
tanic customs,  but  it  illustrates  conditions: 

"  Oct  3,  1662 — George  Crispe  being  presented  for  re- 
ceiving into  his  house  some  liquor,  or  such  like  goods, 
illegally  taken,  though  he  knew  it  not,  and  suffering 
some  disorders  in  his  house,  is  fined  twenty  shillings." 
(Page  29,  volume  IV,  Record  of  Plymouth  Colony.   Wife 


THE  HISTORY  OF 


testified    in   same    case,   and    given    in   same   reference.) 

The  following  appears  among  the  decisions  of  the 
Court: 

"  1669,  March.  Richard  Bishop  for  pr  loging  of 
p  sell  of  sheep  woole  from  George  Crispe,  is  centanced 
to  pay  the  said  Crispe  the  same  of  twenty  shillings  upon 
demand,  on  receipt  whereof  hee  is  to  rest  satisfied  con- 
cerning the  matter,  and  the  said  Bishop  cleared."  (Page 
31,  volume  V,  Record  of  Plymouth  Colony.) 

George  Crispe  is  mentioned  as  a  juror:  "  1672, 
Grand  Kuquest.  June  5.  George  Crispe."'  (Page  or, 
volume  V,  Record  of  Plymouth  Colony. ) 

Richard  Crispe,  Boston,  permitted  to  teach  fencing, 
16S6.  (Ill  Massachusetts  Plistorical  Collection,  volume, 
III,  page  157.) 

We  find  that  George  Crispe  is  registered  as  a  free- 
man: "  1670,  May  29.  Freeman  of  Eastham,  Massa- 
chusetts, George  Crispe."  (Page  278,  volume  V,  Rec- 
ord of  Plymouth  Colony. 

He  is  enrolled  as  having  sworn  allegiance  to  the 
Plymouth  Colony,  and  the  record  is  dated  as  follows: 
"  1657.  Eastham.  Took  oath  of  fidelity,  George  Crispe." 
(Page   184,   volume   VIII,  Record  of  Plymouth  Colony) 

The  oath  of  allegiance  included  in  it  the  oath  of  sti- 
premancy,  and  this  latter  affirmation  stated  that  the  Pope 
at  Rome  was  not  recognized  as  authority  in  ecclesiastical 
or  temporal  affairs.  The  oath  of  allegiance  is  of  interest 
to  us,  and  I  have  copied  it: 


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REVEREND  JOHN  WHEELWRIGHT. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY. 


"  I  do  swear  solemly  in  the  presence  of  the  Great 
Jehvoah,  to  be  a  part  of  this  body  politic  of  tins  Colony, 
and  as  He  shall  help  us,  will  submit  our  persons,  things 
and  estates  unto  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ — the  King  of 
kings  and  Lord  of  lords;  and  to  all  these  most  perfect 
laws  of  His  given  us  in  His  most  holy  word  of  truth  to 
be   guided  and  judged  thereby." 

The  following  brief  account  by  Savage  in  his  Dic- 
tionary of  Genealogy  says  page  473,    volume  I: 

"Richard  Crispe  of  boston,  merchant,  came  from 
Jamaica,  Rhode  Island,  married  into  Hannah,  widow  of 
Benjamin  Richards,  daughter  of  William  Hudson,  Jr.,  and 
married  Sarah,  youngest  daughter  of  Rev.  John  Wheel- 
wright, brother-in-law  of  Mrs.  Anna  Hutchinson,  and  lived 
not  long  after,  I  presume;  had  a  daughter,  Sarah,  born 
15  Sept.,  1672,  who  married  April  n,  1695,  William 
Harris;  married  next  5  April,  1722,  President  Leverett 
(of  Harvard  College);  married  next  15th  July,  1725,  to 
Hon.  John  Clark,  and  had  for  her  fourth  husband  Rev. 
Benjamin  Coleman.     She  died  24  April,  1744." 

RELATED    TO    REVEREND    WHEELWRIGHT    AND    ANNA 
HUTCHINSON. 

We  note  with  considerable  interest  that  the  Crispe 
family  were  related  to  the  famus  Colonial  minister  of  the 
gospel,  the  Reverend  John  Wheelwright,  who  was  the 
enthusiastic  supporter  of  both  Rodger  Williams  and 
Mrs.  Anna  Hutchinson. 

In     1635,    Roger     Williams,     who   was    an    intimate 


206  THE  HISTORY  OF 

friend  of  the  Crispe  family,  was  banished  from  the  Col- 
ony, and  the  Crispe  people  believing;  in  the  liberal  ideas 
as  advocated  by  Williams,  were  much  at  loss  as  to  church 
affiliations.  The  rulers  of  the  Colony  who  had  ordered 
Williams  from  their  midst,  had  scarcely  recovered  their 
equinamity  before  similar  difficulties  arose  from  unex- 
pected quarters.  Religious  discussions  formed  a  large 
part  of  the  life  of  the  Colonists.  Meetings  were  held  by 
the  men,  and  portions  of  the  Scriptures  read  and  dis- 
cussed; and  the  sermons  of  the  ministers  made  the  sub- 
ject of  searching  criticism.  The  women  might  attend  the 
meetings,  but  they  were  not  permitted  to  take  part  in  the 
deliberations.  One  of  the  disciples  of  Roger  Williams 
—  Mrs.  Anna  Hutchinson,  a  woman  of  great  talent, 
eloquence  and  great  energy  of  character — claimed  for  her 
sex  the  right  to  pa:  ticipate  in  the  study  and  analysis  of 
Christian  life.  This  privilege  was  denied  her,  and  she 
in  consequence  invited  the  women  to  her  own  home,  and 
there  she  hoped  to  discuss  freely  and  uninterruptedly  the 
subjects  pertaining  to  the  Bible  and  Christianity.  Her 
meetings  were  so  largely  attended  that  finally  she  invited 
the  men.  She  declared,  as  did  all  her  followers,  that  the 
authority  of  private  and  individual  judgment  was  free 
and  superior  to  that  declared  by  the  churches,  and  con- 
demned the  policy  of  the  magistrates  to  enforce  a  system 
of  conformity  of  belief.  She  was  greatly  encouraged  in 
this  noble  work  by  her  brother-in-law,  the  famous  Rever- 
end John  Wheelwright.     Even  Henry  Yane — afterwards 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY 


Sir  Henry  Vane — attended  her  meetings,  and  when,  in 
the  following-  year  Sir  Henry  was  elected  Governor  of 
the  Colony — he  being  imbued  with  the  righteousness  of 
Mrs.  Hutchinson's  and  Wheelwright's  principles  —  he 
tolerated  a  most  liberal  policy  towards  them  and  their 
fellow  believers.  The  ministers  of  the  "straight-jacket 
order"  accepted  young  Vane's  plans  with  considerable 
alarm;  their  church  being  thinned,  while  the  halls, 
chapels  and  meeting  houses  could  not  contain  the  hund- 
reds that    flocked  to  hear  him. 

The  ministers  saw  that  their  authority  was  being 
menaced  by  this  new  and  liberal  belief,  and  made  it  their 
common  purpose  to  instigate  trouble  for  Mrs.  Hutchin- 
son and  Reverend  Wheelwright;  as  well  were  the  min- 
isters up  in  arms  against  Governor  Vane  for  tolerating 
such  liberality.  The  cauee  continued  to  gather  to  its 
banner,  the  better  and  stronger  classes  of  colonists,  es- 
pecially those  who  were  inclined  towards  religious  tolera- 
tion, while  the  strict  Episcopalians  continued  to  battle 
against  this  encroaching  danger.  The  Colony  was  about 
equally  divided  on  the  matter,  and  the  religious  questions 
formed  a  most  important  factor  in  all  the  political  actions 
of  the  Colony. 

Under  the  established  system,  the  ministers  formed  a 
select  and  separate  part  of  the  government,  and  the  po- 
litical rights  depended  largely  on  the  conformity  of  the 
belief  of  the  citiz.en.  This  latter,  and  most  warping 
tendency,   was  fought    against   by  Mrs.    Hutchinson    and 


2°S  THK  HISTORY  OF 


Reverend    Wheelwright.     The  opposition   agreed  that  if 
these  views  on  religious  freedom  were  allowed   to  spread, 
the  government  of  the  Colony  would  be  threatened.      But 
the  campaign  for  religious  liberty  and  toleration  went  on, 
and  finally,  when  the  anger  of  the  opposition  wrested  the 
Governorship     from     Vane    and    seated    Winthrop,    the 
future  of  Anna  Hutchinson    and  Wheelwright  darkened, 
and  resulted  in  their  banishment  in  1637.      .Mrs.  Hutchin- 
son and  her  family  were   imprisoned,  and  later  they  were 
exiled,  and  thus  were   driven   from   the  midst    of  friends 
and  loved  ones.      Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  her  immediate  fol- 
lowers went  south  into  Rhode  Island,  to  live  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Roger  Williams,   while  Wheelwright  moved  to  the 
north  to  Exeter,  New   Hampshire,  where  a  pure  democ- 
racy was   founded   upon    the  universal   consent   of  those 
governed.      Mrs.    Hutchinson,    fearing  the   anger  of  the 
persecutors,  fled  with  her  family  into  the  region  of  New 
York  State,   where  in    1643  they  were  massacred  by  the 
Indians.       Her   brother-in-law,    Reverend    Wheelwright, 
prospered,     and   soon    was   permitted    to  come   back     to 
old  Plymouth  Colony,  where  he  preached  until  his  death 
in  1645. 

Richard  Crispe,  who  married  the  youngest  daughter 
of  Reverend  Wheelwright,  had  a  daughter,  Sarah  Crispe, 
who  became  the  wife  of  Hon.  John  Leverett. 

SARAH    CRISPE,    WIFE    OF    HON'.    JOHX    LEVERETT. 

On  April  5,  1722,  Sarah  Crispe,  daughter  of  Richard 
Crispe,    was  married    to   the   Hon.  John  Leverett,  son  of 


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THE  CRISPE  FAMILY 


Sir  John  Leverett,  the  Colonial  Governor  of  Massachu- 
setts. Her  husband  was  a  distinguished  lawyer,  judge, 
Speaker  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  member  of 
the  Royal  Society,  and  President  of  Harvard  College 
from  1 70S  until  his  death  on  May  3,  1724.  His  father, 
Sir  John,  is  especially  famous  in  American  history  as 
having  been  the  Colonial  Governor  whose  skill  and  diplo- 
macy carried  to  a  successful  end  the  war  with  King 
Philip.  In  1676  he  was  Knighted  by  Charles  the  Second 
for  service  rendered  to  the  New  England  Colonies. 
(American  Cyclopedia,  volume  X,  page  378.) 

Subsequent  to  his  death  she  married  (July  15,  1725) 
the  Honorable  John  Clark.  Mr.  John  Clark,  a  distin- 
guished gentleman  and  lawyer,  died  in  1738,  and  Sarah 
married  as  her  fourth  husband  Reverend  Benjamin  Cole- 
man. Bryant,  in  his  Popular  History  of  the  United 
States,  on  pages  127-128,  volume  III,  says  of  Reverend 
Coleman:  "In  1721  the  scourge  of  the  colony  was  small- 
pox. Four  times  it  had  been  epidemic  in  Boston  at  dif- 
ferent periods,  and  it  appeared  again  in  1721.  Nearly 
6,000  persons — nearly  half  of  the  population — were  at- 
tacked, of  whom  nearly  900  died.  Inoculation  was  in- 
troduced at  this  time  in  America  by  Dr.  Zabdiel  Boylston, 
and  its  efficacy  was  proved  in  the  next  serious  visitation 
from  this  pestilence  thirty  years  later,  when  out  of  the 
5,544  wri°  to°k  the  disease  in  natural  way,  514  died; 
while  qf  the   2,113  who  were  inoculated,  only  31  died." 

"Cotton    Mather — who    was    somewhat    of    a    lav 


214  THE  HISTORY  OF 


practitioner — was  warmly  interested  in  this  bold  attempt 
to  mitigate  human  suffering,  and  became  in  consequence 
so  obnoxious  that  his  house  was  assaulted  and  an  attempt 
made  on  his  life.  His  father,  Increase  Mather,  then  a 
very  old  man,  published  a  tract  in  favor  of  the  remedy 
in  which  he  quoted  the  negro  slaves  as  averring  that  it 
had  always  been  practiced  with  success  in  Africa,  whence, 
perhaps,  the  Turks  had  obtained  their  knowledge. 
About  two  hundred  and  fifty  persons  were  inoculated  by 
Dr.  Boylston — seven  only  dying — who  began  with  his 
own  children  and  servants.  The  brave  man  stood  almost 
alone  in  his  own  profession;  but  among  the  clergy, 
though  the  opposition  was  general  and  bitter,  the  Mathers 
were  supported  by  some  of  the  more  prominent  and  emin- 
ent brethren  —  as  the  Reverends  Benjamin  Coleman,  of 
Boston,  Waller,  cf  Roxbury,  a  son -in  daw  of  Increase 
Mather." 

Reverend  Benjamin  Coleman  was  an  eloquent  speaker 
and  was  the  leading  clergyman  of  Boston.  Sarah  Crispe 
Coleman  died  April  24,  1744. 

In  the  New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical 
Register,  volume  VI,  page  44,  it  speaks  of  George 
Crispe  and  family  as  follows:  "  George  Crispe  married 
Heplizibel  Cole  on  May  24,  1677.  The  children  born 
were:  Mary,  born  December  9,  167S;  Mercie,  born  Oc- 
tober 15,  16S1.  George  Crispe  died  July  28,  16S2.  He 
was  the  founder  of  Eastham,  Massachusetts — a  promin- 
ent  place  in  those  days. 


THE  CRTS  PIC  FAMILY 


CRISPE    SOLDIERS    IN    INDIAN    WARS. 

The  earliest  war  of  the  Colonists  came  in  the  form 
of  a  bloody  struggle  with  the  chief  of  the  Wampanoags, 
and  is  known  in  Colonial  history  as  King  Philip's  War. 
Massasoit,  the  father  of  King  Philip,  was  on  very 
friendly  terms  with  the  whites,  but  at  his  death  young 
Met  acorn  et,  or  King  Philip  as  the  Colonists  called  him, 
gave  evidence  of  his  hatred  of  the  whites,  and  in  several 
instances  openly  violated  his  pledges  to  keep  peace. 
Philip  observed  that  the  whites  were  gradually  encroach- 
ing upon  the  Indian  territory,  and  that  their  hunting 
grounds  would  be  taken  from  them;  the  forests  were  fall- 
ing before  the  steel,  and  he  recognized  that  the  Indian 
race  would  come  to  want,  and  be  finally  exterminated. 
Imbued  with  this  thought  he  aroused  the  entire  Indian 
population  throughout  the  New  England  Colonies,  and  in 
1675  he  began  his  campaign  of  blood. 

The  war  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  was  one  of  am- 
bush and  surprise.  They  never  once  met  the  Colonists  in 
the  open  field.  They  were  secret  as  beasts  of  prey; 
and  trained  marksmen.  They  were  fleet  of  foot  and 
thoroughly  conversant  with  the  paths  of  the  forest; 
patient  of  fatigue,  and  mad  with  vengeance  and  destruc- 
tion, retreating  in  the  swamp  for  their  abode,  and  ever 
prepared  to  spring  forth  to  massacre  a  straying  Colonist. 
The  Colonists  selected  from  among  their  numbers  the 
bravest  citizens,  and  formed  them  into  exploring  parties, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  seek  for  these  savages.     The  Crispe 


216  THK  HISTORY  OF 


family  was  represented  in  these  exploring  parties  in   the 

peasons  of  Richard  Crispe,   of  Eastham,  and    Zachariah 

Crispe.     These   exploring  parties,   as   they   were  called. 

had   a   most  dangerous  task.      They  were  often  waylaid, 

and  their  paths  not    infrequently  were  strewn   with    the 

arms  and  limbs  of  Colonists   who  had  fallen  prey  to   the 

warriors  of  King  Philip.      The  men   as  they  went   to  the 

fields,    the   woodchoppers   and   the  shepherd   boys,   were 

shot   down    by  these  skulking  foes,    whose  approach  was 

invisible.     The  mothers  and  women  at   home   feared  the 

tomahawk,   and  hourly    anticipated  the  murder  of  their 

dear  ones;  and  the   Indians   hung  around   these  settler's 

cabins  as  wolves  about  a  sheepfold.     The  dread  fulness  of 

these  days  is  scarcely  to  be  imagined  by  the  people  of  the 

present  age.      The  most  thrilling  incidents  are  among  the 

stories   that   might  be  mentioned   in   connection  with  the 

exploring  parties. 

Zachariah  Crispe  is  spoken  of  in  connection  with 
these  parties  in  volume  XXXVII,  page  182.  of  the  New 
England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register.  Jonathan 
Crispe  is  mentioned  on  page  220  of  the  same  volume. 

Richard  Crispe,  who  also  served  in  the  bloody  war,  is 
written  about  in  volume  XXXIX  of  the  'New  England 
Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  pages  379  and  3S2: 
and  in  addition  gives  a  letter  of  considerable  interest. 
He  served  under  Captain  James  Oliver.      It  reads: 

"  Naraganset,  26th,  nth  m.  1675. 
"After  a  tedious  march  in   a   bitter  cold  night  that 


4j  * 


% 


■v,A     >       IPS 

M^  ^    ;\av  -•■:'  '    'J  ^ 


'«*=■■. 


■ft 


ri'«a 


WAITING  FOR   THE  CONGREGATION. 


y 


READY  FOR  THE  INDIAN   WARRIORS. 


THE  CRISPK  FAMILY. 


followed  Dec.  12th,  we  hoped  our  pilot  would  have  led 
us  to  Pomham  by  break  of  day;  but  so  it  came  to  pass 
we  were  misled,  and  so  missed  a  good  opportunity.  Dec. 
13th:  We  came  to  Mr.  Smith's,  and  that  day  took  35  pris- 
oners. Dec.  14th:  Our  General  went  out  with  horse  and 
foot.  I  with  my  company  was  left  to  keep  garrison.  I 
sent  out  30  of  my  men  to  scout  abroad,  who  killed  two 
Indians  and  brought  in  4  prisoners,  one  of  which  was  be- 
headed. Onr  army  came  home  at  night;  killed  7  and 
brought  in  9  men  more,  young  and  old.  Dec.  15th: 
Came-in-John,  a  rouge,  with  pretence  of  peace,  and  was 
dismissed  with  this  errand,  that  we  might  speak  with 
Sachems.  That  evening,  he  not  being  gone  a  quarter  of 
an  hotir,  his  company,  that  lay  hid  behind  a  hill  killed  two 
Salem  men  within  a  mile  of  our  quarters,  and  wounded  a 
third  that  he  is  dead;  and  at  a  house  three  miles  off, 
where  I  had  10  men,  they  killed  2  of  them.  Instantly, 
Captain  Mosely,  myself  and  Captain  Gardner  were  sent 
to  fetch  in  Major  Appleton's  company,  that  kept  3  miles 
and  an  half  off;  and  coming  they  lay  behind  a  stone  wall 
and  fired  on  us  in  sight  of  the  garrison.  We  killed  the 
captain  that  killed  one  of  the  Salem  men,  and  had  his 
cap  on.  That  night  they  burned  Jerry  Brell's  house,  and 
killed  17.  Dec.  16th  came  that  news.  Dec.  17th  came 
news  that  Connecticut  forces  were  at  Petaquamscot,  and 
had  killed  7  Indians  and  took  6  prisoners.  That  da}-  we 
sold  Captain  Davenport  77  Indians,  young  and  old,  for 
So  £  in  money.      Dec.   [8th:   We  marched  to  Petaquam- 


222  THK  HISTORY  OF 


scot  with  all  our  forces,  only   a  garrison  left;  that   night 
was  very  stormy;  we  lay,  one  thousand,  in  the  open  field 
that  long  night.     I„  the  morning,  Dec.  19th,  Lord's  day, 
at  5  o'clock,    we  marched.      Between    12  and  1,   we  came 
up  with  the  enemy,  and  had  a  sore  fight  three  hours.    We 
lost,  that  are  now  dead,  about  6$,  and  had  150  wounded, 
many  of  which   are   recovered.     That  long,    snowy    cold 
night  we  had  about  iS   miles  to  our  quarters,  with   about 
210  dead  and  wounded.     We  left  S  dead  in  the  fort.     We 
had  but  12  dead  when  we  came  from  the  swamp,  besides 
the  S  we  left.      Many  died  by    the  way,    and   as  soon  as 
they  were  brought  in,  so  that   Dec.  20th  we  buried  in   a 
grave  37,  and    next  day    7,    next   day  2,   and   more  since 
here.      Eight   died  at    Rhode   Island,  1  at  Petaquamscot, 
2  lost  in  the  woods  and  killed.      Dec.    20th,    as  we  heard 
since,  some  say  2  more  died.      By  the  best  intelligence  we 
killed  300  fighting  men,  prisoners  we  took,  say,  350,  and 
above  300  women  and   children.     We  burnt   about   500 
houses,  left  but  9,  burnt  all  their  corn  that  was  in  baskets. 
One   single  mercy  that  night    not   to  be  forgotten,  viz.: 
that  when  we  drew  off,  with  so  many  dead  and  wounded, 
they  did  not  pursue  us,  which  the  young  men  would  have 
done,  but  the  Sachems  would  not   consent;   they  had  but 
10  pounds  of  powder  left.     Our  General,  with  about  40, 
lost   our  way,  and   wandered  till  about   7   o'clock   in   the 
morning  before  we  came  to  our  quarters.      We   thought 
we  were  within   2    miles  of  the  enemy   again,   but   God 
kept  us;   to  Him  be  the  glory.      We  have  killed  now  and 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY. 


then  i  since,  and  burnt  200  wigmams;  we  killed  9  last 
Tuesday.  We  fetch  in  their  corn  daily,  and  that  undoes 
them.  This  is  as  nearly  as  I  can  a  true  relation.  I  read 
the  narrative  to  my  officers  in  my  tent,  who  all  assent  to 
the  truth  of  it.  Monhegins  and  Pequods  proved  very 
false;  fired  into  the  air,  and  sent  word  before  they  came 
the)'  would  do  so,  but  got  much  plunder,  guns  and  ket- 
tles. A  great  part  of  what  is  written  was  attested  by 
Joshus  Teffe,  who  married  an  Indian  woman,  a  Wampa- 
woag.  He  shot  ?o  times  at  us  in  the  swamp,  was  taken 
at  Providence  Jan'y  14,  brought  to  us  the  1 6th,  executed 
the  1 8th.  A  sad  wretch;  he  never  heard  a  sermon  but 
once  these  17  years.  His  father  going  to  recall  him  lost 
his  head  and  lies  unburied." 

CRISPE    GRANT    IX    COLOXIAL    DISPUTE. 

The  following  reference  to  the  Crispe  grant  will  be  of 
interest: 

"  The  terrible  menaces  of  the  Indian  wars  and  the 
hourly  alarm  which  they  caused  did  not  make  the  English 
settlers  unmindful  of  their  political  possibilities,  nor 
hopeless  regarding  the  future.  While  the  Massachusetts 
Colony  was  weak  in  resources  from  the  effects  of  the  war, 
[Note:  During  the  war  New  England  lost  600  men,  a 
do7.en  towns  were  destroyed;  600  dwellings  were  burned; 
every  twentieth  family  was  homeless,  and  every  twentieth 
man  who  had  served  as  a  soldier  had  perished.  The  cost 
of  the  war  equaled  $400,000,  a  very  large  sum  of  money 
at  that  time],   the  people  were   yet  engaged  in   the  hos- 


224  THE  HISTORY  OF 


tili ties  with  the  eastern  tribes — the  Colony  made  terri- 
torial accession  by  purchase,  and  at  the  same  time  boldly 
asserted  its  charter  rights.  For  many  years  there  had 
been  a  controversy  between  the  heirs  of  vSir  Fernando 
Gorgas,  John  Mason  and  John  Crispe  and  the  Massa- 
chusetts Colony  concerning  a  portion  of  the  present  ter- 
ritory of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire,  which  by  acts  of 
the  inhabitants  had  been  placed  (1641)  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  authorities  at  Boston.  The  judicial  deci- 
sion (1677)  was  in  favor  of  these  heirs,  and  Massachu- 
setts immediately  purchased  their  interests  for  the  sum 
of  $6,000.  New  Hampshire  was  detached  three  years 
later  (1680)  and  made  a  royal  province — the  first  in  New 
England;  but  Maine,  which  was  incorporated  with  Mas- 
sachusetts in  1692,  continued  a  part  of  Massachusetts 
until  1820."  (Lossing's  History  of  the  United  States, 
page  129).  The  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  Colonies 
to  gain  laud  and  attain  clear  titles  did  not  please  the  King 
of  England.  King  Charles  began  to  view  the  progress 
with  envy,  and  he  looked  upon  these  colonists  with  fear. 
Charles  had  long  entertained  the  thought  that  he  as  King, 
"with  divine  rights,"  should  be  the  real  authority  in 
the  Colonial  world  of  the  Western  Hemisphere.  He 
took  occasion  to  reject  Edward  Randolph,  a  custom  officer 
at  the  port  of  Boston,  and  declared  the  Colonial  charter 
void.  He  issued  a  'quo  warranto'  in  1683  and  procured 
a  decision  in  his  favor,  but  he  died  before  he  could  carry 
his  plan   into  effect. 


INDEPENDENCE   HALL. 
(Philadelphia) 


I 


:nd  of  the  revolution. 

(Surrender  of  Cornwallis.) 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  229 


Charles'  successor,  James  II.,  continued  the  oppres- 
sive measures  of  his  brother.  The  people  petitioned  and 
remonstrated,  but  they  were  treated  with  contempt.  Their 
hardships  in  conquering  a  wilderness  and  enduring'  untold 
privations,  were  of  no  avail  in  the  ears  of  the  bigot, 
James  II.  As  a  climax  to  the  Colonial  drama,  the  King- 
appointed  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  former  Royal  Governor 
of  New  York,  to  proceed  to  Boston  and  declare  the  Col- 
onial charters  void,  and  he  to  be  the  first  Governor-Gen- 
eral of  all  New  England. 

GOVERNOR    ANDROS    MARRIED    A    CRISPE. 

Sir  Edmund  Andros,  of  Guerney,  was  married  to 
Elizabeth  Crispe — sister  of  Gertney  Crispe,  who  founded 
the  Crispe  Charity  Farm,  of  which  we  wrote  on  page  Si 
of  this  book.  Elizabeth's  marriage  is  mentioned  on  page 
139  of  this  book.  Sir  Edmund  was  appointed  the  first 
Governor-General  of  the  English  Colonies,  and  he  ar- 
rived at  Boston  in  December,  16S6.  He  immediately  de- 
manded the  old  charter  of  Connecticut,  but  it  was  refused. 
He  soon  made  bare  the  sword  of  oppression,  and  began 
to  rule  with  a  tyrant's  rule,  and  he  tried  to  carry  into 
effect  the  edicts  of  the  sovereign  who  appointed  him  to 
the  high  place. 

Among  the  arbitrary  acts  which  Andros  attempted  to 
enforce  were:  Suppression  of  freedom  of  speech  and 
press;  dictation  in  marriage  contracts;  and  finally  he 
threatened  to  establish  the  Episcopal  church — the  religion 
of  England.       But    the   Puritans  would  not   endure   his 


230  THE   HISTORY  OF 


proclamations,  and  heeded  little  what  he  said.  This 
angered  Andros  to  such  an  extent  that  it  provoked  a  very 
strained  relation  between  the  Colonists  and  England.  At 
this  point  were  sown  the  first  seeds  of  the  American  Rev- 
olution, and  many  historians  claim  that  the  Ameiican  re- 
bellion began  at  the  time  Andros  attempted  to  establish 
the  English  Episcopal    Church  in  all  New  England. 

His  experience  in  attempting  to  gain  po.-session  of 
the  charter  of  Connecticut  is  of  considerable  interest. 
In  October,  167S,  Andros  went  to  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
where  the  General  Assembly  was  in  session,  and  he  hoped 
to  secure  ihe  charter  of  Connecticut.  The  Colonists  knew 
he  was  coming,  and  so  they  prepared  to  save  the  precious 
instrument,  and  at  the  same  time  they  had  arranged  to 
give  every  evidence  possible  of  loyalty  to  the  King  of 
England.  The  debates  at  the  Assembly  were  purposely 
prolonged  until  night,  when  Governor  Andros  was  to  ar- 
rive and  proclaim  that  the  charter  was  annulled,  and 
that  the  Assembly  be  discharged.  The  evening  came,  the 
candles  were  lighted  and  the  chatter  was  brought  forward 
and  laid  on  the  table  before  the  Governor  and  the  Coun- 
cil. Just  as  Andros  stepped  forward  to  take  the  charter, 
the  candles  were  suddenly  extinguished,  and  the  charter 
was  seized  by  a  Colonial,  by  the  name  of  Wadsworth,  and 
he  and  friends  bounded  from  the  hall,  and  under  cover  of 
the  night  they  hid  the  charter  in  the  hollow  of  a  large 
oak  tree  near  by.  When  the  candles  were  re  ighted  all 
the  members   of  the   Council  were  in   perfect   order,    but 


THE  CR1SPH  FAMILY. 


the  charter  could  not  be  found.  Andres  was  highly 
incensed  at  being  thus  foiled,  but  he  wisely  restrained 
his  passion,  and  assumed  command  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  with  his  own  hand  wrote  the  word  "Finis" 
after  the  proceedings  of  the  Colonial  Assembly.  The 
entire  government  of  New  England  was  administered  in 
his  own  name  until  16S9,  when  he  was  driven  from  Bos- 
ton, as  his  sovereign  in  England  had  been  deposed. 
The  charter,  which  had  been  hidden  in  the  old  oak,  was 
brought  forward  and  the  Colonists  again  enjoyed  a  local 
and  democratic  form  of  government.  The  oak  in  which 
the  charier  was  deposited  was  called  the  "Char  er  Oak." 
The  famous  oak  stood  until  August  21,  1856,  when  a 
severe  storm  prostrated  it,  and  it  was  soon  converted  into 
historic  souvenirs. 

Audros  was  imprisoned  in  Boston  on  April  16,  16S9. 
In  July  he  was  sent  to  England  for  trial,  but  he  was  ac- 
quitted, as  might  be  expected,  and  shortly  after  was  ap- 
pointed Governor  of  Virginia,  where  he  managed  to 
conduct  himself  in  a  fashion  eliciting  the  good  will  of 
these  Colonists.  The}-  welcomed  him  heartily,  and  he 
was  a  wiser  and  better  man  than  he  had  been  when  in 
New  England.  It  may  have  been  because  he  served  new 
masters  (Mary  and  William)  that  Andros  remembered 
that  to  hold  a  Governorship  meant  privileges  and  duties 
as  well.  Usurpation  and  injustice  meant  failure  and 
ruin.  He  was  less  arrogant  and  less  overbearing;  and  he 
made  himself  congenial  in  that  the  troubles  of  the  Col- 


THE'  HISTORY  OF 


ouists  became  his  troubles,  and  he  labored  industriously 
to  rule  with  justice  to  all. 

FOUNDED    WILLIAM    AND    MARY    COLLEGE. 

He  came  to  Virginia  with  the  charter  fur  an  institu- 
tion which  he  hoped  to  found,  and  with  the  King's  favor 
he  received  a  charter  for  the  first  large  college  in  the 
south.  This  act  on  the  part  of  Andros  induced  the  people 
to  have  great  faith  in  his  promise  that  he  would  rule 
"justly  and  kindly."  By  this  achievement  he  ingra- 
ciated  himself,  and  he  was  in  many  respects  the  most 
progressive  and  intelligent  Governor  that  ruled  the  Vir- 
ginia Colony. 

Among  other  improvements  he  established  good  roads 
through  the  forests  and  swamps;  aided  Thomas  Neal  in 
getting  a  patent  from  the  King  permitting  postal  service 
connection  between  the  Colonies;  he  collected  and  caused 
to  be  preserved  all  the  old  records  of  Virginia,  and  by 
this  act  alone  has  bequeathed  to  the  Americans  of  to-day 
many  historical  documents  which  otherwise  would  have 
been  lost  or  destroyed,  as  they  were  in  other  Colonies;  he 
introduced  the  cultivation  of  cotton;  and  did  everything 
in  his  power  to  establish  newspapers  and  schools. 

He  was  so  different  to  preceeding  Governors  that  the 
Colonists  loved  Sir  Edmund.  The  question  often  asked 
was:  "  Is  Sir  Edmund  Andros  'a  new  man,'  or  are  the 
Virginians  less  particular  than  the  New  Englandersv' 
He  did  much  for  education,  and  thus  pleased  the  Virgin- 
ians.    To  Andros,  Virginia  can  well  be  grateful  for  hav- 


a 


>■ 


■    tfWFl 


mu.  [ 


.   ■  r,.: 


1& 


i 


/■/'"  i.'i 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  OUR  NATION. 
(Inauguration  of  Washington.) 


\ 


■1 


I 


I. 


LIBERTY  POLE  OF  '76. 


THE  CRISPK  FAMILY. 


ing  the  name  of-  -'Mother  of  Presidents,"  for  to  no  other 
man  does  she: owe  so  much  for  encouraging  institutions  of 
learning. 

Governor  Berkley,  who  ruled  Virginia  some  years 
before,  "thanked  God  that  there  was  neither  a  free  school 
or  printing  office  in  the  Colony;"  while  Andros  was  thank- 
ful for  quite  the  opposite.  He  took  a  great  interest  in 
William  and  Mary  College.  The  establishment  of  a  col- 
lege was  the  fulfillment  of  those  fears  which  Berkley 
hoped  would  not  be  accomplished  for  one  hundred  years. 
It  was  evidence  of  increasing  intelligence,  as  well  as 
promise  of  future  culture  and  prosperity,  and  these  were 
elements  which  previous  Governors  of  Virginia  strongly 
opposed  and  discouraged. 

Governor  Andros  was  certain  to  claim  authority  over 
the  new  college,  and  its  president,  Mr.  Blair,  who  was 
appointed  its  president  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  re- 
sisted any  interference  in  the  curriculum  of  the  college. 
This  lead  to  a  controversy,  and  Governor  Andros  tried  to 
break  the  firmness  of  Blair  by  dismissing  the  latter  from 
the  Council  of  Virginia.  The  political  issue  thus  created 
necessitated  an  appeal  to  Kngland.  Andros  was  defeated 
in  the  decision,  and  recalled,  and  in  his  stead  Nicholson  was 
transferred  from  Maryland  to  Governor  of  Virginia. 

Andros  returned  to  England  and  in  1704  was  made 
Governor  of  his  native  home,  Guernsey  (the  Channel 
Islands  of  England).  In  1691  Sir  Edmund  published  in 
book  form  his  experiences  and  career  in  New  England,  and 


•3S  THE  HISTORY  OF 


these  writings  were   published  in  London  in  1773. 

In  his  will,  dated  July  19,  17 12  he  says  in  part:  "I, 
Sir  Edmund  Andros,  Knight,  of  Guernsey,  now  residing 
in  the  parish  of  St.  Anne's  Westminster.  To  Dame  Eliza- 
beth Crispe  my  wife  certain  anuuties  etc;  1  give  annually 
200^  due  me  upon  bond  from  Thomas  Cooper  near  Maid- 
stone England  taken  in  the  name  of  my  late  sister-in-law 
Mrs.  Hannah  Crispe."  P.  C.  C.  44  Aston. 

And  Anna  Gertney  Crispe' s  will  adds  these  facts: 

"I,  the  fourth  &  youngest  daughter  and  Coheir  of 
Thomas  Crispe,  late  of  Quex,  in  the  parish  of  Birchington 
in  the  Isle  of  Thanette,  in  the  County  of  Kent,  etc.  etc. ,  to 
Sir  Edmund  Andros,  my  brother-in-law  and  his  Lady, 
twenty  pounds  for  mourning." 

Further  references  on  Sir  Edmund  Andros  and  his 
wife,  Elizabeth  Crispe,  volume  XLII,  page  179,  New 
England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register;  Bryant's 
History  of  the  United   States,  volume  III,  page  66. 

DELIVERANCE    CRISPE,    INDIAN    CAPTIVE. 

Early  in  1690,  when  the  French  incited  the  Indians 
into  a  renewal  of  hostilities,  the  Colonists  suffered  a  most 
torturous  career.  Severe  as  the  Indians  had  been  under 
the  fearless  leadership  of  King  Philip,  they  were  decided- 
ly more  savage  and  barbaric  after  the  chief's  death.  Al- 
though the  war  of  King  Philip  had  ended  in  utter  defeat 
some  fVfteen  years  previous,  this  loss  seemed  to  act  as  a 
theme  of  inspiration.  With  the  French  at  Canada  to  in- 
still into  these  Indians  new  hopes,  and  with  these  white 


THE  CRISPK  FAMILY.  239 


and  civilized  allies  as  their  backing,  they  invited  war  and 
fought  to  a  bitter  end.  This  war,  known  in  history  as 
King  William's  War— named  after  the  King  in  England 
who  was  fighting  the  French  of  Continental  Kurope — was 
indeed  a  most  destructive  and  cruel  war. 

We  need  only  refer  to  the  massacre?  at  Schenectady 
and  Grotou,  and  the  student  familiar  with  Colonial  history 
is  reminded  of  the  most  horrifing  and  soul-stirring  epoch 
in  the  history  of  the  Colonies. 

The  Crispe  family  came  in  for  their  share  of  sufferings 
and  sadnesses,  for  we  learn  that  Benjamin  Crispe  and  fam- 
ily were  living  at  the  village  of  Grotou,  when  this  awful 
massacre  took  place.  The  town  was  destroyed  by  fire, 
and  the  inhabitants  massacred,  tortured  and  burned.  "The 
snow  was  pink  with  blood  and  dead  bodies  robed  in  ice." 
Benjamin  Crispe' s  wife  was  driven  into  the  wilderness  to 
die,  and  their  little  daughter,  Deliverance  Crispe,  was  taken 
as  an  Indian  captive,  and  brought  up  to  live  the  lifeof  an 
Indian  girl.  She  was  taken  to  Montreal,  where  the  French 
and  Indians  divided  their  spoils  and  laid  their  plans  of  fu- 
ture campaigns.  Deliverance  was  educated  in  the  ways 
and  manner  of  the  Indian  tribe,  and  accordingly  adopted 
the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  In  1696  she  was  baptized  a 
Roman  Catholic  at  Montreal,  and  was  placed  in  charge  of 
the  congregation  of  Notre  Dame.  An  account  of  the  trials 
of  Deliverance  Crispe  can  be  found  on  page  159,  volume 
XXVIII,  New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Reg- 
ister. 


246  THE  HISTORY  OF 

William  S.  Appelton  in  an  article  entitled  "English 
Captives  in  Canada"  (volume  XXVIII,  page  159,)  New 
England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register  says:  "A 
Genealogical  Dictionary -of  English-Canadian  families  has 
recently  been  issued.  Perhaps  the  special  interest  of  the 
volume  to  us  is  the  list  of  'Anglais'  (English)  captives 
taken  in  the  war  of  the  seventeenth  century  between 
New  France  and  New  England.  And  here  we  find  a 
list  of  captives,  mostly  children,  some  utterly  unknown 
to  Salvage  and  others,  known  only  as  born.  They  were 
all  baptized  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  passed 
their  lives  in  Canada."  Deliverance  Crispe  was  among 
these  captives. 

We  read  in  Bryant's  History  of  the  United  States 
(volume  II,  page  47 S)  that  a  certain  John  Crispe  was 
among  those  who  founded  Burlington,  Deleware,  and  that 
from  his  letters  and  diary  Bryant  was  able  to  give  the  ori- 
gin of  this  prosperous  town.  The  part  which  is  quoted 
reads:  "The  Kent  arrived  at  Newcastle  on  the  sixteenth 
of  August,  1678.  The  new  town  was  named  after  Bur- 
lington, Yorkshire,  England,  from  whence  many  of  the 
emigrants  came.  'Here  is  a  town.'  wrote  Mr.  Crispe  to  a 
friend  in  England,  'laid  out  for  twenty  proprieties,  and  a 
straight  line  drawn  from  the  river  side  up  the  land  which 
is  to  be  the  main  street,  and  a  market  place  about  the 
middle.  The  Yorkshire  ten  proprietors  are  to  build 
on  one  side,  and  the  London  ten  on  the  other  side;  and 
they  have   ordered  one  street  to  be  made  along  the  river 


CHARTER  OAK 


N 


•  '. 


'%& 


INDIAN  CAPTIVES. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  245 


side,  which  is  not  divided  with  the  rest,  but  in  small  lots 
by  itself,  and  any  one  that  hast  any  part  in  a  propriety  is 
to  have  a  share  in  it.  The  town  lots  for  every  propriety 
will  be  about  ten  or  ekven  acres.'  "  (Tetters  in  Frond's 
History  of  Pennsylvania).  Bryant  says:  "The  new  vil- 
lage was  prosperous  from  the  beginning,  and  shipload 
after  shipload  of  Colonists  arrived,  until  the  proprietors 
saw  their  mutual  plantation  increasing  more  rapidly  in 
two  or  three  years  than  other  Colonies  had  done  in  ten; 
and  this  almost  entirely  through  the  exertion  of  Friends 
alone." 

Further  particulars  of  the  captivity  of  little  Miss 
Deliverance  Crispe  Longley  will  be  found  in  the  appendix 
of  the  History  of  the  Crisp  Family. 

The  Crispe  people  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution- 
ary War  naturally  sided  with  the  Colonists;  their  previous 
training,  as  well  as  their  religious  beliefs,  and  their  po- 
litical tendency,  naturally  lead  them  into  the  Colonial 
army.    . 

The  Crispe  family,  however,  was  considerably  re- 
duced in  numbers  during  the  Indian  and  French  wars, 
and  nearly  the  entire  family  after  the  Revolutionary  War 
was  reduced  to  a  few  families. 

The  family  name  does  not  again  appear  in  the  history 
of  the  United  States  until  the  early  part  of  1800,  when 
the  family  of  ex-Speaker  Crisp,  of  the  United  States 
House  of  Representatives,  appears  as  a  branch  of  the 
old  English  stock  in  the  Southern  States. 


24r>  THE  HISTORY  OF 


HONORABLE    CHARLES    FREDERICK    CRISP, 
STATESMAN'. 

In  Herringshaw's  Encyclopedia  of  American  Biog- 
raphy we  find  on  page  263  the  following: 

"Charles  Frederick  Crisp,  soldier,  lawyer,  jurist, 
Congressman,  was  born  Jam  29,  1S45,  in  England.  He 
was  a  Lieutenant  in  the  Confederate  army  from  1S61  to 
1864,  when  he  was  taken  prisoner.  In  1872  he  was  ap- 
pointed Solicitor-General  of  the  Southwestern  Circuit; 
and  in  1S73  was  reappointed  for  a  term  of  four  years.  In 
the  latter  year  he  moved  to  Americus,  Ga.;  in  1S77  was 
appointed  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court;  and  in  187S  was 
elected  to  the  same  office;  and  in  1SS0  was  re-elected  for 
a  term  of  four  years.  He  resigned  in  18S2,  and  was 
elected  Representative  from  Georgia  to  the  forty-eighth 
Congress;  and  received  the  re-election  to  the  forty-ninth, 
fiftieth,  fifty-first,  fifty-second,  fifty-third  and  fifty-fourth 
as  a  democrat,  and  served  as  a  Speaker  of  the  House  in 
the  fifty-second  and  fifty-third  Congresses." 

Additional  notes  on  his  life  can  be  found  in  the  Na- 
tional Cyclopedia  of  American  Biography,  volume  I,  page 
385,  as  follows: 

"Charles  Frederick  Crisp,  lawyer  and  congressman, 
was  born  in  Sheffield,  England,  Jan.  29,  1845,  while  his 
parents,  actors  by  profession,  were  engaged  in  an  exten- 
sive tour.  The  family  returning  to  the  United  States  in 
the  same  year,  settled  in  Georgia,  where  the  son  was  ed- 
ucated in  the  common  schools  of  Savannah   and    Macon. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  247 


On  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  in  company 
K,  10th  Virginia  infantry,  and,  rising  to  a  lieutenancy, 
was  in  active  service  until  taken  prisoner  of  war  in  May, 
1864.  After  a  year's  confinement  in  Fort  Delaware,  he 
rejoined  his  parents  at  EUaville,  Ga.,  and,  after  com- 
pleting law  studies  at  Americns,  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  r866.  He  commenced  practice  in  Ell aville,  where  he 
rapidly  rose  to  prominence,  being,  in  1872,  appointed  so- 
licitor-general of  the  south-western  judicial  circuit,  and 
in  1873  re-appointed  for  a  term  of  four  years:  In  June, 
1877,  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the  superior  court  of 
this  circuit,  being  re-elected  by  the  general  assembly  in 
1878  and  1880.  Upon  his  nomination  to  the  I'.  S.  house 
of  representatives  he  resigned  from  the  bench,  and  was 
elected  to  the  forty-eighth  congress  by  a  large  popular 
vote.  Although  from  the  beginning  of  his  career  in  the 
house  he  was  known  as  a  hard-working,  attentive  and 
alert  member,  he  did  not  rise  to  the  leading  position 
which  caused  his  election  as  speaker  until  the  beginning 
of  his  fifth  term  of  service.  At  the  time  his  election  was 
a  most  conspicuous  tribute  to  his  ability  and  popularity, 
since  among  the  opposing  candidates  for  the  chair  were 
Roger  Q.  Mills  and  others  whose  services  had  been  much 
more  extended.  He  was  re-elected  speaker  in  the  fifty- 
third  congress,  and  when  the  republicans  again  acquired 
a  majority  in  the  fifty-fourth  he  was  the  recognized  leader 
of  the  minority.  Throughout  his  congressional  career  he 
was  a  pronounced  advocate  of  a   low  tariff  and   the  free 


248  THE  HISTORY  OF 


coinage  of  silver.  At  the  close  of  the  fifty-fourth  con- 
gress Mr.  Crispe  announced  himself  a  candidate  for  the 
senate  and  in  the  meantime  brought  himself  prominently 
before  the  people  by  his  memorable  debates  with  Sec. 
Hoke  Smith  upon  the  financial  questions  of  the  day. 
Upon  his  return  home  in  the  early  summer  of  1S96.  he 
took  a  vigorous  part  in  the  state  gubernatorial  campaign, 
making  able  speeches  in  several  localities.  In  the  primar- 
ies, in  July,  by  a  practically  unanimous  vote,  he  was 
made  the  democratic  candidate  for  the  U.  S.  senate,  and 
undoubtedly  would  have  been  elected.  Pie  died  at  his 
home  in  Atlanta,  Ga.,  Oct.  23,  1S96." 

We  add  a  few  supplemental  statements  in  abridged 
form  from  the  Statesmen  and  Politicians  of  America,  by 
Seidle: 

"Charles  F.  Crisp,  the  Speaker  of  the  national 
House  of  Representatives,  is  a  man  of  pronounced  and 
substantial  ability,  amply  equipped  by  education,  train- 
ing, and  long  and  distinguished  public  service,  for  the 
eminent  position  beholds.  Though  born  on  foreign  soil, 
he  is  of  American  parentage,  which  entitles  him  to  all 
the  rights  of  a  native-born  citizen.  His  parents  were 
visiting  in  Sheffield,  England,  when  he  was  born,  Jan.  29, 
1845.  They  returned  with  him  to  their  home  in  Georgia 
at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  and  before  the  child  was 
out  of  arms. 

"He  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House  in  the  fifty- 
second    Congress,   and    re-elected    by   unanimous    Demo- 


>'  :  '■    1  v.-    •' .  \         •■•■-- %      \  i-Vvrr- 


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EFFERSON    DAVIS. 

THE  CRISPE  FAMILY 


cratic  vote  to  the  same  position  in  the  fifty-third  Con- 
gress. Owing  to  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of 
Senator  Colquitt  in  tluj  spring  of  1894,  the  Governor  of 
the  State,  without  solicitation,  tendered  him  an  appoint- 
ment to  the  vacant  office,  which  he  declined,  though  with 
apparent  reluctance,  fearing  that  by  withdrawing  from 
the  Speakership  at  that  time  he  would  endanger  the  har- 
mony of  his  party  associates  in  the  House.  Speaker 
Crisp  is  a  man  of  fine  physique,  though  not  robust;  of 
dignified  bearing  without  appearing  austere;  of  pleasant 
and  agreeable  manners,  an  aide  speaker  with  a  fund  of 
information  to  draw  upon;  of  scholarly  habits  and  judi- 
cial temperament  —  in  fine,  is  an  ideal  presiding  officer. 
He  is  occassionally  irritated  by  the  persistent  efforts  of 
his  Republican  predecessors  to  annoy  him,  but  as  a  whole 
he  has  won  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  parties  in 
the  House  by  his  uniform  fairness,  candor  and  impar- 
tiality. Outside  the  chair  he  is  a  pronounced  Democrat 
of  the  Southern  school,  and  not  altogether  in  sympathy 
with  some  features  of  administrative  policy.  And  here, 
too,  his  judicial  training  is  of  use  to  him,  restraining  him 
from  any  unseemingly  exhibition  of  his  disagreements. 
Such  a  man  is  destined  to  great  distinction  in  the  coun- 
try's annals.  He  will,  without  much  doubt,  pass  from 
the  Speakership  into  the  Senate,  and  ultimately  become 
recognized  as  a  great  statesman." 

In  an  editorial  of  the   Illustrated  American,  volume 
IX,  (1892)  on  page  64,  it  speaks  of  the  candidacy  of  Mr. 


254  THIv  HISTORY  OF 


Charles  F.    Crisp   for   the   Speakership   m   the   following 
terms: 

"  Charles  F.  Crisp,  one  of  the  most  prominent  of 
'he  younger  generation  of  Southern  Congressmen,  is  a 
formidable  rival  to  Mr.  Mills  for  the  Speakership.  He 
came  of  actors  who  for  twenty  years  prior  to  the  war 
formed  a  band  of  strolling  players  in  the  South.  He  is 
a  very  shrewd  politician,  and  is  considered  one  of  the 
most  sagacious  and  best-tempered  leaders  of  the  Democ- 
racy. Apparently  without  ambition  to  be  known  as  an 
orator,  there  are  few  men  in  Congress  who  utter  more 
truly  eloquent  sentences  than  he.  lie  went  to  Congress 
first  in  1883,  and  has  been  there  ever  since.  Previous  to 
that  he  was  in  the  Confederate  army.  After  the  war  he 
turned  his  attention  to  law,  became  Solicitor-General  of 
a  district  in  Georgia,  then  rose  to  the  bench  of  the  Su- 
perior Court,  and  landed  in  the  Assembly.  He  has  been 
described  as  'the  bull  dog'  on  the  Democratic  side  of  the 
House.  At  the  same  time  he  is  recogni7.ed  as  one  of  the 
most  affable  and  agreeable  men  who  ever  sat  in  Congress. 
Throughout  the  stormy  scenes  which  took  place  in  the 
House  over  the  contested  election  cases  in  1890,  Mr. 
Crisp,  though  he  fought  desperately  for  his  catise,  never 
abandoned  his  innate  courtesy,  however  hard  he  was  hit. 
His  manly  behavior  elicited  the  admiration  of  foe  as  well 
as  friend.  His  private  character  is  unblemished,  and  his 
public  record  is  an  example  for  future  politicians." 

The  Illustrated  American  on  page  612,  volume  XX, 


THE  CRKSPE  FAMILY. 


comments  editorialy  on  his  death  as  follows: 

'•The  Speaker  of  the  fifty-second  and  fifty-third  Con- 
gress, Charles  Frederick  Crisp,  who  died  recently  at  At- 
lanta, Georgia,  would  have  been  a  Senator  from  his  native 
State  had  he  lived.  It  was  Speaker  Crisp  who  laid  the 
foundation  of  Mr.  Bryan's  career,  for  through  the  influ- 
ence of  Mr.  Springer,  chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means 
Committee,  the  member  from  Nebraska  was  given  a  posi- 
tion in  that  body,  and  thus  arrived  Mr.  Bryan's  oppor- 
tunity. Mr.  Crisp  came  of  an  English  family.  He  was 
born  at  Sheffield,  England,  having  been  brought  to  this 
country  when  an  infant,  his  parents  settling  at  Savannah, 
Georgia.  His  father  was  one  of  the  famous  players  of 
his  time.  The  boy's  education  was  interrupted  by  the 
outbreak  of  the  war,  and  in  his  seventeenth  year  he  en- 
listed. Promoted  a  Lieutenant  in  1864,  he  was  captured 
and  held  until  after  the  surrender  of  Lee.  Subsequently 
he  studied  law,  becoming  Solicitor-General  and  Judge  of 
the  Superior  Court.  He  was  elected  by  the  State  Leg- 
islature twice  to  the  same  office. 

"  In  18S2.  Mr.  Crisp  was  chosen  as  Representative 
in  Congress,  his  abilities  there  at  once  receiving  recogni- 
tion. He  was  immediately  placed  on  important  commit- 
tees, and  his  maiden  speech  attracted  attention.  He 
came  to  the  front  as  one  of  the  recognized  leaders  among 
Democrats  in  the  turbulent  fifty-first  Congress.  Here  he- 
made  a  mild  fight  for  silver.  In  1895  he  had  become  one 
of    the  free  silver  leaders  of    the  country,    and    he    an- 


256  THE  HISTORY  OF 


nounced  his  candidacy  for  the  Senate.  The  choice  of  a 
Senator  was  put  to  the  people  in  the  primary  elections  in 
the  spring  and  Mr.  Crisp  was  overwhelmingly  chosen, 
so  the  members  of  the  Legislature  were  instructed  to  vote 
for  him.  He  was  ready  in  speech,  capable  as  a  debater, 
and  thoroughly  familiar  with  parliamentary  rules.  He 
will  be  regretted  by  a  large  number  of  friends,  including 
many  politically  opposed  to  him,  for  he  exacted  an  amount 
of  respect  from  his  Republican  antagonists  not  extended 
to  any  other  Democrat  for  the  last  few  years." 

The  Chicago  limes-Herald  of  October  24,  1896,  says 
of  his  death: 

"Atlanta,  Ga.,  October  23.  —  Charles  Frederick 
Crisp,  ex-Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  died 
here  to-day.  He  had  been  ill  for  a  long  time  and  was 
forced  by  advice  of  his  physicians  to  give  over  a  debate 
last  spring  which  had  been  arranged  between  him  and 
Hoke  Smith  on  the  currency  question.  A  complication 
of  diseases  aggravated  by  a  weakness  of  the  heart  caused 
his  demise.  Mr.  Crisp  had  been  in  intense  pain  all  day. 
Every  few  minutes  he  would  suffer  intensly,  but  no  im- 
mediate danger  was  feared.  His  wife,  together  with  a 
sanitarian  nurse,  Miss  Sharp,  was  watching  at  his  bedside, 
At  about  1:45  o'clock  Mr.  Crisp  was  seized  with  another 
paroxism  of  pain.  The  watchers  sent  down  stairs  for  Dr. 
Holmes,  Mr.  Crisp's  two  daughters,  Mrs.  Fred  Daven- 
port and  Miss  Bertha  Crisp,  and  his  two  sons,  Charles 
I.    Crisp,  Jr.,  and   Fred    Crisp,    who  were  at  the   Ballard 


SEAL  OF  CONFEDERACY. 


1 


^ 


X 


4% 


CONFEDERATE  GENERAL  R.  E.  LEE. 
(Under  whom  C.  F.  Crispe  served.) 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  261 


house  on  Peach  street,  were  quickly  summoned.  When 
the}' entered  the  room  the  Judge  was  still  conscious.  He 
gave  them  the  look  of  recognition,  breathed  a  few  times 
and  died.      He  could  not  speak. 

"  Few  men  in  this  State  were  more  generally  be- 
loved than  Mr.  Crisp.  His  boyhood  was  spent  in  Sa- 
vannah  and  Macon,  and  it  was  in  the  common  schools  of 
these  cities  that  he  was  educated.  He  was  not  a  native 
of  the  United  States.  He  was  born  in  Sheffield,  Eng- 
land, in  1845.  Flis  father  and  mother  were  actors.  In- 
deed, his  entire  family  were  Thespians,  and  have  been 
noted  for  stage  talent.  The  one  exception,  and  that  is  the 
late  ex-Speaker,  who  rose  to  eminence  first  in  the  law  and 
then  as  a  statesman.  Mr.  Crisp  would  certainly  have 
been  elected  United  States  Senator  had  he  lived.  When 
he  was  elected  Speaker  of  he  House,  his  name  was  men- 
tioned as  a  Presidential  possibility,  and  this  brought  out 
the  fact  of  his  having  been  born  abroad. 

"  When  the  war  came,  Mr.  Crisp,  then  a  healthy, 
robust  lad  of  sixteen,  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  army 
at  the  very  outbreak.  He  finally  became  a  Lieutenant 
in  the  Tenth  Virginia  infantry,  and  served  with  his  regi- 
ment until  May,  1864.  In  that  month  he  was  taken 
prisoner  and  carried  to  Fort  Delaware,  where  he  was  re- 
tained until  the  close  of  the  war.  In  June  1865,  he  was 
released.  As  soon  as  he  left  prison  young  Crisp  made  his 
way  to  the  home  of  his  parents  at  Ellaville,  Georgia,  and 
at  once  began  the  study  of  law.      In    the   year   following 


262  THK  HISTORY  OF 


he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  opened  an  office  in  his 
own  town.  The  young  lawyer  made  his  way  with  great 
rapidity,  and  soon  rope  to  the  top  of  his  profession.  His 
amiabilities  and  complete  self-control,  his  alert  mind  and 
judicial  cast  of  thought,  all  combined  to  bring  him 
quickly  to  the  notice  of  older  members  of  his  profession 
throughout  the  State,  and  to  win  for  him  hosts  of  friends 
among  all  classes  of  the  people.  In  1872  Mr.  Crisp  took 
his  first  step  in  politics.  He  was  appointed  Solicitor- 
General  of  the  Southwestern  Judicial  District,  and  was 
re-appointed  in  1873  for  a  four  years'  term.  The  same 
year  he  went  to  Americns  to  live,  and  in  1S78  he  was  ap- 
pointed Judge  of  the  Superior  Court.  In  the  same  year 
he  was  chosen  by  the  Legislature  for  the  same  office,  and 
in  1SS0  he  was  re-elected  for  a  term  of  four  years.  In 
18S2  he  resigned  to  accept  the  Democratic  nomination  for 
Congress  from  the  Third  District  of  Georgia.  It  was 
then  that  he  came  to  the  attention  of  the  American  peo- 
ple. The  very  same  elements  that  went  to  make  up  his 
success  as  a  lawyer  and  a  member  of  the  judiciary  car- 
ried him  forward  in  politics.  In  1883  he  presided  over 
the  Democratic  State  Convention  in  Georgia,  when  the 
candidate  for  Governor  was  put  in  nomination.  When 
his  first  term  in  Congress  expired,  he  was  nominated  a 
second  time,  then  the  third;  a  fourth  and  a  fifth,  serving 
his  party  faithfully  in  every  Congress  from  the  forty- 
eighth  to  the  fifty-first  inclusive. 

"In  1S90  he  waselectedto  the  fifty-second  Congress, 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  263 


and  it  was  of  that  Congress  that  he  was  chosen  Speaker. 
He  was  re-elected  to  the  fifty-third  Congress,  and  re- 
sumed the  chair  in  that  assembly.  His  district  again  re- 
turned him  to  the  fifty-fourth  Congress.  For  a  long  time 
Judge  Crisp  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  his  duties  as 
a  statesman.  He  found  that  he  could  not  attend  to  both 
his  private  business  and  his  Congressional  work  at  the 
same  time  and  pay  sufficient  attention  to  both,  and  so  he 
abandoned  his  private  affairs,  and  gave  himself  up  wholly 
to  statecraft.  His  first  vote  in  Congress  was  for  Carlisle 
for  Speaker.  But,  although  he  voted  against  Randall, 
that  statesman  recognized  the  Georgian's  ability  and 
sought  him  out.  The  two  became  warm  friends,  but 
Crisp  decided  by  his  voice  his  position  on  the  tariff  ques- 
tion. In  the  forty-ninth  Congress  Mr.  Crisp  was  as- 
signed to  the  Committee  of  Pacific  Roads.  In  the  spring 
of  1886  he  went  on  record  on  the  silver  question.  In 
April  of  that  year  he  spoke  for  the  unlimited  coinage  of 
gold  and  silver,  and  declared  himself  in  favor  of  a  com- 
plete restoration  of  silver  to  the  place  it  occupied  before 
its  demonetization  in  1S73.  During  the  next  Congress 
he  voted  against  the  bill  allowing  the  national  banks  to 
increase  their  circulation;  against  the  organization  of 
Oklahoma;  against  the  admission  of  Montana,  Washing- 
ton and  North  and  South  Dakota.  He  voted  against  the 
pensioning  of  Mrs.  Sheridan;  against  the  refunding  to 
the  States  the  direct  tax  of  1861,  and  in  favor  of  the  re- 
peal of  the  law  taxing  oleomargarine.     Early  in  life  Mr. 


264  THE  HISTORY  OF 


Crisp  married  .Miss  Clara  Burton,  in  honor  of  whose 
sister  Ella  the  town  of  Ellaville  was  named.  Mr.  Crisp 
leaves  a  widow  and  four  children. 

"Governor  Atkinson  heard  the  news  of  Mr.  Crisp's 
death  at  the  executive  office,  and  immediately  ordered 
the  Georgia  flag  lowered  to  half-mast.  He  said:  'Mr. 
Crisp's  death  is  particularly  a  calamity  just  at  this  time. 
He  had  attained  a  position  where  he  was  not  only  one  of 
the  most  valuable  men  in  our  State,  but  was  a  national 
character  of  which  Americans  were  proud.  I  regard  him 
as  the  most  conspicuous  man  now  before  the  nation  of 
all  Southern  men.  His  position  as  Speaker  of  the  House 
had  brought  him  more  prominently  before  the  country 
than  any  other  Southern  man,  and  the  magnificent  ability 
which  he  displayed  in  sustaining  himself  as  a  leader  there 
made  much  impress  upon  the  whole  country — to  such  an 
extent  that  he  was  regarded  everywhere  as  one  of  the 
foremost  men  of  America.  Personally  he  was  one  of  the 
most  lovable  of  men,  and  outside  of  the  loss  to  the  pub- 
lic, his  death  will  be  a  personal  loss  to  thousands  of  his 
fellow  countrymen.  On  the  day  of  his  burial  all  of  the 
offices  of  the  capitol  will  be  closed.' 

"  Ex-Secretary  Hoke  Smith  said:  'I  was  thrown  in 
contact  with  Judge  Crispin  Washington,  and  I  am  deeply 
distressed  at  his  Midden  death.  His  quickness,  calmness 
and  sound  judgment  made  him  the  natural  leader  of  the 
Democratic  House  of  Representatives.  His  kind  and 
gentle  temperament  gave   him  the  love  of  all  who  knew 


H     As 


HON.  C.  F.  CRISP. 
(Page  246.) 


SIGNATURES  ON   MR.  CRISP'S  l'APKKS. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  269 

him.  Although  he  had  filled  the  highest  position  given 
to  a  Georgian  in  the  national  councils  since  the  days  of 
Howell  Cobb,  he  especially  desired  a  seat  in  the  Senate, 
and  his  refusal  to  accept  the  appointment  tendered  him 
by  Governor  Northern  was  the  clearest  proof  of  his  un- 
selfish patriotism.  He  bad  just  fairly  won  before  the 
people  of  Georgia  a  seat  in  the  Senate,  and  in  that  body 
he  would  have  added  to  his  great  national  reputation, 
and  I  regret  sincerely  that  he  has  not  been  spared  to  fill 
it.' 

"Peoria,  111.,  October  23. — William  J.  Bryan  was 
shown  the  dispatch  announcing  the  death  of  Charles  F. 
Crisp  when  he  boarded  the  train  at  Springfield  this  aft- 
ernoon, and  was  deeply  grieved  at  the  death  of  Mr. 
Crisp,  and  said:  '  While  Mr.  Crisp  was  feeble  in  health 
I  had  not  thought  of  his  life  being  in  danger.  His  death 
will  be  a  great  loss  to  the  Democrats  of  the  nation,  be- 
cause he  was  one  of  the  strongest  men  during  my  four 
years  before  the  public,  and  I  feel  his  death  is  a  personal 
loss  tome.'  Mr.  Bryan  immediately  sent  a  dispatch  of 
condolence  to  Mrs.  Crisp,  sympathizing  with  her  dis- 
tress." 

HONOR  ABLE    CHARLES    R.    CRISP. 

A  brief  description  of  Charles  R.  Crisp,  sou  of  Hon- 
orable Charles  Frederick  Crisp,  is  found  in  Herringshaw's 
Encyclopedia  of  American  Biography,  page  264: 

"Charles  R.  Crisp— Lawyer,  legislator,  congressman; 
was  born  Oct.,  19,  1S70,  in  EUaville,  Ga.     He  was  elected 


2;o  THF  HISTORY  OF 


to  the  fifth-fourth  congress,  without  opposition,  to  fill  the 
vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  his  father,  Hon.  Charles 
F.  Crisp.  He  has  attained  success  as  a  lawyer  in  Amer- 
icus,  Ga.,  where  he  is  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of 
Hooper  &  Crisp.  While  in  congress  he  took  an  active 
part  in  debates  on  various  measures  which  affected  the 
welfare  of  his  state;  and  as  a  rising  lawyer  has  already 
attained  eminence  at  the  bar  of  the  south." 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY. 


THE  EPISCOPALIAN  CRISPES. 

We  learned  when  reading  Part  I  of  this  book,  that  of 
the  Sutton  Yallance  branch  of  the  Crispe  family,  that  a 
certain  John  Crispe  had  a  family  of  thirteen  children; 
and  we  noted  that  the  oldest  son,  named  William,  had 
eight  children,  nearly  all  of  whom  emigrated  to  America. 
This  William,  we  remember,  (page  143  of  this  book, 
Part  I),  was  married  to  Miss  Grace  Elizabeth  Goodwyn, 
their  children  being  John  (A),  Charles  (P),  James  (C), 
Priscillia  (D),  Edward  (E),  William  (F),  Thomas  (G), 
Sarah  (II). 

Since  most  of  these  children  came  to  America,  we 
will  describe  them  in  this  part  of  the  book.  We  will 
study  the  careers  of  these  e'ght  children,  completing  each 
child  with  all  its  offspring  as  one  family.  See  page  144 
of  this  book. 

JOHN   CRISPE    (  A  ). 

John  Crispe  (A),  eldest  child  of  William  Crispe  and 
Grace  Elizabeth  Goodwyn,  was  born  in  1S05.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Coville,  and  to  them  were 
born  five  children,  Charles  (a),  James  (b),  Edward  (c), 
William  (d)  and  Priscillia  (e).  John  emigrated  to  the 
United  States  where  he  died  June  6,  1S34. 

Charles  (a);  born  1806;  died  in  England. 

James  (b);  born  1 80S;  died  in  England. 

Edward  (c);  born  1S09;   died  in  England. 


272  THE   HISTORY  OF 


William  (d);  born  1811;  died  in  England. 

Priscillia  (e);  bom  1813;  mairied  to  Dr.  John  Dauby 
Bowles,  in  America,  April  16,  1838;  to  them  were  born 
six  children — Charles  (1),  Hairy  (2),  John  (3),  Elizabeth 
(4),    Frank  (5)  and  Thomas  (6). 

Priscilla  married  a  Mr.  Bowles.  I  am  indebted 
to  Mr.  Harry  Bowles,  of  Harrison,  Ohio,  for  the  major 
portion  of  the  description  of  the  Bowles  family.  He 
eagerly  assisted  in  getting  the  data  in  connection  with 
this  branch  of  the  Crispe  relatives,  and  I  cheerfully  ac- 
cord him  this  notice.  In  addition  to  this  acknowledg- 
ment I  state  that  the  Bowles  family  took  a  deep  interest 
in  "The  History  of  the  Crispe  Family,"  and  donated  to- 
wards its  publication. 

THE    BOWLES    FAMILY. 

"  The  origin  of  the  Bowl' .  s  family,  so  far  as  known 
to  the  writer,  is  as  follows:  The  family  formerly  resided 
at  Cavaubrook,  Kent,  England.  A  widow  with  four  sons 
—  Thomas,  Richard,  Robert  and  Josiah  —  removed  to 
Elderden  Farm  Chart,  near  Sutton  Valance,  Kent.  They 
also  occupied  the  Chancy  Court  farm  adjoining. 

"  The  eldest  son  Thomas  (my  great  grand-father) 
married  Sarah  Boorman;  took  the  Sweeting's  farm  at 
Stapelhurst;  had  three  sous,  Thomas,  Richard  and  Rob- 
ert, and  two  daughters.  Sarah,  a  twin  with  Thomas, 
born  December  11,  1759,  married  Robert  Colgate,  who 
emigrated  about  1792  to  New  York  city.  In  1862  some 
of   the   family   were  living  in  that  city  and  were  wealthy. 


r-~— 


/" 


:i 


i 


• 


—J 


MRS.  J.  I).  BOWLKS. 
(Priscilla  Crispe.) 


1 

V 


1 

s 

V,.. 


'       A 

DR.  J.  I).  BOWLES. 

(Page  278.) 


* 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY 


Their  names,  as  far  as  I  know,  arc  William  Bowles, 
Charles  and  Charlotte.  The  latter  was  horn  January  4, 
1 78 1,  at  Holingburn. 

"Mary,  the  second  daughter,  was  horn  January  4, 
176;,;  married  her  cousin,  William  Boorman,  of  Chantry 
farm,  Headcorn,  January  r,  1783,  and  had  a  large  family. 
"  The  above  account  is  taken  from  the  record  left  by 
Robert  Bowles,  born  in  England  June  1,  179=:  died  in 
1862,  on  the  farm  adjoining  my  father's  —  John  D. 
Bowie?— near  Harrison,  Ohio. 

"It  is  probable  that  Thomas,  the  eldest  sou  of  the 
widow  at  Elderden,  was  hardly  born  earlier  than  1738, 
and  it  is  not  likely  that  the  birth  of  his  mother  would 
have  occurred  before  about  the  year  1720.  This  is  as  far 
as  I  can  trace  the  family  back;  viz:  to  the  widow  with 
four  sons. 

"  All  of  the  Bowles  family  in  this  country,  and 
formerly  in  England,  have  descended  from  Thomas  and 
Richard,  sons  of  the  first  Thomas  Bowies.  The  third 
sou,  Robert,  died  without  issue. 

"Robert  Bowles,  son  of  Richard  and  grand-son  of  the 
elder  Thomas  Bowles,  my  notes  dated  July  17,  1864— say 
is  dead.  He  was  said  to  be  the  last  male  survivor  of  the 
family  in  England,  his  only  brother,  Frederick,  having 
emigrated  to  New  Zealand. 

"The  three  other  sons  of  the  widow   of  Elderden 

died  bachelors. 

"Of  our  immediate  family,  my  father,  John  Dendy 


278  THE  HISTORY  OF 


Bowles,  was  born  at  Chatham,  Kent,  England,  October 
ii,  1S04.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  be  was  apprenticed  to 
his  nncle,  Stephen  Dendy,  a  surgeon  and  apotbecary  of 
Horsham.  At  21  and  22  years  of  age  respectively  be 
passed  examination  at  Apothecaries'  Hall,  London,  and 
became  a  member  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons.  His 
diplomas  bear  the  signatures  of  Dr.  John  Abernethy  and 
Sir  Astley  Cooper.  April  16,  1S3S,  he  married  Pris- 
cillia  Crispe  at  Cincinnati.  The  wedding  tour  to  Eng- 
land was  made  in  the  Great  Western,  the  first  steamship 
that  ever  left  America  for  Europe.  Returning,  he  set- 
tled upon  the  old  homestead  east  of  Han ison,  where  he 
lived  about  forty  years  and  reared  his  family.  Parcticed 
medicine  successfully  for  about  twenty  years.  Retired 
from  practice  in  1S5S.  In  1S7S  removed  to  Harrison, 
Ohio,  where  he  resided  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
May  18,  1897.  He  was  aged  92  years,  7  mouths  and  7 
days,  having  lived  twenty-two  years  beyond  the  period 
alloted  to  man. 

"Six  children  were  the  issue  of  the  marriage  to 
Priscillia  Crispe. 

"The  first  son,  Charles  (i),was  born  October  5, 
1839;  died  August  20,  1840. 

"Harry  (2);  born  July  14,  1S41;  attended  school  at 
Teacher's  Institute  at  Harrison  in  185S-9;  also  Fanner's 
College,  near  Cincinnati,  in  1857,  and  also  in  i860;  mar- 
ried May  2,  1866,  to  Jane  Simons,  aged  20  years,  who 
graduated  in  1864  at  the  Oxford  Female  College,  in  But- 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  279 


ler  county,  Ohio;  in  1S67  settled  upon  a  farm  of  100 
acres  four  miles  south  of  Harrison,  and  I  have  resided  there 
to  the  time  of  this  writing;  have  one  son,  Charles  Dendy 
Bowles;  born  February  12,  1874.  Am  very  pleasantly 
and  comfortably  situated  with  my  wife  and  son,  both 
living,  and  I  am  60  years  old. 

"John  (3);  born  April  25,  1844;  died  January  12, 
1863. 

"  Elizabeth  (4);  the  only  daughter;  unmarried;  was 
born  January  19,  1847;  named  after  my  grand-mother, 
Elizabeth  Coville,  who  married  William  Crispe;  gradu- 
ated at  the  Ohio  Female  College,  near  Cincinnati,  in 
1S67;  taught  school  until  about  1878;  after  that  time  for 
about  twenty  years  was  devoted  to  the  care  of  her  aged 
parents  until  the  time  of  their  death;  now  resides  with 
her  brother  Frank,  in  Harrison,  since  the  death  of  his 
wife.  Sarah  Gar.side  Bowles,  which  occurred  in  July. 
1897. 

"  Frank  Bowles,  fifth  son,  born  December  22,  1849; 
attended  school  at  Farmer's  College  and  Lebanon,  Ohio; 
lived  at  the  old  homestead  after  his  marriage  in  1S77. 
In  his  younger  days  was  a  farmer,  later  a  surveyor,  and 
since  February,  1886,  has  been  engaged  in  business  as  a 
private  banker.  Has  one  son,  Walter  Crispe  Bowles, 
about  twenty  years  of  age,  and  named  after  his  grand- 
mother's family.  Frank  had  also  one  daughter,  Jennie 
Garside,  who  died  in  infancy.  The  second  marriage  of 
Frank  Bowles,    President  of  the  Citizens'   Bank  of  Har- 


2S0  THE  HISTORY  OF 


rison,  to  Mrs.  Ara  Belle  Wilcox,  of  Lexington,  Kentucky, 
occurred  at  Christ  Episcopal  Church,  in  that  city,  Novem- 
ber 29,  1899.  After  spending  the  winter  following  in 
California,  they  returned  to  Harrison,  remodeled  his 
former  residence  and  then  settled  down  to  a  life  of  ele- 
gant comfort. 

"Dr.  Thomas  Bowles  writes  as  follows: 
"  'Thomas  Bowles,  _M.  I),,  was  born  May  11;  1S52, 
and  am  the  youngest  of  the  family.  Priscillia  Crispe 
was  my  mother.  My  early  life  was  spent  at  home.  Was 
educated  in  the  common  branches  by  my  father,  Dr.  John 
D.  Bowles,  at  home,  and  not  in  the  common  schools.  At 
twenty  I  began  teaching  school,  following  that  occupa- 
tion for  five  years.  Was  married  to  Emma  Slete.  of  Har- 
rison, Ohio,  in  1873.  We  have  two  daughters,  one, 
Florence,  now  Mrs.  E.  D.  McCafferty,  of  Sharpburg, 
Pennsylvania.  They  have  two  children,  Thomas  Bowles 
McCafferty,  three  and  a  half  years  old,  and  baby  Ruth, 
born  March  4,  1901,  eight  mouths  old.  Our  other 
daughter,  Bessie,  is  unmarried,  and  lives  at  home;  is 
now  22  years  of  age. 

"  'In  18S7  we  purchased  the  old  homestead  of  Robert 
Bowles,  a  cousin  of  my  father's:  a  farm  of  212  acres, 
two  and  a  half  miles  east  of  Harrison,  Ohio.  We  re- 
sided there  till  the  fall  of  1S91,  when  we  moved  to  Har- 
rison, renting  our  farm  for  cash  rent.  I  entered  the  Cin- 
cinnati Electric  Medical  Institute  in  the  fall  of  1S96; 
graduated   on   May    10,    189S,  and   have  been  engaged  in 


i        j  • ,:  ~    -     . '      '■ 


FOKSHAM   FARM. 


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THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  285 

in  the  practice  of  medicine  ever  since.  I  soon  gained  an 
extensive  practice  and  have  all  the  business  I  can  look 
after.' 

"The  family  of  Richard  Bowles,  my  father's  brother, 
and  Robert,  his  cousin,  are  for  the  most  part  in  this 
country,  and  part  of  them  are  in  the  vicinity  of  Harri- 
son, Ohio.  The  family  of  William  Bowles,  also  father's 
cousin,  who  lived  in  Kentucky  as  late,  I  think,  as  about 
i860,  I  have  for  the  present  lost  track  of. 

"  Harry  Bowles." 

CHARLES    CRISPE    (b). 
Charles  Crispe  (B);  born  1807;  was  married  but  left 
no  issue;  died  in  England  and   buried  in  Sutton  Valance. 
See  page  143  of  this  book. 

JAMES    CRISPE    (C). 

James  Crispe  (C);  bcrn  in  Sutton  Valance,  Septem- 
ber 16,  1809.  He  received  a  good  education,  and  when 
a  young  man  became  (1834)  a  fanner  at  Mount  Pleasant 
Farm,  where  he  farmed  for  a  period  of  fifteen  years. 
He  was  married  to  Miss  Maggie  Pendergrast  in  1831, 
and  their  children  were:  James  fa),  Sarah  (b),  Maggie 
<c);  Charles  (d),  Mary  (e),  Charles  (f),  William  (g),  John 
(h),  Elizabeth  (i),  Priscillia  (j).  In  1849  he  left  the  faim 
and  opened  a  malt  house  at  Sutton  Valance.  Here  he 
continued  until  1850  when  he  moved  to  Gravesend, 
Kent,  and  worked  as  an  employe  in  Plain's  brewery.  In 
1858  his  son,  Charles  (f),  being  very  ill,  his  medical  ad- 
visers directed  that  a  change  of  climate  be  granted,  and 


2S6  THK  HISTORY  OF 


James  decided  to  emigrate  to  America  to  save  the  lift  of 
his  son.  On  May  i,  18-58,  he  and  his  entire  family  set 
sail  in  the  sailing  boat  Tapseott,  and  after  a  journey  of 
sixty-four  days  they  arrived  at  New  York  on  July  4th. 
From  here  they  sailed  to  Detroit,  Michigan;  from  there 
to  Kalamazoo— to  Plainwell.  In  Plaimvell  he  purchased 
a  farm  at  Almo,  of  forty  acres.  In  1S7S  he  went  back 
to  visit  the  folks  at  Sutton  Valance,  and  returned  to 
America  in  March  1879.  In  the  fall  of  '79  he  and  wife 
again  crossed  the  ocean  for  England,  and  remained  about 
four  years  in  search  of  the  property  rights  of  his  aunt, 
Mrs.  Sophia  Wilkins.  He  crossed  the  sea  seven  times, 
and  on  his  last  visit  to  England  he  died  at  Sutton  Val- 
ance December  27,  1S90.  His  wife  died  April  9,  iSyi  — 
she  was  S2  years  old.  James  was  a  very  determined 
man,  and  weighed  175  pounds.  When  a  young  man  he 
belonged  to  the  home  guard  at  Sutton  Valance.  He  was 
a  calveryman  of  the  home  guard  and  served  in  this  capa- 
city about  eighteen  years.      He  had  ten  children: 

James  (a);  died  when  19  years  old;  buried  at  Sutton 
Valance. 

Sarah  (b);  married  Mr.  Charles  Adams;  they  had 
three  children— Mary  (i),  Sarah  (2),  Charles  (3). 

Mary  (1);  married  Mr.  J.  Dodds;  their  children  are 
William,  Earnest  and  Roy. 

Sarah  (2);  no  particulars. 

Charles  (3);  married;  no  further  particulars. 

Maggie  (c);  married  a   Mr.  Calvert,    first    husband: 


THE  CRTSPK  FAMILY 


children — Warren  (i),  Flora  (2),  Thomas  (3). 

Warren  (1);  died  when  three  years  old. 

Flora  (2);  married  to  Mr.  Charles  Smith  first  hus- 
band, and  Frank  Smith,  second  husband. 

Thomas  (3);  married;   no  issue. 

Maggie's  second  husband  was  Mr.  E.  Farwell,  and 
to  them  were  born  two  children — John  (4),  Julia  (5). 

John  (4);  married  Miss  Golden;  they  have  three 
childred — Clarence,  James  and  Laura. 

Julia  (5);  still  lives  at  Plainwell,  Michigan. 

Charles  (d);  died  when  a  baby. 

Mary  (e);  married  Mr.  Forkquett,  first  husband;  no 
issue;  she  married   Mr.  Carr,  second   husband;  no   issue. 

Charles  (f);   single. 

William  Clement  Crispe  (g);  was  born  on  the  rjth  of 
February,  1842,  in  Sutton  Valance,  Kent,  England;  went 
to  school  at  Gravesend,  and  continued  there  until  he  was 
fifteen  years  of  age;  after  leaving  school  he  occupied  his 
time  farming;  emigrated  to  America  in  1S58,  and  settled 
at  Plainwell,  Michigan,  where  he  assisted  on  his  father's 
estate;  he  was  married  January  21,  1S72,  to  Miss  Sussie 
Sager,  of  Whalen,  Allegan  county,  Michigan;  they  have 
no  children,  and  at  present  are  living  on  their  farm  at 
Bradley,  Michigan. 

John  (h);  married  Emaline  Emery;  no  issue. 

Elizabeth  (i);  married  Mr.  R.  Nelson;  no  issue. 

Priscillia  (j);  married  Mr.  William  Adams;  no  issue. 

For  the  particulars  of  Mr.  James  Crispe  (C)   and   his 


2SS  THE   HISTORY  OF 


ten  children  I  am  indebted  to  Mrs.  Piiscillia  Crispe- 
Adams.  She  also  supplied  me  with  a  picture  of  Mount 
Pleasant  Manor,  and  took  a  deep  interest  in  this  work. 
She  died  a  few  years  ago,  and  is  buried  at  the  Plainwell 
cemetery,  Michigan. 

PKISC1LLIA    CKISPE    (D). 

Priscillia  Crispe  (D),  fourth  child  of  William  Crispe 
and  Grace  Elizabeth  Goodwyu,  was  born  at  Sutton  Val- 
ance, England.  She  was  married  to  Mr.  William  Smith, 
of  Folkstone,  England.  To  them  were  born  three  child- 
ren— William  (a)'  John  (b)  and  Charles  (c).  This  entire 
family  remained  in  England.  See  page  144  of  this  book. 
EDWARD   CRISPE    (E). 

Edward  Crispe  (E),  fifth  child  of  William  Crispe  and 
Grace  Elizabeth  Goodwyn.  The  major  portion  of  the 
Crispe  people  in  America  are  especially  interested  in  this 
Edward  Crispe,  because  he  is  the  immediate  grand  rela- 
tive of  a  large  offspring  of  Crispes  in  the  United  States. 
Introductory  remarks  of  him  can  be  seen  on  page  144  of 
this  book.  Born  May  1,  1802;  by  occupation  a  miller, 
baker  and  farmer.  Married  Miss  Elizabeth  Munn  in 
1827.  Owned  Forsham  Farm,  Sutton  Valance.  On 
February  17,  1S52,  he  and  his  entire  family  of  nine 
children  set  sail  for  America— the  particulars  of  which 
will  be  given  when  describing  the  oldest  child,  Edward. 
He  lived  at  Plainwell,  Michigan,  the  greater  part  of  the 
time,  and  after  rearing  a  large  and  devoted  family,  he 
died  August  21,  18SS,  aged   86  vears.      Tie  lies  buried  at 


Q 


* 


MRS.  E.  T.  CRISPE 
(Emma   Bassettj 


V     gySs            1 

f 

.--'■ 

2i 

MR 

.  E.  T.  CRISPE. 
(Page  294.) 

THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  293 


Plainwell,  Michigan.  He  was  a  man  of  unusual  deter- 
mination. He  was  exceedingly  particular,  and  his  repu- 
tation for  being  straightforward  and  honest  is  typical  of 
the  Crispe  character.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  re- 
tired from  milling,  the  occupation  he  followed  for  a  gen- 
eration 

It  is  of  concern  to  the  Crispe  people  to  know  some- 
thing of  the  wife  of  Edward.  Her  name  was  Elizabeth. 
The  Munns  were  of  Saxon  extraction.  Her  father  was 
Thomas  Munn,  who  married  Mary  Wise,  and  to  them 
were  born  twelve  children,  as  follows:  Thomas  (1); 
William  (2),  Henry  (3),  John  (4),  George  (5),  Mary  (6)', 
Elizabeth  (7),  Rebecca  (8),  Jeremiah  (9),  Jeremiah  '10), 
Hannah  (11),  Charles  (12).  These  children  married  and 
reared  large  families,  as  follows: 

Thomas  (1);  married  Miss  Craduck;  children — Mary 
George.  Elizabeth,  Thomas,  Charles,  Edward,  Marrella. 
Hannah,  Fanny  and  Grace. 

William  (2);  married  Miss  Wakefield;  they  had  four 
children;  no  further  particulars. 

Henry  (3);  married  Miss  Lilly  white;  children — Har- 
riett, Henry,  Jemma,  James,  Lucy  and  Ethelender. 

John  (4);  married  Betsey   Young. 

George  (5);  married  Mary  Sawart;  children — Mary 
William,  George,  Anna  and  Ely. 

Mary  (6);  married  Mr.  Homewood;  children — Eliza, 
I?aac,  George,  Grace,  Fanny,  Ely,  and  a  few  others. 

Elizabeth    (7);    married  Edward  Crispe;  children — 


294  THE  HISTORY  OF 


Edward,  Grace,  William,  Priscillin,  John,  Anna,  Alice 
and  Emma. 

Rebecca  (S);  married  Stephen  Crouch;  children — 
Hannah,  Charles,  Rebecca,  Alfred  and  Albert. 

Jeremiah  (9);  died  young. 

Jeremiah  (  ro);  died  young. 

Hannah  (n  );  married  James  Honeysett;  children — 
Eliza,  James,  Elizabeth,  George,  John,  Emma,  Albert. 

Charles  (12);  married;  had  a  child  named  John. 

The  Crispe  people  are  more  especially  interested  in 
Elizabeth  Munn,  who  married  Edward  Crispe,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch.  Elizabeth  Munn-Crispe  was  a  gen- 
erous and  pious  woman.  She  was  concerned  mostly  in 
the  welfare  of  ht-r  own  family,  and  as  a  housekeeper  she 
graced  womankind.  She  was  well  educated.  She  was 
born  at  Bredhurst,  England,  on  February  23,  1805.  She 
was  a  most  devoted  mother,  and  when  her  daughter  Alice 
died,  she  grieved  so  deeply  that  it  caused  her  own  death  on 
January  8,  1885.     She  lies  buried  at  Plainwell,  Michigan. 

To  Edward  Crispe  and  Elizabeth  Munn  were  born 
eight  children,  as  follows:  Edward  (a),  Grace  (b), 
William  (c),  Priscillia  (d),  John  (e),  Anna  (f)„  Alice  (g), 
Emma  (h). 

EDWARD   THOMAS    CRISPE  (a). 

Edward  Thomas  Crispe,  the  eldest  son  of  Edward 
Crispe  and  Elizabeth  Munn,  was  born  in  New  Haven, 
Sussex  county,  England,  July  17,  1S29,  and  baptized  at 
Headcotn  church,    Kent.     At  the   early  age  of  four,  his 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  295 

parents  moved  to  Sutton  Valance,  Kent,  into  the  For- 
shani  Farm.  His  early  education  he  received  at  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Sutton.  In  his  youth  he  labored  011  the 
Forsham  Farm,  and  at  the  age  of  23,  on  February  11, 
1S52,  was  married  to  Miss  Emma  Bassett,  of  East  Peck- 
ham.  On  the  following  day,  he  and  his  wife,  in  com- 
pany with  his  parents,  set  sail  from  London  on  the 
"American  Eagle"  for  America.  After  a  voyage  of  four 
weeks  and  six  days,  they  landed  at  New  York.  From 
there  they  went  to  Albany,  Buffalo,  Erie  and  to  Cleveland, 
where  they  settled.  Here  Mr.  Crispe  worked  in  the 
lumber  company  for  Dr.  Everett,  where  he  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  hauling  the  lumber  for  the  first  State  fair  ever  held. 
In  1854  he  and  his  wife  came  to  Plaiuwell,  Michigan, 
where  they  took  up  eighty  acres  of  government  land,  and 
worked  several  farms  iu  the  vicinity  of  Plainwell.  The 
Martin  farm  was  well  stocked  and  in  the  best  possible 
condition. 

In  1882,  he  and  family  came  to  Chicago,  where  he 
became  a  partner,  running  and  managing  the  Garden  City 
hotel.  In  1S93  he  went  to  Plainwell  and  settled  on  a 
fruit  farm  on  the  borders  of  the  village,  where  he  still 
lives  in  a  well  and  comfortably  furnished  home. 

Mr.  Crispe  has  the  reputation  of  being  a  practical 
farmer  and  a  judge  of  stock.  He  is  well  known  in  the 
vicinity  as  a  man  of  sound  opinion  on  affairs  that  relate 
to  matters  pertaining  to  the  tiller's  art.  He  is  especially 
esteemed  for  his  honest  business  principles,  and  the  pro- 


296  the  history  of 


ducts  of  his  fruit  farm  need   but  the  stamp  of  his  appro- 
val, and  in  the  market  no  further  inquiry  is  necessary. 

He  has  the  benign  element  of  liberality  in  his  make- 
up, and  possibly  a  stricter  accounting  would  have  been  a 
blessing  to  himself  and  wife;  but  if  they  have  suffered 
from  a  tendency  of  ultra-charitable  dispositions,  they 
certainly  have  reaped'  the  enjoyment  which  must  come 
from  the  saying,  "'It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  re- 
ceive." Mr.  Crispe  has  taken  deep  interest  in  the  wel- 
fare of  his  family,  and  rendered  such  assistance  as  he 
could  afford,  exacting  from  his  children  only  such  results 
as  would  reflect  creditably  on  the  good  name  of  Crispe. 
He  and  his  devoted  wife  have  expressed  their  appre- 
ciation of  the  "History  of  the  Crispe  Family"  in  a  liberal 
donation.  To  them  belongs  the  credit  of  having  lent 
much  encouragement  to  its  author  in  the  form  of  securing 
facts,  data  and  information  on  the  Crispe  family  of  the 
past  generation.  It  is  proper  that  in  this  sketch  of  him- 
self and  wife  that  a  grateful  tribute  be  conferred  on  them 
for  this  devotion  to  the  task  in  hand.  He  seemed  es- 
pecially interested,  and  fortunately  possessed  such  facts 
as  no  other  one  of  the  family  could  impart. 

Mr.  Crispe's  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  Bassett  impells 
us  to  incorporate  in  this  sketch  an  account  of  this  good 
family: 

The  Bassett  family  inhabited  the  County  of  Kent, 
England,  and  their  homestead  was  at  West  Peckham. 
George    Bassett.  the  grand-father  of  Mrs.  E.   T.   Crispe, 


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MR.  AND  MRS.  K.  C.  CRISPK 
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MR.  AND   MRS.  \V.   DELANO. 
(Page  302.) 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY. 


was  born  at  West  Peckham,  England,  about  the  year 
1774.  He  had  a  common  school  education.  He  was  a 
man  of  medium  size,  and  possessed  an  agreeable  disposi- 
tion. His  wife  was  of  a  slender  statue.  He  died  in  1843. 
His  wife  was  64  years  old  when  she  died.  They  had  six 
children — Richard,  Calab,  George,  Isabella,  Martha  and 
Mary.  Of  these  children  George  was  the  father  of  Mrs. 
K.  T,  Crispe;  he  was  born  at  West  Peckham  in  1802;  he 
was  a  farmer  by  ocenpation,  and  when  about  twenty 
years  old  married  Miss  Mary  Stone,  and  they  resided  at 
East  Peckham,  England.  At  the  age  of  fifty-five  he  be- 
came totally  blind.  He  was  five  feet,  seven  inches  tall, 
and  weighed  about  150  pounds;  he  was  a  great  lover  of 
music,  and  was  constantly  heard  whistling.  In  business 
affairs  he  was  unusually  strict,  and  of  a  rather  retired 
nature.  His  wife,  Miss  Stone,  was  of  Yalding,  Kent, 
England;  she  was  born  in  1792,  and  in  182S  married 
George  Bassett;  she  died  in  1S72,  and  was  buried  in  Tun- 
bridge,  Kent.  She  was  retired  in  disposition,  and  very 
industrious..  The  appearance  of  her  home  was  her  daily 
concern;  and  she  was  exceedingly  neat  and  tidy  in  all  she 
executed.  She  loved  her  children  devotedly,  and  this 
affection  bordered  on  worship.  These  parents  were 
blessed  with  a  family  of  five  children — Mary,  born  1S29; 
Emma,  born  1831;  Caroline,  born  1S33;  Julia,  born  1836; 
and  Martha,  born  1S39.  Of  these,  Mary  died  single; 
Julia  was  married  to  Mr.  Calab  Bell,  and  their  children 
are:  George,    Calab,    Arthur,   Emma,    Ella,   Herald  and 


> 


THK  HISTORY  OF 


Alfred;  Emma  married  Mr.  E.  T.  Crispe;  Martha  mar- 
ried Dr.  Maughn,  no  issue;  Caroline  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-eight. 

Miss  Emma  Bassett,  who  married  Mr.  E.  T.  Crispe, 
is  of  special  interest.  She  was  born  at  East  Peckham, 
England;  was  married  on  February  n,  1852,  and  emi- 
grated with  her  husband  to  America,  where  her  career 
complements  that  of  her  husband.  She  has  inherited 
from  her  mother  the  great  love  of  systematic  housewifery, 
and  her  industrious  figure  is  constantly  striving  to  keep 
her  home  in  neatest  appearance.  Her  accomplishment 
in  the  art  of  cooking  is  known  to  all  who  have  had  the 
pleasure  of  her  prandial  preparations.  The  congenial  dis- 
position of  which  she  is  possessed  has  been  an  element 
in  her  nature  which  has  characterized  her  through  life, 
Their  children  are — Mary  Stone  (a),  Edward  Case  (b), 
Julia  Emma  (c),  William  Ploward  (d),  John  Leonard 
(e),  and  Abie  Needham  (f). 

MARY  STONE  CRISPE  (a). 
Mary  Stone  Crispe  (a)  is  the  first  child  of  E.  T. 
Crispe  and  Emma  Bassett;  was  born  in  the  city  of  Cleve- 
land, October  6,  1852.  From  here  she  moved  with  her 
parents  to  Plain  well,  Michigan.  In  the  fall  of  1857  she 
began  to  attend  the  Plaiuwell  public  school,  and  in  1870 
she  finished  her  course  at  the  school  and  subsequently  at- 
tended the  Plain  well  high  school  for  two  years.  In  1S72, 
desirious  of  serving  in  the  capacity  of  teacher,  she  took 
the  county  examination  for  teacher,  and  having  passed  a 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  303 


satisfactory  examination,  was  granted  a  third  grade  cer- 
tificate. She  was  engaged  as  a  teacher  in  the  Silver 
Creek  school,  Kalamazoo  county,  and  received  $3- 50  per 
week,  inclusive  of  her  board,  for  a  period  of  five  months. 
The  next  year  she  taught  at  Gum  Plains  Center  at  56 
per  week  and  board  for  four  mouths.  On  May  8,  1S76, 
she  was  married  to  Mr.  Delano,  at  the  Baptist  church, 
Kalamazoo.  She  has  reared  three  loving  children,  and 
is  a  devoted  mother.  Her  husband,  William  Delano,  the 
first  son  of  John  S.  Delano  and  Phoebe  Nash,  was  born 
the  4th  day  of  May,  1857,  at  Plainwell,  Michigan.  At 
the  age  of  seven  he  began  to  attend  the  Gum  Plains 
Center  district  school,  and  in  1S69,  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 
he  completed  the  primary  course  of  study.  During  this 
period  he  assisted  in  the  farming  of  his  father's  large 
farm— 240  acres.  He  was  eager  to  obtain  a  good  educa- 
tion, and  with  his  spanngs  entered  the  Otsego  high 
school,  where  he  attended  for  upwards  of  three  years. 
In  the  spring  of  1S72  his  father  rewarded  him  for  his 
youthful  industry  by  presenting  to  him  forty  acres  of 
dense  forest.  Young  William  set  out  with  vigilance  to 
clear  away  the  trees.  In  less  than  five  years  he  had  all 
the  timber  cut  off  and  the  land  fit  for  the  plow.  After 
having  prepared  the  land  so  it  would  yield  sufficient  prov- 
ender for  two  people,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Stone  Crispe 
in  the  spring  of  1S76.  His  love  for  work,  and  his  natural 
great  energies,  soon  found  insufficient  employment  on  the 
forty   acres,    and  he   yearly  rented   from    forty  to  eighty 


3o4  THE  HISTORY  OF 


acres  of  neighboring  land,  and  toiled  with  eager  hands 
to  found  sufficient  wealth  to  insure  a  comfortable  living. 
To  these  parents  were  born  three  children — Raymond 
W.,  born  June  23,  1 S 7 7 ;  Bernice  M.,  born  February  14, 
1882;  Richard  C,  born  August  15,  1SS7.  Mr.  Delano  is 
the  immediate  offspring  of  the  pioneers  of  his  portion  of 
Michigan;  he  is  a  great  lover  of  children,  and  proposes 
that  his  children  shall  receive  a  good  education.  His 
three  children  attend  the  Plainwell  high  school,  and  their 
daughter,  Bernice,  a  bright  and  promising  young  lady, 
after  teaching  a  term  of  school,  took  a  special  teacher's 
training  course  at  the  Northern  Indiana  Normal  school. 
She  is  at  present  teaching  in  the  town  of  Plainwell, 
Michigan. 

KDWARD    CASK    CRISPK    (b). 

Kdward  Case  Crispe  (b)  was  born  near  Plainwell, 
Michigan,  on  June  12,  1855;  lived  with  his  parents  and 
helped  on  the  farm  until  at  the  age  of  23;  then  entered 
Ive's  Handle  Factory;  two  years  later  he  was  married  to 
Addie  D.  Hunt,  on  August  2S,  18S0.  He  continued 
working  in  the  same  factory  for  seven  years;  was  offered 
the  foremanship  several  times,  but  would  not  accept, 
owing  to  failing  health,  and  taking  the  advice  of  his 
physician  to  be  out  in  the  open  air  and  sun,  rented  a 
farm  on  Gum  Plains,  Michigan,  for  five  years,  then 
moved  to  Bowen's  Mills,  Michigan,  where  he  ha?  a  well 
equipped  farm.  He  is  a  careful  and  pains-taking  tiller 
of  the  soil,  and  his  thrifty  spirit,  coupled  with  his  great 


,"         7 


MR.  W.  H.  CRISPE 
(Page  3:1,1 


**VJ        rV>  J, 


MRS.  W.  H.  CRISPE. 

(Nellie   Keating) 


. 

i 

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V 

." 

A 

L... 


MRS.  J.  N.  COOLKV. 
'  Julia  Crispe.) 


i     . 


• 


MR.  J.  N.  COOl.KV, 
(Page    3og.i 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  309 


love  of  order  and  precision,  places  him  fortnost  as  a 
farmer  of  his  section  of  the  State,  lie  has  been  emin- 
ently successful  in  this  field  of  labor,  and  his  products, 
as  well  as  cattle  and  stock,  are  as  pood  as  the  section  pos- 
sesses. His  upright  methods  of  business  has  won  for 
him  the  esteem  of.  all  who  have  the  pleasure  of  his  ac- 
quaintance. 

His  wife,  Addie  D.  Hunt,  youngest  child  and  only 
daughter  of  William  and  Phedora  Hunt,  was  born  Sep- 
tember 1,  1S61,  their  home  then  being  near  Plainwell — 
two  miles  north,  and  a  quarter  of  a  mile  east.  She  spent 
her  girlhood  there,  and  entered  the  Plainwell  high  school 
at  the  age  of  13,  and  was  kept  there  for  three  years.  In 
the  meantime  her  parents  sold  the  home  there  and  bought 
the  one  they  now  occupy  near  Bowen's  Mills,  Barry 
county,  Michigan.  She  commenced  the  study  of  music 
at  the  age  of  8;  was  married  at  the  age  of  19  to  Kdward 
C.  Crispe,  in  Middleville,  Michigan,  by  I.  B.  Tallman, 
pastor  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  She  is  of  a  progressive  dis- 
position, and  has  by  studious  efforts  accomplished  many 
of  the  arts  which  go  to  make  a  home  happy.  Her  needle 
work  is  known  throughout  the  county,  and  at  County 
fairs  she  has  always  been  among  the  prize  winners. 
These  people  unfortunately  have  not  been  blessed  with 
children,  though  they  both  idolize  little  folks. 

JULIA    EMMA    CRISPE    (c). 

Mrs.  J.  X.  Cooley,  nee  Julia  Emma  Crispe  (c)  was 
born  in  Allegan  county,  Michigan,  October  8,  1859.    She 


THIS  HISTORY  OF 


acquired  a  common  school  education,  In  her  early  life 
she  entertained  the  ambition  of  becoming  a  trained  nurse, 
and  so  entered  the  hospital  at  Kalamazoo,  Michigan; 
later  she  was  on  the  staff  of  nurses  at  Wauwatosa,  Wis- 
consin. It  was  while  here  that  she  first  met  Mr.  James 
N.  Cooley,  her  husband.  Julia  was  married  to  Mr. 
Cooley  on  June  23,  1882.  They  lived  at  Appleton,  Wis- 
cousin,  for  some  little  time,  and  then  moved  to  Meno- 
monee,  Michigan,  and  later  to  Detroit.  Michigan.  From 
here  they  moved  to  Eowdle,  South  Dakota.  Her  hus- 
band, Mr.  James  N.  Cooley,  the  son  of  a  minister  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  received  a  good  education  - 
and  in  his  early  career  was  a  book-keeper  for  a  large  lum, 
ber company  at  Appleton,  Wisconsin.  While  they  lived 
at  Menomonce,  Wisconsin,  Mr.  Cooley  was  the  proprietor 
of  a  grocery  store.  In  Bowdle,  South  Dakota,  he  did  a 
splendid  business  in  furniture,  and  at  present  is  one  of 
progressive  business  men  of  that  town.  Both  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Cooley  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  are  active  in  the  church  work.  They  have 
a  family  of  three  children— Clayton  D.  Cooley,  born  in 
Menomonee,  Michigan,  March  27,  1884;  Herald  J.  Cool- 
ey, born  at  Bowdle,  South  Dakota,  December  19,  1S91; 
Charles  D.  Cooley,  the  youngest,  born  at  Bowdle,  South 
Dakota,  March  29,  1S94. 

In  1893,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cooley  visited  the  Columbian 
World's  Fair,  and  they  spent  several  weeks  visiting  their 
relatives  in    Chicago  and   vicinity.      Mrs.   Coolev    has   a 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  311 


taste  for  the  artistic,  and  busies  herself  with  fancy  work. 
In  her  days  of  youth  she  took  to  oil  work,  and  her  paint- 
ings gave  evidence  of  talent  in  that  direction.  Her  hus- 
band is  a  liberal-minded  gentleman,  and  has  the  confi- 
dence of  all  men  who  believe  in  strict  business  methods. 
WILLIAM    HOWARD    CRISPE    (d). 

William  Howard  Crispe  (d)  was  born  at  Almo, 
Michigan,  on  June  5,  i860;  he  received  a  common  school 
education,  and  in  his  younger  days  assisted  his  father  on 
the  farm.  In  1885  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Chicago, 
and  became  the  night  clerk  in  the  Garden  City  hotel. 
After  serving  in  this  capacity  a  few  years,  he  went  back 
to  Plaiuwell,  Michigan,  where  he  assisted  on  the  farm  of 
his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Delano.  He  returned  to  Chicago 
shortly  after,  and  became  an  employe  of  the  Norton  Tin 
Can  Factory,  and  remained  with  this  firm  for  a  period  of 
two  years.  On  June  5,  18S7,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Nellie  Keating.  His  wife  was  born  at  Warsaw,  Wiscon- 
son,  on  September  2,  1865.  Mr.  William  Crispe,  after 
leaving  the  Norton  firm,  employed  his  time  in  learning 
the  trade  of  painter  and  paper  hanger.  He  is  at  present 
in  this  line  of  business,  and  has  attained  good  results  in 
this  field  of  labor,  having  had  the  fortune  of  getting  jobs 
of  a  particular  nature.  He  has  been  employed  on  many  of 
the  decorating  crews  of  the  leading  theatres  and  business 
blocks  in  Chicago.  His  wife,  Miss  Nellie  Keating,  re- 
ceived a  common  school  education  in  Northern  Wiscon- 
sin, where  she  was  reared  on  her  parent's  farm.     When 


312  THE   HISTORY  OF 


a  young  lady  she  came  to  Chicago;  and  was  married  to 
Mr.  William  Crispe.  To  these  parents  were  born  five 
children— all  of  whom  were  born  in  Chicago— as  follows: 
George  Howard,  born  October  30,  1890;  William  Keat- 
ing, born  September  5,  1892;  Edward  Thomas,  born  June 
2>  *895;  John  Kennard,  born  November  7,  1897;  Grace, 
born  September  28,  1900. 

JOHN    LEOXAKD    CRISPE    (e). 

John  Leonard  Crispe  (e)  was  born  at  Abno,  Michi- 
gan, on  April  19,  1864.  He  acquired  a  good  common 
school  education  in  the  town  of  Plaiuwell,  Michigan. 
His  early  life  was  spent  on  his  father's  farm,  and  he  re- 
mained at  home  until  he  was  21  years  old,  when  became 
to  Chicago  and  assisted  at  the  Garden  City  hotel,  which 
at  this  time  was  in  the  hands  of  his  father.  While  at 
Chicago  his  ambition  lead  him  to  take  a  course  at  the 
Metropolitan  Business  College,  and  after  completing  the 
prescribed  course  he  was  employed  by  the  Adams  Ex- 
press Company,  but  illness  prevented  his  accepting  the 
position  offered.  His  health  required  less  confining 
work,  and  so  he  returned  to  Michigan  and  occupied  his 
time  in  farming.  He  has  striven  to  accomplish  good  re- 
sults as  a  clerk  in  hotels,  and  his  reputation  for  rendering 
every  possible  service  in  this  capacity  is  well  estab- 
lished in  Southeastern  Michigan.  He  is  a  strong,  robust 
young  man,  and  is  a  pains-taking  and  earnest  business 
man.  The  Crispe  family  trait  "  of  a  love  for  business 
rectitude  and   systematic  order"    is   well  exemplified   in 


l-.-r-  ■    .     -.,   •       --  _   ...     .,.,,.     - 


■'■-7 


S 

^ 


JOHN  L.  CRISPK. 
(Page  312.) 


KATHARINE  CRISP E 
(Page  341.) 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY. 


him.  He  is  a  splendid  specimen  of  physical  manhood, 
and  his  prowess  has  on  several  occasions  been  called  into 
action  when  it  came  to  preserving  "peace,  law  and 
order."  He  is  the  popular  clerk  in  his  part  of  Michigan, 
and  as  an  entertaining  conversationalist  has  established  a 
good  reputation.  He  is  at  present  with  the  leading 
house  at  Hastings.  Michigan.  John  Crispe  was  among 
those  who  liberally  contributed  towards  this  publication, 
and  he  rendered  me  much  service  in  determining  the  rec- 
ords of  the  Crispe  family  of  Michigan. 

ALICK  NKEDIIAM  CRISPE  (f>. 
Mrs.  Dr.  K.  J,  Cigrand,  nee  Alice  Xeedham  Crispe, 
(f)  was  born  at  Gum  Plains,  Allegan  county,  Michigan, 
on  August  i,  1 87 1.  She  attended  the  public  schools  at 
Gum  Plains  and  at  Martin,  and  in  1  .S85,  when  her  par- 
ents sold  their  farm  at  Martin,  Michigan,  she  came  with 
them  to  Chicago,  where  her  parents  took  possession  of  the 
Garden  City  hotel.  While  at  the  hotel  Alice  took  a 
special  course  at  St,  Xavier's  Academy,  and  in  addition 
to  her  studies  pursued  a  course  iu  music;  her  progress  in 
the  latter  was  gratifying,  as  her  talent  in  this  direction 
gave  promise  of  proficiency.  Iu  iS<S,S  she  took  her  final 
work  at  the  Haven  school.  On  August  1,  1SS9,  she  was 
married  to  Dr.  Bernard  J.  Cigrand,  a  young  graduate 
from  the  dental  department  of  the  Lake  Forest  Univer- 
sity. Alice  is  of  a  genial  disposition,  and  is  eminently 
domestic  in  her  ambition — her  home  is  her  happy  sphere, 
and  Her   acknowledge   domain.      Her   warm  affection  for 


3 iS  THE  HISTORY  OF 

her  family  of  four,  and  her  constant  concern  of  their  wel- 
fare, as  well  as  her  comforting  companionship  to  those  of 
her  household,  is  a  reputation  she  has  attained.  Her 
love  of  home  is  a  strong  element  in  her  nature;  and  she 
has  fully  mastered  the  rare  art  of  making  home  happy 
and  attractive,  and  this  seems  to  be  the  cherished  ambi- 
tion of  her  life.  Though  she  has  had  innumerable  op- 
portunities and  appointments  of  a  social  character,  she 
cheerfully  declines  giving  her  time  to  such  matters,  in 
the  hope  of  rendering  no  inattention  to  her  family  and 
home.  The  home  she  lives  in  occupies  a  prominent  loca- 
tion in  the  Northwest  side  of  Chicago,  and  many  of  the 
attractive  points  in  this  modern  dwelling  are  her  sugges- 
tions. Her  taste  in  the  decorative  art  inclines  towards 
the  substantial  and  simple  designs — gaud  and  conspic- 
uity  have  no  place  in  her  domestic  vocabulary.  She  has 
acquired  an  understanding  of  the  science  of  housewifery 
which  elicits  praise  from  all  who  delight  in  seeing  a  well- 
furnished  and  tastily  arranged  home.  She  has  inherited 
from  her  mother  a  knowledge  of  the  prandial-board,  and 
she  has  on  a  score  or  more  occasions  selected  and  arranged 
the  prandial  for  important  banquets  given  in  Chicago. 

Her  deep  concern  in  what  is  of  interest  to  her  hus- 
band has  made  her  indeed  a  companion  in  life;  and  her 
eagerness  to  lend  him  assistance  is  worthy  of  mention. 
She  has  rendered  great  service  to  him  in  copying  his 
manuscripts,  and  searching  references  in  connection  with 
her    husband's    writings.       In     1S92     she    accompanied 


THK  CRISPF.  FAMILY.  319 


him  to  the  McKellop's  Dental  Library  at  St.  Louis, 
where  the  final  references  on  his  "History  of  Dentistry" 
were  obtained.  In  1899,  when  her  husband  went  to 
Washington,  D.  C,  in  the  interest  of  his  book,  the 
"Great  Seal  of  the  United  States,"  she  enjoyed  an  ex- 
tended trip  through  the  east,  visiting  more  especially  the 
innumerable  points  of  historic  interest.  She  also  in  the 
year  following  travelled  south  with  him,  visiting  Mam- 
moth Cave  and  the  Southern  Exposition  at  Nashville, 
Tennessee.  They  have  annually,  on  the  anniversary  of 
their  wedding  (August  1st),  taken  a  month's  vacation  in 
the  form  of  travel,  and  hence  have  seen  a  fair  portion  of 
the  United  States. 

She  has  accompanied  her  husband  to  innumerable 
State  and  National  meetings  of  the  dental  profession,  also 
college  associations.  In  1900  she  was  his  companion  in  a 
tour  through  Prussia,  Saxony,  Bavaria,  Switzerland, 
Luxemburg,  France  and  England;  and  while  in  Luxem- 
burg and  England  had  the  rare  pleasure  of  sauntering  at 
the  homsteads  of  the  Cigrands  and  Crispes  of  old. 

She  is  a  truly  patriotic  American,  and  her  enjoy- 
ments of  a  social  character  are  mostly  of  this  nature,  and 
she  has  given  evidence  in  countless  ways  of  her  great 
love  of  the  American  Republic.  Her  readings  are  of  an 
historical  tendency,  and  she  has  assisted  at  upwards  of  a 
hundred  patriotic  exercises.  Her  home  decorations  and 
observations  of  things  Americana,  stamp  her  as  typically 
American. 


32o  THE   HISTORY  OF 


She  has  been  of  considerable  service  to  her  husband 
in  his  professional  and  literary  studium,  and  in  token  of 
her  unfaltering  devotion  to  his  purposes,  he  has  gener- 
ously inscribed  in  her  name  the  "History  of  the  Crispe 
Family." 

The  chidren  of  the  family  consist  of  Bernard  Haw- 
thorne Cigrand,  born  March  5,  1890;  Joice  Alice  Cigrand, 
born  April  21,  1892;  Eleroy  Franklin  Cigrand,  born 
March  2,  1895;  and  Elaine  Blanche  Cigrand,  born  Feb- 
ruary 9,  1901, 

Much  of  what  pertains  to  her  career  is  contained  in 
the  following  sketch  of  her  husband,  youngest  child  of 
Nicholas  Cigrand  and  Susan  Schmidt— as  taken  from  the 
"LaSalle  History  of  Chicago,"  page  604  (1S99),  which 
reads  as  follows: 

"B.J.  Cigrand,  B.S.,  M.S.,  I),  D.  S.,  although  still  a 
young  man,  has  crowded  into  his  few  years  of  active  life 
more  of  mental  activity  than  makes  up  the  life  history  of 
many  of  his  fellow-mcu.  He  was  born  October  1,  rS66, 
at  Fredonia,  Wisconsin,  audit  was  there  that  he  received 
his  early  education.  Having  graduated  from  the  high 
school,  he  spent  some  time  on  the  State  survey — his  share 
of  the  work  being  usually  to  attend  to  the  chain  or 
compass.  With  a  desire  to  help  himself  to  a  higher  ed- 
ucation.he  in  1SS2  entered  the  Northern  Indiana  Normal 
School,  at  Valparaiso.  Indiana,  and,  deriding  his  time 
between  teaching  and  study,  finished  his  pedagogical 
course  in  1S85.      He  pursued  a  scientific  course  the  next 


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Dr.   B.  J.  CTGRAND. 
(Page  317.) 


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HOME    OF   DR.  B.  J.  CIGRAND. 
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THE  CRISPE  FAMILY. 


year,  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science,  and 
then  taught  four  terms  in  the  school  of  his  native  town- 
ship, two  terms  of  which  his  principal  subject  was 
German. 

"He  had  already  spent  one  year  in  the  study  of  med- 
icine preparatory  to  taking  a  course  in  dental  surgery  at 
the  Northern  Indiana  Normal  School,  and  he  accordingly 
entered  the  dental  department  of  Lake  Forest  University, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  as  valedictorian  of  his  class 
in  1888,  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Dental  Surgery. 
With  a  full  determination  to  thoroughly  equip  himself 
for  his  life-work  he  continued  his  studies  in  various  in- 
stitutions; was  graduated  from  the  Chicago  School  of 
Sciences  in  1S91;  the  Haskell  School  of  Prosthetics  in 
1892,  and  with  a  view  to  rounding  out  his  mental  devel- 
opment, he  took  a  non-resident  course  in  industrial,  edu- 
cational and  political  economy  in  the  Chicago  University 
iu  1892  and  1893. 

"During  pait  of  this  time  Dr.  Cigrand  was  also  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  in  which  he  met 
with  the  success  which  his  educational  career  seemed  to 
foretell.  He  has  since  greatly  added  to  his  clientage,  and 
numbers  among  his  patrons  the  best  citizens  of  his  sec- 
tion. He  has  been  located  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
the  city  about  twelve  years,  his  office  being  at  the  corner 
of  North  and  Milwaukee  avanues.  Aside  from  his  large 
practice  he-  has  found  time  to  devote  to  many  matters 
growing  out  of  his  rank    as  one  of  the  professional  den- 


326  THE  HISTORY  OF 


tists  in  the  country.  In  1892  he  was  elected  to  the  chair 
of  Prosthetic  Dentistry  in  the  American  College  of  Den- 
tal Surgery,  and  received  an  additional  professorship  in 
metallurgy  the  following  year.  He  was  president  of  the 
same  institution  for  several  years,  and  conferred  the  de- 
gree of  D.  D.  S.  on  upwards  of  three  hundred  students. 
He  was  elected  to  the  chair  of  Dental  Prosthesis  in  the 
Northwestern  University  in  1896,  at  which  time  the 
American  College  of  Dental  Surgery  became  consolidated 
with  the  University. 

"It  is  natural  that  a  man  of  his  prominence  should 
be  sought  after  as  a  member  of  various  organizations, 
and  he  is  a  valuable  member  of  several.  Among  them 
might  be  mentioned  the  Illinois  State  Dental  Society,  the 
Chicago  Dental  Society,  the  Odontography  Society,  the 
Hayden  Dental  Society,  the  Dental  Protective  Associa- 
tion, and  the  Columbian  Dental  Club.  He  is  an  honorary 
member  of  the  Southwest  Michigan  Dental  Society  and 
of  the  Northwestern  University  Alumni  Society.  He- 
is  a  member  of  the  Psi  Omega  Greek  Letter  Society  of 
the  Northwestern  University;  of  the  Masonic  fraternity: 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows;  the  National 
Union;  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees;  and  was  formerly 
a  State  officer  in  the  Sons  of  America.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber and  filled  an  official  position  at  the  Columbian  Dental 
Congress,  as  one  of  the  editorial-staff  of  the  Dental  Re- 
view;.and  in  1892,  was  elected  to  membership  in  the  Na- 
tional Association   of  Dental   Faculties.      In  1S94  he  was 


THK  CRISPK  FAMILY.  327 


instrumental  in  organizing  the  Alumni  Association  of  the 
Northern  Indiana  Normal  School,  and  was  its  first  presi- 
dent. 

"He  has  been  invited  at  various  times  to  address 
State  dental  gatherings,  and  has  always  acquitted  himself 
with  credit.  One  of  the  most  notable  of  these  conven- 
tions was  the  Dental  Congress  held  at  Baltimore  in  189S, 
and  he  has  been  a  cliuitian  before  many  dental  conven- 
tions. 

"The  subject  of  this  notice  has  been  a  very  prolific 
writer  on  many  subjects,  and  those  on  dentistr}'  appear 
in  the  leading  journals  of  the  profession.  He  is  the 
author  of  a  'Compendium  of  Dentistry'  and  a  'History 
of  Dentistry,'  both  of  which  are  used  in  dental  colleges. 
He  has  served  as  editor  of  various  periodicals,  dental  and 
otherwise,  among  them  being  the  Chicago  Argus;  the 
Dental  World;  Home,  School  and  Nation;  The  American 
Standard  Magazine;  and  he  is  at  present  associate  editor 
of  a  standard  dental  publication,  the  Dental  Digest. 
He  has  also  contributed  numerous  articles  to  periodicals 
and  to  the  Chicago  dailies,  for  which  he  receives  compen- 
sation. Among  his  other  literary  works  are  'The  Story 
of  the  Great  Seal  of  the  United  States,'  in  two  volumes, 
and  containing  several  hundred  original  engravings;  the 
'Genealogy  of  the  Cigrands,'  and  'Historical  Querries 
and  Answers.' 

"Dr.  Cigrand  possesses  a  commendable  public  spirit, 
and  is  especially  interested  in  the  education  of  the  youth 


328  THE  HISTORY  OF 


of  the  country.  He  was  influential  in  the  organization 
of  the  American  Flag-Day  Association,  of  which  he  was 
its  first  secretary  and  twice  elected  president.  He  has 
been  for  a  number  of  years  on  the  list  of  speakers  of  the 
Cook  County  Memorial  Society  to  address  the  pupils  of 
the  schools  on  various  patriotic  occasions.  He  was  also 
chosen  on  the  committee  to  award  Victor  Lawson  medals 
in  the  schools  during  1S96,  1S97  and  1S9S.  On  January 
12,  1S9S,  the  Northern  Indiana  Normal  School  conferred 
upon  him  the  honorary  degree  of  Master  of  Science.  In 
1S9S  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Illinois  Volunteer 
Relief  Society,  auxiliary  to  the  Army  and  Navy  League 
of  Chicago. 

"In  18S9  Dr.  Cigrand  was  married  to  Miss  Allie 
Needham  Crispe,  of  Chicago,  and  is  the  father  of  three 
children — Bernie,  Jo.ce  and  Elroy.  The  family  occupies 
a  magnificent  residence,  which  was  erected  in  1898,  at 
the  northeast  corner  of  Logan  square  and  Humboldt 
boulevard." 

Since  the  above  appeared  in  the  "History  of  Chica- 
go" (1899)  the  following  is  added  to  his  sketch: 

In  1899  he  left  as  a  teacher  at  the  Northwestern  Uni- 
versity Dental  School,  and  accepted  the  professorship  of 
Dental  Prosthesis  and  History  in  the  Illinois  School  of 
Dentistry. 

When  the  Spanish- American  war  broke  out,  in  con- 
junction with  organizing  the  Illinois  Volunteer  Relief 
Association,    he   enlisted   as    dental    surgeon   in    Colonel 


^ 


■'/■■■■-. 


NICHOLAS  CIGRAND. 


''-•'"       "'•    •  . 


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MRS.  NICHOLAS  C1GRAXD. 
(Page  320.) 


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THE  CRISPE   FAMILY 


Burges'  Volunteers,  but  before  this  company  was  called 
out  the  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  Paris,  and  the  com- 
pany mustered  out.  He  was  among  the  dental  profession 
who  did  much  towards  having  a  dental  surgeon  in  the 
War  Department  at  Washington. 

In  1900  he  was  elected  by  the  faculty  of  the  Illinois 
School  of  Dentristy  as  a  delegate  to  the  International 
Congress  of  Educators;  he  was  also  elected  a  representa- 
tive to  the  Paris  International  Dental  Congress;  his  wife 
accompanied  him  on  this  foreign  trip,  and  they  travelled 
through  seven  countries.  On  his  return  he  arranged  his 
original  photographs  into  stereopticon  views,  and  gave  to 
many  large  audiences  at  Chicago  the  lecture  entitled 
"Through  Seven  Countries  in  One  Evening." 

While  he  was  in  Europe,  Mayor  Harrison  slated  him 
for  membership  to  the  Board  of  Education,  but  on  ac- 
count of  pressure  of  college  work  he  declined  to  consider 
the  position.  Mayor  Harrison  appointed  him  as  one  of 
the  committee  of  reception  to  Hon.  W.  J.  Bryan  when 
the  latter  closed  the  famous  campaign  of  1900.  In  1901, 
when  the  State  University  organized  its  Department  of 
Dentistry,  he  was  elected  its  secretary  and  voted  Pro- 
fessor of  the  chairs  of  Dental  Prosthesis,  Technics  and 
History. 

In  the  fall  of  1901,  the  Chicago  Daily  News  organ- 
ized its  "Public  School  Lecture  Course,"  and  he  was 
chosen  to  be-among  its  staff  of  lecturers,  and  he  is  to  give 
his  lecture   "Through  Seven  Countries  in  one  Evening." 


334  THE  HISTORY  OF 


At  the  union  memorial  exercises  given  in  honor  of  Pres- 
ident McKinley's  burial,  in  the  Northwest  side  of 
Chicago,  he  was  selected  to  give  the  oration,  which  was 
entitled'  "The  Government  Still  Lives." 

He  has  just  issued  a  new  book  entitled,  "The  Tower 
Third  of  the  Face,"  containing  five  essays  on  the 
"Mechanics,  Fine  Art,  Sculpture,  Prosthodontia  and  Psy- 
cology"  of  this  portion  of  the  face.  These  essays  have 
all  been  presented  to  the  leading  dental  societies  of  the 
country. 

GRACE    KLIZABKTH    CKISPE    (b). 

Grace  IHizabeth  Crispe  (B)  the  eldest  daughter  of 
Edward  and  Elizabeth  Crispe,  of  Plain  well,  Michigan, 
was  born  in  Bredgar,  Kent  county,  England,  in  1832, 
and  with  her  parents  and  the  rest  of  the  family  came  to 
America  in  1S52.  On  the  24th  day  of  June,  1854,  she 
was  married  to  Mr.  George  E.  Needham,  in  the  city  of 
Cleveland.  He  engaged  in  the  business  of  hotel  keeping, 
and,  with  the  assistance  of  his  estimable  wife,  made  their 
house  a  favorite  resort  for  the  traveling  public,  following 
the  same  line  of  business  in  Chicago,  Dubuque,  Prairie 
du  Chien,  and  finally  removed  back  to  Chicago,  became, 
in  connection  with  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Cherry  Dele- 
febvre,  the  proprietor  of  the  Garden  City  hotel,  where 
Mrs.  Needham  died  May  19,  1878.  Mrs.  Needham  was 
one  of  nine  children,  and  the  first  one  to  break  the  silken 
chord,  that  bound  the  family  so  lovingly  together.  Her 
death   made  desolate   the  home  of  her   aged  parents,    to 


THE  CRLSPE  FAMILY.  335 

whom  she  was  dear.  She  was  a  model  wife  and  com- 
panion, and  her  death  fell  with  a  most  crushing  weight 
on  her  husband,  whose  life  was  so  bound  up  in  hers  that 
he  seemed  like  one  bereft  of  earthly  comfort.  Mrs.  Need- 
ham  was  46  years  old  when  she  died,  and  was  buried  at 
Hillside  cemetary,  Plainwell,  Michigan. 

Her  husband,  Mr.  George  E.  Needham,  was  the 
proprietor  of  the  Garden  City  hotel,  Chicago.  Mr. 
Needham  was  born  in  Egleton,  Rutland,  England,  July 
2,  1829.  Both  his  parents  died  while  he  was  a  mere 
child.  In  [852  he  landed  in  New  York.  A  few  weeks 
later  he  went  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  he  married 
Grace  E.  Crispe,  and  in  1854  he  came  to  Chicago,  where 
he  went  into  the  livery  business.  His  first  hotel  venture 
was  in  the  old  Rock  Island,  on  Sherman  street,  in  which 
hostelry  he  remained  until  1866.  After  selling  out  that 
property  he  spent  a  year  in  Europe  on  a  pleasure  trip. 
On  his  return  he  purchased  a  farm  in  Allegan  county, 
Michigan,  but  remained  upon  it  only  about  two  years. 
He  then  returned  to  Chicago  and  took  what  is  now  the 
Atlantic  hotel,  at  Sherman  and  Van  Buren  streets.  In 
the  great  fire  he  was  burned  out;  he  then  built  the  United 
States  hotel,  and  after  the  Rock  Island's  new  depot  was 
completed  he  built  the  Garden  City  hotel,  into  which  he 
moved  in  August,  1875.  He  was  married  twice,  but  had 
no  children;  his  first  wife  was  Miss  Grace  Elizabeth 
Crispe,  of  Cleveland,  who  died  in  1S7S.  In  i8Sohe  mar- 
ried  his  former   wife's  sister,  Miss  Emma  Crispe,  whom 


53fi  THE  HISTORY  OF 


we  will  write  of  more  in  detail  later  in  this  publication. 
Mr.  Needham  sold  the  Garden  City  hotel  in  1S94, 
and  was  about  to  take  an  extended  trip  abroad:  he  had 
just  arranged  all  details  for  this  pleasure  trip,  and  was, 
as  he  said,  "about  to  take  life  easy,"  when  without  notice 
he  received  the  message  of  death.  lie  was  strolling 
about  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  chanced  to  enter  a  new- 
building;  his  inquisitiveness  led  him  to  climb  up  several 
temporary  stairs,  and  when  on  the  third  story,  still  with- 
out flooring,  he  stepped  on  an  unfastened  plank  and  fell 
through  the  building  to  the  basement;  he  was  immedi- 
ately taken  to  the  Garden  City  hotel,  where  in  a  few 
hours  he  passed  away.  He  was  buried  at  the  side  of  his 
first  wife  at  Plain  well,   Michigan. 

WILLIAM    CRISPE    (c). 
The   following   excellent    sketch    of   this    prosperous 
gentleman  is  taken  from  the  History  of  Allegan  Count \  , 
Michigan: 

"William  Crispe,  V.  S.  This  prominent  business 
man  of  Plainwell  is  a  son  of  Edward  and  Elizabeth 
Crispe,  natives  of  England,  as  was  also  our  subject,  his 
birth  taking  place,  September  3,  1S34,  in  Kent  county. 
In  1 85 1  he  emigrated  with  his  parents  to  America,  his 
first  stopping  place  being  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  he  re- 
mained for  four  years,  and  in  1855  came  to  Plainwell, 
Allegan  county,  Michigan,  when  there  was  little  more 
than  a  mere  settlement  where  that  now  flourishing  city  is 
located. 


.•-•. 


: 


! 

- 


. 


MRS.  WILLIAM  CRISP 

(Nellie  Smith.) 


-•  " 

,    -v      0 

\ 

■' 

/ 

K6.        ■   : 

■i 

MR.  WILLIAM  CRISPE. 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  341 

"Our  subject  is  one  of  a  family  of  nine  children,  five 
of  whom  are  now  living;  his  boyhood  days  in  England 
were  mostly  spent  on  the  farm,  and  his  educational  ad- 
vantages limited  to  the  common  schools.  He  worked  at 
various  occupations  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  after  coming 
to  Plainwell  he  learned  milling  in  the  first  flouring  mill 
built  at  this  place;  he  later  was  employed  in  mills  at  Bat- 
tle Creek,  Michigan;  also  in  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin; 
and  at  Prairie  du  Chien  he  conducted  a  livery  stable  for 
about  a  year.  In  1866  William  Crispe  purchased  a 
livery  stable  in  Plainwell,  and  continued  successfully  in 
that  line  of  business  until  1SS5,  owning  a  'bus  line  and 
carrying  the  mails  in  Plainwell  for  about  seventeen  years. 
Mr.  Crispe  after  engaging  in  the  livery  business  gave 
some  attention  to  the  di^t-ases  of  horses,  and  made  a 
study  of  various  authentic  works  on  that  subject;  he  has 
for  years  been  recognized  as  a  most  reliable  and  intelli- 
gent veterinary  surgeon;  his  judgment  in  that  line  being 
considered  second  to  that  of  no  man  in  this  section  of  the 
country. 

"Our  subject  and  Miss  Nellie  Smith  were  married 
April  3,  1S64.  Mrs.  Crispe  was  born  September  S,  1S43; 
is  a  native  of  Caledonia,  New  York,  a  daughter  of 
Mitchell  and  Margaret  (Campbell)  Smith,  and  by  her 
union  with  our  subject  has  become  the  mother  of  one 
child,  a  daughter,  Kathrine,  a  most  excellent  and  intel- 
ligent young  lad}-,  and  a  graduate  of  the  Plainwell  high 
school.      In   his   political    predilections   Mr.    Crispe    is    a 


342  THE  HISTORY  OF 


thorough  Democrat,  finding  in  the  tenets  and  doctrines 
of  that  party  the  balance  of  what  is  truest  and  best  in 
political  life.  He  has  been  honored  by  his  townsmen  by 
being  elected  to  offices  on  the  Village  Board.  In  social 
matters,  he  is  a  Mason. 

"Besides  property  in  Plaimvell,  Mr.  Crispe  owns  a 
fine  farm  of  260  acres  west  of  town,  in  Otsego  township. 
He  began  life  with  no  means  whatever,  and  is  now  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  the  wealthy  men  of  the  township,  a 
position  he  has  attained  by  hard  work  and  good  manage- 
ment. He  is  a  self-made  man  in  the  truest  sense  of  the 
term;  his  success  being  due  to  his  close  and  intelligent 
application  to  business." 

PRISCILLA    CRISPE    (I)). 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  George  Levett,  husband  of 
Priscilla  Crispe,  for  the  memoranda  relative  to  this  family 
and  its  offspring: 

"Priscilla  Crispe  (D)  was  born  January  9,  1S37,  in 
Sutton  Valance,  Kent.  England,  and  lived  on  a  farm 
with  her  parents  till  the  year  1852,  when  she  came  with 
her  parents  to  America,  and  they  settled  in  the  city  of 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  In  the  year  1853  she  was  married  to 
Edvvard  Gray.  He  was  born  on  the  28th  of  November, 
1827,  in  Bingham,  Nottinghamshire,  England;  he  was 
a  lace-maker,  and  lived  with  his  parents  till  the  year 
1852,  when  he  came  to  America;  he  came  alone,  and  had 
no  relatives  in  this  country;  he  lived  in  Cleveland  till  he 
was  married,    and   in   the   spring  of   1854  they  moved  U> 


THK  CRISPE  FAMILY.  343 


Burton,  Granger  county,  Ohio,  and  they  remained  there 
till  the  fall  of  1855,  when  the)-  moved  to  Gun  Plains, 
Allegan  county,  Michigan.  They  lived  on  a  farm  till 
the  year  186S,  when  Mr.  Gray  died,  leaving  his  wife 
with  five  children.  In  the  year  1S69  she  was  married  to 
George  \V.  Levett.  We  lived  in  Gun  Plains  and  Otsego 
till  1X72,  when  we  moved  to  the  township  of  Dorr,  Alle- 
gan county,  Michigan.  Priscilla  went  to  Alburquque, 
New  Mexico,  to  visit  her  daughter,  Grace  E.  Bowman, 
in  the  year  1886,  and  visited  in  Chicago  the  same  year. 
In  1898  she  visited  her  sister,  Emma  C.  Polhemus,  in  the 
city  of  New  York. 

"George  \V.  Levett  was  horn  July  24,  1S45,  in  Fit- 
tenden,  Kent  county,  England.  Lived  there  till  the  year 
1854,  when  I  came  to  America  with  my  parents.  We 
settled  in  Wayne  county,  New  York,  where  I  worked  at 
farming  till  the  year  1867,  when  I  moved  with  my  par- 
ents to  Michigan.  1  settled  in  Otsego,  Allegan  county, 
and  lived   in   Otsego  and  Gun  Plains  till  I  was  married." 

It  is  due  to  state  that  they  have  all  taken  a  deep  in- 
terest in  this  history  of  the  family,  and  have  evidenced 
this  by  a  liberal  donation  for  its  publication. 

"Their  children  are  as  follows:  Mary  P.  Gray,  born 
March  15,  1858.  in  Gun  Plains,  Michigan,  and  moved  to 
Dorr  with  her  parents  in  1872,  and  has  lived  there  ever 
since;  she  was  married  to  George  W.  Sprout  in  1877;  she 
has  had  five  children;  C/eo.  E.  Sprout  was  born  December 
16,  1881;  died  July  25,  r888;   Edna  X.  Sprout,  was  born 


344  THK  HISTORY  OF 


October  4,  1SS3;   Grace  C.  Sprout,  born  March  29,  1888, 
died  June  9,  188S;   and  Nina  Y.  Sprout. 

"Grace  E.  Gray  was  born  May  25,  1859,  in  Gun 
Plains,  and  went  to  Chicago  with  her  parents  in  1872; 
staid  a  year  and  a  half  there,  then  lived  with  her  par- 
ents in  Dorr  most  of  the  time  till  the  year  1880,  when 
she  was  married  to  Mathew  D.  Bowman;  they  lived  on  a 
farm  in  Illinois  for  two  years,  when  they  moved  to  New 
Mexico,  on  a  cattle  ranch,  and  they  lived  there  until  the 
year  1S91,  when  Mr.  Bowman  died;  Grace  then  moved 
back  to  Dorr  with  her  family,  where  she  has  lived  since. 
She  had  four  children:  Harold  G.  Bowman,  born  April 
n,  1SS2;  Nathan  B.,  born  August  5,  1SS3;  Grace,  born 
October  29;  18S5,  died  October  11,  1889;  Frank  M.,  born 
July  10,  1SS7. 

"William  E.  Gray  was  born  February  12,  1S61,  in 
Gun  Plains,  Michigan;  moved  to  Dorr  with  his  parents 
in  the  year  1872,  where  he  has  lived  since.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  18S6  to  Minnie  Ik  Hoffman,  who  is  of  German 
parents.  He  is  a  miller  by  trade,  and  conducts  a  success- 
ful business. 

"Nellie  F.  Gray  was  born  December  14,  1862  in 
Gun  Plains,  Michigan;  moved  to  Dorr  with  her  parents 
in  1S72;  lived  there  until  about  two  weeks  before  she 
died,  when  she  went  to  Chicago  with  her  aunt,  where 
she  died  on  January  20,   18S6. 

-  "Milo  F.  Gray  was  born  February  27,  1866,  in    Gun 
Plains,  Michigan;  he  moved    to   Dorr  with  his  parents  in 


\ 


,-•    ••'  I  ■'..  fl 


MRS.  GEORGE   LEYF.TT 
(PriscilWi  Crispt-.i 


'   ■ - 


j 


MR.  GEORGE    LEVETT. 

(Page  342.) 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  349 

1S72,  where  he  has  lived  since;  in  188S  he  was  married 
to  Carrie  Neuman;  she  is  of  German  parents.  He  is  a 
merchant  and  miller.  They  have  one  child — J.  M.  Don- 
ald Gray — born  May  r,  1S99." 

JOHN*   CRISPE    (e), 

Mr.  John  Crispe  (E),  of  Plain  well,  Michigan,  deserves 
the  credit  of  having  given  encouraging  assistance  in  pub- 
lishing this  record  of  the  Crispe  family.  He  cheerfully 
donated  a  liberal  amount  towards  its  publication,  and  has 
contributed  freely  towards  its  compilation,  We  gather 
from  the  History  of  Allegan  County,  Michigan,  the  fol- 
lowing splendid  account  of  his  prosperous  career: 

"John  Crispe  is  one  of  the  well-known  and  highly 
popular  citizens  of  Gun  Plains  township,  Allegan  county, 
Michigan,  of  which  he  was  Supervisor  for  six  years;  he 
is  the  pioneer  druggist  of  Plain  well,  and  bears  also  an 
enviable  record  as  a  gallant  soldier  during  the  late  war. 
Mr.  Crispe  is  a  native  of  England,  being  born  in  Sutton 
Valance,  Kent  county,  June  24,  1S39;  he  was  the  sou  of 
Edward  and  Elizabeth  Munn-Crispe,  natives  of  England, 
where  the  father  was  a  farmer,  and  also  a  miller.  He 
carried  on  a  bakery  in  connection  with  his  mills  for  a 
time.  He  emigrated  with  his  family  to  America  Febru- 
ary 25,  1S52,  locating  first  in  Cleveland,  Ohio.  In  No- 
vember, 1854,  he  came  to  Plain  well,  where  his  death  oc- 
curred August  21,  1888,  when  he  was  87  years  old.  The 
mother  died  January  7,  1884,  at  the  age  of  80  years. 

"Our  subject   is   one   of  a  family  of  nine   children, 


35Q  THK  HISTORY  OF 

five  of  whom   are   now   living;  he  was  twelve  years   old 
when  he  crossed  the  ocean  with   his   parents,  the  voyage 
occupying  thirty  days.      He   had   attended  school  before 
leaving   England,    and   was   a   student   while  residing  in 
Cleveland,  Ohio.      At   the   age  of  fifteen  he  began  learn- 
ing the   milling  business   at  Otsego,  Michigan,  following 
it  for  three  years  and  nine  months.      When  the  Civil  War 
broke  out  he  was  the   first  man  in   the  township  to  enroll 
his  name,  but  was  rejected  on  account  of  a  defect  in  his 
eyesight.      In  1S63,  however,  in  December,  he  enlisted  in 
the  Eighth   Michigan   Cavalry,  under   Colonel  Stockton. 
He  was  enrolled   as   a   private,    but   was  promoted  to  be 
Second   Duty    Sargent   before    leaving   the    State.       He- 
served  during  all  the  celebrated   Morgan   raid,    traveling 
night  and   day   for   578  miles  after   that  wily  rebel,  and 
was   greatly  pleased   at   his  capture,  and   to  see  him  dis- 
armed.     He  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Hickman's  Bridge 
in  the  evening  of  the  same  clay,  having  a  lively  skirmish 
at  Treflet's  Bridge,  and  defeating  Morgan  at  Bufhing ton's 
Island.      He  was  at  the  siege   of  Knoxville,  under  Burn- 
side,  and  followed  Longstreet  to  Bull's  Gap.     They  were 
then   ordered   back    to   Knoxville,  where   they  left    their 
horses  and  footed   it  back  across  the  mountains  to  Camp 
Nelson,    Kentucky.      Here  they  were  mounted  again  and 
sent  back  to  Chattanooga,  and  from  there  went  south  and 
came  up  with  Sherman's  army  at  Resaca.     They  accom- 
panied Sherman  to  Atlanta,  and  were  in  the  engagement 
at  Jonesboro,  after  which  they  were  under  Thomas  in  the 


THE  CRISPK  FAMILY.  351 

battles  of  Columbia  and  Franklin.  Mr.  Crispe  was  dis- 
charged at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  September  22,  1865, 
being  mustered  out  as  First  Sargent  of  his  company. 
He  played  the  part  of  a  gallant  soldier  during  the  entire 
war,  and  looks  back  with  much  pleasure  to  his  interesting 
experiences  while  fighting  for  his  adopted  country. 

"When  his  services  were  no  longer  needed  in  the 
field,  Mr.  Crispe  returned  to  the  pursuits  of  peace,  and 
coming  to  Plainwell  engaged  for  a  short  time  in  the 
livery  business.  In  February,  1S67,  he  started  the  first 
drug-store  established  in  Plainwell,  and  has  been  engaged 
in  that  business  ever  since.  Later  he  opened  a  paint  and 
paper  store,  which  he  still  conducts.  He  was  married 
February  7,  1S67,  to  Mrs.  Amanda  Mesick,  a  native  of 
Columbiaville,  New  York,  who  came  to  Michigan  in  1857. 
Three  children  were  born  to  them — Minnie,  Guy  and 
Cherry — all  of  whom  are  deceased.  Mrs.  Amanda  Mes- 
ick-Crispe  died  December  21,  1898. 

"Mr.  Crispe  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and  cast  his 
vote  for  Lincoln.  He  has  been  a  delegate  to  District  and 
Congressional  conventions,  and  also  to  the  Republican 
National  convention  in  1S88.  He  was  Treasurer  of  his 
township  for  five  years,  and  in  January  1877,  was  ap- 
pointed post-master  serving  for  ten  years  and  three 
months.  In  April,  1S86,  he  was  elected  Supervisor, 
which  office  he  filled  for  six  years.  In  1899  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  Hazen  S.  Pingree,  Governor  of  Michigan,  to 
act   as   a    member  of  the   Board  of  Control  of  the  Deaf 


352  THE  HISTORY  OF 


and  Dumb  School  located  at  Flint,  Michigan. 

"Mr.  Crispe  shows  a  deep  interest  in  agricultural 
pursuits,  and  is  the  possessor  of  two  farms  located  in 
Gun  Plains  township.  Socially  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  the  Odd  Fellows,  Maccabees,  and 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  He  occupies  a  fine 
residence,  and  holds  an  influential  position  hi  the  com- 
munity." 

Few  instances  of  distant  relationship  make  them- 
selves more  manifest  than  the  resemblance  between  Mr. 
John  Crispe,  of  Plainwell,  and  ex-Speaker  Crisp,  of 
Atlanta,  Georgia.  Though  they  are  related  in  a  distant 
manner,  there  is,  nevertheless,  a  very  strong  family  like- 
ness. Of  this  we  spoke  in  our  introductory  remarks  on 
page  22  of  this  book.  It  will  interest  all  to  compare  the 
facial  similarity  between  John  Crispe  and  Charles  Fred- 
erick Crisp — distant  relatives. 

Of  his  wife's  death  the  Plainwell  Enterprise  in  part 
says: 

"The  announcement  of  the  death  of  this  estimable 
lady  was  heard  with  deep  sorrow  by  all.  Few  are  so  well 
known  and  so  universally  beloved  in  this  community. 
Two  weeks  ago  she  was  taken  suddenly  and  violently  ill 
with  congestion  of  the  entire  system,  and  although  every- 
thing that  medical  skill  and  loving  care  conld  perform 
was  clone,  she  continued  to  suffer  and  passed  quietly 
away  last  Wednesday  at  2  p.  m. 

"Mrs.   Crispe   was  born    at    Columbiaville,  near  Al- 


■      • 


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*       - 


MR.  JOHN  CRISPE 
(Page  349-' 


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'"v. 


MRS.  JOHN  CRISPE. 
(Amanda  Tibbitts.) 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY 


bany,  New  York,  in  the  year  1832.  At  the  age  of  ten 
years  she  removed  to  Newark,  Wayne  county,  in  the 
same  State.  Her  maiden  name  was  Amanda  Tibbitts, 
In  1S54  she  was  married  to  Jacob  Mesick,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  they  removed  to  the  township  of  Otsego,  in 
this  State  and  county.  They  settled  on  a  farm  on  the 
main  road  between  these  two  villages,  but  Mr.  Mesiek's 
health  failing  after  a  short  time  he  sold  out  his  farm  and 
opened  a  drug  store  in  this  place,  then  known  as  the 
Junction.  Four  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mesick,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Mesick  died 
in  November,  1865,  leaving  his  widow  with  a  young 
family  and  the  business  to  look  after. 

"On  February  7,  1S67,  she  was  married  to  John 
Crispe,  and  has  ever  since  resided  in  this  village.  Three 
children  were  born  to  gladden  their  home  for  a  time,  but 
these  children  died  in  infancy.  Since  the  death  of  her 
daughter,  Mrs.  Dollie  V.  Pursel,  nearly  two  years  ago, 
her  health  had  began  to  fail,  but  she  had  attended  to  the 
affairs  of  her  household  until  she  was  taken  with  this 
last  illness.  She  leaves,  besides  her  husband,  two  sons, 
Fred  and  Henry  J.  Mesick,  and  her  grand-children." 

HANNAH    CRISPE    (F). 

Mrs.  Cherry  Delefebvre,  nee  Hannah  Crispe  (F),  was 
born  on  the  7th  day  of  October,  1841,  in  Sutton  Yalance, 
Kent.  England;  lived  there  until  March,  1S52,  when  the 
family  moved  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Cleve- 
land,  Ohio,    and   lived   there   for   three  years,    and   then 


THE   HISTORY  OF 


moved   to   Plaimvell,   Allegan  county,    Michigan,    where 
she  lived  until  she  was  married  to  Cherry  Delefebvre,  No- 
vember 20,  1S73.      He  was  then  in  business  with  George 
E.  Needham  in  what  was   called   the  United  States  hotel, 
Chicago.     Cherry  Delefebvre  was  born  in  Paris,  France, 
on    the   24th   of  May,    1S35;  came  to   the   United  States 
with     his   family    in    1842,    for   one  year;    graduated   in 
Technic  College,    Paris,    France,    in    1S56;   left   Paris   in 
1859,  and  landed   in   New    York  the  latter  part   of  that 
year;  was  professor  of  French  in  a  private  academy  until 
1861;  when  the  tt'ar  commenced   he   enlisted   on  the  first 
call  for  three  mouths,  but  did  not   leave  New  York;   en- 
listed again  on  the   next   call   for   three   years,  or  during 
the   war;  he  joined   the   First    New   York   artillery,    and 
went  to   Elmira  to  join  his  regiment;   from  there  he  went 
to  Washington   and  drilled  until  called  on  to  go  to  New- 
port News;  arrived  there   two  days   before  the  gun-boat 
Cumberland  was  sunk   by   the  Merimac;  was  there  until 
called  on  a  week  later  to  take   a  scouting  trip;   remained 
in  the  service  and  went  through  all  the  battles  from  New- 
port News  to  Fair  Oaks,  where  he   was  wounded;   taken 
to  Harrison's  Landing,   and  from  there  to  Fortress  Mon- 
roe, where  he  remained  until  discharged  from  the  service; 
he  then  went   to   Washington,  D.  C,  and  was   employed 
in  the  Treasury    Department   for  five  months;   in   [865  he- 
went  to  New  York   where   he  went    in   with  a  friend  and 
started- for   a   voyage   around    Cape   Horn;   the  tour  con- 
tinued for  eleven  months  and  five  days;   he  came  back  to 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  359 

New  York  and  remained  there  a  few  weeks,  and  then 
went  west  to  Chicago;  he  was  employed  for  a  time  by  a 
Mr.  Shaw,  who  kept  the  Jarvis  hotel;  then  worked  for 
the  Treinont  house  under  several  men,  until  he  started 
for  himself;  later  he  went  into  partnership  with  George 
E.  Needham  until  1S71,  when  the  great  Chicago  fire  de- 
stroyed all  the}-  possessed.  They  began  business  again 
shortly  after  the  big  fire,  and  kept  together  until  1S91 
when  they  sold  the  Garden  City  hotel,  bought  by  them 
in  1S74. 

In  1S91  Mr.  Delefebvre,  in  company  with  his  wife, 
left  for  an  extended  trip  through  Europe,  after  which  he 
settled  in  Plaiuwell,  Michigan,  and  purchased  a  piece  of 
property,  and  settled  down  to  real  comfort.  His  home  is  a 
strictly  modern  dwelling,  and  these  people  have  the  rep- 
utation of  keeping  their  residence  and  grounds  in  the 
neatest  and  most  inviting  appearance.  Mr.  Delefebvre 
comes  from  a  family  of  the  French  nobility,  and  his  affa- 
ble manners  and  generous-hearted  disposition  thoroughly 
bespeak  his  early  collegiate  education  in  the  land  of  the 
floure-de  lys.  Though  he  is  not  a  blood  relative  of  the 
Crispe  family — being  in  the  circle  by  marriage — he,  nev- 
ertheless, has  donated  with  equal  liberality  with  those  of 
the  Crispe  blood.  He  is  highly  esteemed  by  all  the  fam- 
ily, and  has  been  on  many  occasions  a  comforting  arm. 
His  careful  business  sagacity  has  netted  him  a  sufficient 
financial  reward  to  admit  of  his  living  in  ease  and  retire- 
ment.     He  has  sten  much  of  the  earth's  surface,   and  is 


360  THE  HISTORY  OF 


well-informed  on  matters  of  travel  and  general  progress. 
He  is  especially  well  known  for  his  charitable  dispostion 
and  liberal-mindedness. 

ALICE    M.    CKISPK    (G). 

Alice  M.  Crispe  (G)  was  born  in  1849.  She  was  a 
most  love-able  young-  lady.  She  died  in  the  prime  of  life. 
and  the  shock  to  the  entire  relationship  was  so  severe  that 
not  to  this  day  have  they  recovered. 

The  following  few  words  appeared  in  the  Plain  well 
Knterprise  at  the  time  of  her  death: 

"Alice  M.,  daughter  of  Edward  and  Elizabeth 
Crispe,  died  at  her  parent's  residence  in  this  village  on 
Monday  evening,  at  the  age  of  34,  after  suffering  a  long 
time  from  lung  fever.  She  was  born  in  Kent,  England, 
and  had  made  her  home  in  Gun  Plains  the  most  of  the 
time  since  1854.  The  funeral  services  were  held  at  the 
home,  Rev.  J.  Fletcher  preaching  the  sermon.  The  re- 
mains were  interred  in  Plain  well  cemetery." 

EMMA    CKISPE    (h). 

Mrs.  John  Polhemus,  nee  Emma  Crispe  (H),  was 
born  in  Sutton  Valance,  Kent,  England,  in  1852.  She 
came  to  America  with  her  parents  when  three  months 
old.  She  received  her  early  education  at  Plain  well, 
Michigan,  and  when  a  young  lady  taught  school  in  Gun 
Plains  township.  She  was  married  to  Mr.  George  F. 
Xeedham  in  18S6,  and  his  first  wife  was  Grace  Crispe, 
sister  of  Emma.  She  moved  to  Chicago,  and  became 
actively  engaged  as  the  matron  of  the  Garden  Citv  hotel. 


MR.  C.   DELEFEBVRE 
i  Pa^e  357.) 


MRS.  C.  DELEFEBVRE. 
i  Hannah  Crispe.i 


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MRS.  J    POLUKMIS. 
(Eninia  Crispe.) 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  365 


In  1891,  when  her  husband  died  from  the  effects  of  a 
fall,  she-  travelled  through  Europe  and  regained  her 
health.  In  [894  she  was  married  to  Mr.  John  Polhemus, 
of  New  York  city — a  gentlemen  whom  she  met  while 
touring  the  Continent.  They  were  married  and  settled 
in  Flushing,  New  York,  where  they  owned  a  beautiful 
home.  She  was  elected  treasurer  of  the  John  Polhemus 
Printing  Company,  the  largest  legal  printing  firm  of 
Xew  York  city.  She  was  wealthy  before  marrying  Mr. 
Polhemus,  and  interested  herself  deeply  in  the  firm  of 
her  husband.  She  was  a  jovial-spirited  soul,  and  evi- 
denced a  charitable  disposition  such  as  few  people  possess. 
Her  willingness  to  assist  anyone  wdio  needed  financial 
service  was  but  a  token  to  the  liberality  which  she 
evinced  for  all  matters  of  a  charitable  character.  It  was 
her  greatest  delight  to  purchase  presents  for  the  nieces 
and  nephews  and  their  children:  and  not  a  single  Christ- 
mas day  went  by  but  she  sent  by  express  valuable  me- 
mentoes of  her  affections.  These  Yuletime  gifts  cost  her 
annually  hundreds  of  dollars,  but  since  she  was  not 
blessed  with  children,  her  great  fondness  for  little  people 
found  expression  in  these  costly  gifts. 

She  was  of  a  most  cheerful  disposition,  and  loved  to 
travel,  and  did  much  of  the  latter,  having  crossed  the 
ocean  twelve  times.  It  was  a  part  of  her  creed  to  an- 
nually visit  her  relations  of  the  Lake  region,  and  her 
cheerful  company  was  always  hailed  with  pleasure  by  old 
and  voung. 


366  THE   HISTORY  OF 


One  of  her  ambitions  was  to  see  the  Crispe  family  in 
possession  of  a  genealogy;  and  with  this  in  view  she 
sought  the  services  of  Dr.  B.  J.  Cigrand  ( early  in  1890  )  and 
induced  him  to  undertake  the  arduous  task  of  compiling 
this  record.  She  assumed  the  financial  obligation  of  both 
record-getting  and  publication:  but  before  she  was  able 
to  help  him  in  a  financial  way,  she  died.  Her  death  oc- 
curred February  ir,  1900,  at  Flushing,  New  York.  She 
was  buried  at  Hillside  cemetery,  Plain  well,  Michigan. 
Her  estate,  amounting  to  something  over  $100,000,  was 
bequeathed  equally  between  the  Pol  hem  us  and  Crispe 
families;  her  brother  John  Crispe,  of  Plainvvell,  being 
the  senior  executor. 

Her  husband,  Mr.  John  Polhemus,  died  a  few  years 
before  her  death.      A  brief  sketch  of  him  is  as  follows: 

"John  Polhemus  is  a  printer  well  known  throughout 
the  entire  union.  His  short,  stout  figure,  his  gray  hair 
and  beard,  with  his  youthful  countenance;  his  grave, 
dignified  way  of  speaking,  and  his  alert  movements  are 
known  to  all  Flushing  people  and  New  Yorkers  who  have 
business  near  the  city  hall.  Only  those,  however,  who 
were  intimate  with  him,  know  the  efforts  he  has  made  to 
elevate  his  calling,  to  improve  its  appearances,  and  to  am- 
eliorate the  condition  of  those  who  are  compelled  to  earn 
their  bread  by  daily  toil.  No  man's  sense  of  justice  was 
higher,  and  could  be  applied  to  more  confidently  when 
there  was  a  doubtful  question  to  be  decided. 

"Mr.  Polhemus   was  born   near   Haverstraw,   Rock- 


THK  CRISPK  FAMILY.  367 


land  county,  December  15,  1S26.  The  youngest  of  four 
brothers,  and  dosing  his  mother  when  only  three  years 
old,  he  was  very  early  obliged  to  go  to  work.  His  first 
employment  was  in  a  cotton  factory,  and  the  next  upon 
the  Morris  and  Lehigh  canals,  but  in  1842  he  came  to 
New  York  to  enter  a  printing  office.  He  soon  distin- 
guished himself  as  a  skillful  hand-pressman.  After  ten 
years  of  hard  work,  having  then  saved  up  a  few  dollars, 
he  entered  into  partnership  with  John  de  \'rirs,  as  Pol- 
hemus  &  de  Yries,  their  work  being  chiefly  auction  cata- 
logues. They  wrought  long  hours,  frequently  not  leav- 
ing until  two  and  three  in  the  morning,  and  nearly 
always  staying  when  there  was  work  until  ten  and  eleven. 

"An  extraordinary  feat  accrmplished  by  Mr.  Polhe- 
mus  was  the  printing  of  Goulding's  New  York  directory, 
embracing  nine  millions  of  ems,  in  eleven  days.  This 
has  never  been  equalled  for  speed. 

"He  was  sturdy  and  energetic,  and  undeniably  earned 
the  proud  position  he  occupied  as  the  foremost  of  living 
printers.  His  relations  with  his  employes  were  of  the 
most  cordial  character;  he  knew  and  understood  them, 
sympathized  with  their  misfortunes  and  rejoiced  in  their 
good  luck.  This  epitome  of  his  business  career  demon- 
strates what  singleness  of  aim  and  indomitable  persever- 
ance are  capable  of  achieving  in  the  course  of  half  a  cen- 
tury of  business  life. 

"He  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  for  many  years 
treasurer  of  the  New  York  Typothatae.  the  leading  asso- 


368  THE  HISTORY  OF 


ciation  of  employing  printers.  Mr.  Polhemus  was  of 
Dutch  extraction,  and  is  proud  of  the  distinction.  He 
has  resided  in  Flushing  twenty-three  years.  His  second 
wife,  who  was  Mrs.  Emma  C.  Needham,  of  Chicago,  his 
two  sons,  Horace  G.,  and  Charles  Theodore,  his  children 
by  a  first  wife,  survive  him.  Both  are  married,  and  are 
associated  with  their  father  in  business  at  Fulton  street." 


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(Paye  294.) 


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HOME  OF  C.  DELEFEBVRE. 
(Pajre  357.) 


HOME  OF  JOHN  CRISPE. 
(Page  340.) 


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(Page  336.) 

APPENDIX. 


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MONUMENT  NO.  4. 
(Page   891 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY. 


APPENDIX, 

Additional  information  on  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe  "  the 
ould  faithful  servant  of  Charles  the  First."  has  been  ob- 
tained, and  can  be  found  on  page  95,  volume  XIII,  Dic- 
tionary of  National  Biography,      It  reads: 

"Sir  Nicholas  Crispe — 1599^ )- 1666— -Royalist;  was 
descended  from  a  family  possessing  estates  in  Gloucester- 
shire, and  engaged  in  trade  in  London.  His  father,  Ellis 
Crispe,  was  Sheriff  of  London  in  1625,  during  which 
year  he  died  (Collections  Relating  to  the  Family  of  Crispe 
II,  page  3).  He  was  a  widower  aged  29  when  he  mar- 
ried Sarah  Spencer,  on  June  28,  1628,  (Chester  marriage 
licenses,  ed.  Foster,  page  355).  He  therefore  probably 
was  born  in  1598  or  1599.  Frequent  mentions  of  Sir 
Nicholas  Crispe  in  the  Colonial  State  Papers  show  him 
actively  engaged  in  the  African  trade  from  1625  onwards. 
In  1629  he  and  his  partners  petitioned  for  letters  of  re- 
prisal against  the  French,  stating  that  they  had  lost 
,£20,000  by  the  capture  of  one  of  their  ships.  On  No- 
vember 22,  1632,  Charles  I.  issued  a  proclamation  grant- 
ing to  Crispe  and  five  others  the  exclusive  right  of  trad- 
ing to  Guinea,  which  was  secured  them  by  patent  for 
thirty-one  years  Nevertheless,  in  1637  Crispe's  company 
complained  that  interlopers  were  infringing  on  their  mo- 
nopoly of  transporting   'uigers'  from  Guinea  to  the  West 


37«  THE   HISTORY  OF 


Indies  (Colonial  State  Papers,  Collection  1574-1660, 
pages  75  and  114).  The  wealth  thus  acquired  enabled 
Crispe  to  become  one  of  the  customers  who  contracted 
with  the  King  in  1640  for  the  two  farms  of  the  customs 
called  the  Great  and  Petty  Farm.  The  petition  of  the 
surviving  contractors  presented  to  Charles  II.  in  1661, 
states  that  they  advanced  to  the  King  on  this  security 
,£253,000  for  the  payment  of  the  navy  and  other  public 
uses  (Somers'  Tracts,  volume  VII,  page  512).  Crispe 
received  the  honor  of  Knighthood  on  January  2  1641. 
He  was  elected  to  the  Long  Parliament  as  a  member  for 
Winchelsea,  but  was  attacked  as  a  monopolist  directiv 
Parliament  opened.  On  November  21,  1640,  he  was  ord- 
ered to  attend  the  Committee  of  Grievances,  and  to  sub- 
mit at  once  to  the  House  of  Commons  the  patents  for  the 
sole  trade  to  Guinea,  and  the  sole  importation  of  red- 
wood; also  that  concerning  copperas  stones,  and  that  for 
the  monopoly  of  making  and  vending  beads  (Rushworth, 
volume  IV,  page  53).  For  his  share  in  these  he  was  ex- 
pelled from  the  House  on  February  2,  1641.  At  the 
same  time  he  and  the  other  customers  were  called  to  ac- 
count for  having  collected  the  duties  on  merchandise 
without  a  Parliamentary  grant,  and  only  obtained  an  act 
of  indemnity  on  payment  of  a  fine  of  ,£150,000  (Gardiner 
Journals,  May  25-26,  1641). 

"In  the  Civil  War,  Crispe  not  unnaturally  took  the 
side  of  the  King,  but  remained  at  first  in  London,  and 
secretlv  sent  monev  to  Charles.      His  conduct  was  discov- 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  379 


ered  by  an  intercepted  letter  of  Sir  Robert  Pye's,  and  his 
arrest  was  ordered  (Sanford,  Studies  of  the  Great  Re- 
bellion, page  547).  But  he  succeeded  in  escaping'  to  Ox- 
ford in  disguise,  and  was  welcomed  by  the  King  with  the 
title  of  'little  old  faithful  fanner'  (special  passages,  Feb- 
ruary 14-21,  1643;  and  afterwards  conveyed  to  London 
by  Lady  Aubigny;  Husband,  Ordinances  of  Parliament, 
folio  page  201:  Clarendon,  Rebellion,  volume  VII;  pages 
59  and  61).  He  was  also  implicated  in  Ogle's  plot  in  the 
winter  of  1643,  and  the  estate  of  his  brother,  Samuel 
Crispe,  was  sequestrated  by  the  Parliament  for  the  same 
business  (Camden  Miscellany,  volume  VIII;  A  Secret 
Negotiation  with  Charles  I.,  pages  2  and  18). 

"On  July  3,  1643,  Crispe  obtained  a  commission 
from  the  King  to  raise  a  regiment  of  five  hundred  horse, 
but  before  it  was  complete  it  was  surprised  at  Cirencester 
by  Essex,  on  his  march  back  from  Gloucester,  and  cap- 
tured to  a  man  (September  15,  1643;  Bibliotheca  Glou- 
eestrensis,  pages  74  and  174).  Crispe  himself  was  not 
present  with  his  regiment  at  the  disaster.  A  few  days 
earlier  he  had  been  involved  in  a  quarrel  with  Sir  James 
En  yon,  on  Northamptonshire,  which  led  to  a  duel  in 
which  the  latter  was  mortally  wounded.  Crispe  was 
brought  to  a  court-martial  for  this  affair,  but  honorably 
acquitted  on  the  ground  of  the  provocation  and  injury 
he  had  received  from  his  antagonist  (October  2,  1643, 
Sanderson,  Charles  I.,  page  666).  In  the  following  No- 
vember, Crispe  received  a  commission  to  raise  a  regiment 


380  THK  HISTORY  OF 


of  fifteen  hundred  foot  (November  17,  Black,  Oxford 
Docquets),  but  it  docs  not  appear  that  he  carried  out  this 
design.  For  the  rest  of  the  war  his  services  were  chiefly 
performed  at  sea. 

"On  May  6,  1644,  he  received  a  commission  to  equip 
at  his  own  and  his  partners'  expense  not  less  than  fifteen 
ships  of  war,  with  power  to  make  prizes  fib):  He  was 
granted  a  tenth  of  the  prizes  taken  by  his  ships,  and  also 
appointed  receiver  and  auditor  of  the  estates  of  delin- 
quents in  Cornwall  (Collection  Clarenden  State  Papers, 
volume  I,  pages  264  and  294^.  As  the  royal  fleet  was 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Parliament,  the  services  of 
Crispe's  squadron  in  maintaining-  the  King's  communica- 
tions with  the  Continent,  and  procuring  supplies  of  arms 
and  ammunition,  were  of  special  value.  He  also  acted 
as  the  King's  factor  on  a  large  scale,  selling  tin  and  wool 
in  France,  and  buying  powder  with  the  proceeds  (Hus- 
band, Collection  of  Orders  folio,  pages  S42  and  846). 
These  services  naturally  procured  him  a  corresponding 
degree  of  hostility  from  the  Parliament.  He  was  one  of 
the  persons  excluded  from  indemnity  in  the  terms  pro- 
posed to  the  King  at  Uxbridge.  His  pecuniary  losses 
had  also  been  very  great.  When  Crispe  fled  from  Lou- 
don the  Parliament  confiscated  .£5,000  worth  of  bullion 
which  had  been  deposited  in  the  Tower.  They  also  se- 
qnesterated  his  stock  in  the  Ouinea  Company  for  the  pay- 
ment of  a  debt  of  £  16,000  which  he  was  asserted  to  owe 
the  State   (Camden   Miscellany,   volume   VIII;  A  Secret 


& 


+#■ 


tas?s 


Mr"?    %&■ 


*ra 


■<m 


^^flit^r':' 


QUEEN    ELIZABETH. 
(Who  conferred  Knighthood  on  Sir  Henry  Crispe.) 


^::k 


Wm   f 


JAMES    I. 


KING  JAMKS  I. 
(Who  conferred   Knighthood  on  Sir  Charles  Crispe.) 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  385 


Negotiation  with  Charles  I.,  pages  2  and  18).  His  home 
in  Bread  street  was  sold  to  pay  off  the  debt,  and  the  offi- 
cers thrown  out  of  employment  on  the  constitution  of 
the  New  Model  (Perf.  Diurnal,  April  16,  1645).  He  is 
said  also  to  have  lost  £20, 000  by  the  capture  of  two  ships 
from  Guinea,  the  one  by  a  Parliamentary  ship,  the  other 
by  a  pirate  (Certain  Informations,  October  30,  November 
6,  1643). 

"Nevertheless,  his  remaining  estates  must  have  been 
considerable,  for  on  May  6,  1645,  the  House  of  Commons 
ordered  that  i"6,ooo  a  year  should  be  paid  to  the  elector 
palatine  out  of  the  properties  of  Crispe  and  Lord  Cot- 
tington  (Journals  of  the  House  of  Commons).  On  the 
final  triumph  of  the  Parliamentary  cause,  Crispe  fled  to 
France  ( Whitelocke  Memorials,  page  200),  but  he  does 
not  seem  to  have  remained  long  in  exile.  He  was  allowed 
to  return,  probably  owing  to  the  influence  of  his  many 
Puritan  relatives  in  London,  and  officers  in  the  list  of 
compounders  as  paying  a  compensation  of  .£"346  (Dring 
Catalogue,  edition  1733.  page  25).  In  the  act  passed  by 
Parliament  in  November,  1653,  f°r  the  sale  of  the  Crown 
forests,  the  debt  due  to  Crispe  and  his  associates,  in  the 
form  of  the  customs,  was  allowed  as  a  public  faith  debt  of 
^"276, 146,  but  solely  on  the  condition  that  they  advance  a 
like  sum  for  the  public  service  within  a  limited  period. 
The  additional  sum  advanced  was  then  to  be  accepted  as 
'monies  doubled  under  the  act,'  and  the  total  debt  com- 
puted at/352,000  to  be  secured  on  the  Crown  lands.     But 


i86  THE  HISTORY  OF 


although  Crispe  and  his  partners  were  willing  to  take-  up 
this  speculation,  they  could  not  get  together  more  than 
£30,000,  and  their  petition  for  more  time  was  refused 
(Collection  of  State  Papers,  Dom.,  [653-4,  pages  265, 
353.  357)-  Other  speculators  were  equally  unfortunate. 
Crispe  had  advanced  ,£1,500  for  the  reconquest  of  Ire- 
land, but  when  the  lands  came  to  he  divided  among  the 
adventurers,  the  fraud  of  the  surveyors  awarded  him  his 
share  in  bog  and  coarse  land  (Petition  in  Prendergast, 
Cromwellian  Settlement,  page  241  ).  The  prospect  of  the 
Restoration  gave  him  hopes  of  redress,  and  he  forwarded 
it  by  all  means  in  his  power.  He  signed  the  declaration 
of  the  London  Royalists  in  support  of  Monck  (April  24, 
1660),  and  was  one  of  the  committee  sent  by  the  city 
to  Charles  II.  at  Breda  (May  3,  1660;  Kennet  Register, 
pages  r  2  r - 1 3 3 ■ . 

"In  the  following  July,  Crispe  petitioned  from  a 
prison  for  the  payment  of  some  part  of  the  debt  due  him 
for  his  advances  to  the  State;  his  own  share  of  the  great 
sum  owing  amounting  to  /30, 000  (Collection  State  Papers, 
Dom.  1(60-1,  page  122.)  In  the  next  three  years  he  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  the  partial  reimbursement  of  these 
debts,  and  the  grant  of  several  lucrative  employments  as 
compensation  for  the  rest.  In  May,  166 1,  he  obtained 
for  his  son  the  office  of  Collector  of  Customs  in  the  port 
of  London,  and  in  June  he  became  himself  farmer  of  the 
duty  on  the  export  of  sea'coal.  He  obtained  /io.ooo  for 
his  services  in  compounding  the   King's  debt  to  the  Kast 


THK  CRISPK  FAMILY.  387 


India  Company,  and  two-thirds  of  the  customs  on  spices 
were  assigned  to  him  until  the  remaining  .£20,000  of  his 
own  debt  was  repaid  lib.  1661-2,  pages  14,  25,  331,  608). 
Once  more  in  partnership  with  the  survivors  of  the  old 
customers,  he  became  a  contractor  for  the  farm  of  the 
customs,  and  Charles  allowed  them  a  large  abatement  in 
consideration  of  the  old  debt  'ib,  1663-4,  pages  123,  676). 
"On  April  16,  1665,  Crispe  was  created  a  Baronet, 
which  dignity  continued  in  his  family  until  the  death  of 
his  great  grand-sou,  Sir  Charles  Crispe,  in  1740  (Burke, 
Extinct  Baronetage".  Crispe  survived  tins  work  of  the 
King's  favor  only  about  ten  months,  dying  on  February 
26,  [665-6.  His  will  is  printed  in  Mr.  F.  A.  Crispe's 
Collections  Relating  to  the  Family  of  Crispe  (volume  II, 
page  32K  His  body  was  buried  in  the  church  of  St. 
Mildred,  Bread  street,  but  his  heart  was  placed  in  a  mon- 
ument to  the  memory  of  Charles  I.,  which  he  had  erected 
shortly  after  the  Restoration  in  the  chapel  at  Hammer- 
smith. The  magnificent  house  built  by  Crispe  at  Ham- 
mersmith was  bought  in  1683  by  Prince  Rupert  for  his 
mistress,  Margaret  Hughes,  and  became  in  the  present 
century  the  residence  of  Queen  Caroline  (Lysons,  Environs 
of  London,  Middlesex,  402-9).  Besides  his  eminent  ser- 
vices in  the  promotion  of  the  African  trade,  Crispe  is 
credited  with  the  introduction  of  many  domestic  arts  and 
manufactures.  The  art  of  brickmaking  as  since  practiced 
was  his  own,  conducted  with  incredible  patience  through 
innumerable  trials  and  perfected  at  very  large  expense.   * 


>88  THE  HISTORY  OF 


*  *  By  his  communication  new  inventions,  as  water- 
mills,  paper-mills  and  power-mills,  came  into  use.  'Lives 
of  Eminent  Citizens,  quoted  in  Biographia  Britannica). 
"[Crispe's  Collections  Relating  to  the  Family  of 
Crispe;  Cat.  State  Papers,  Dom.;  Clarendon's  History  of 
the  Rebellion;  Burke's  Extinct  Baronetage;  Floyd's 
Memoirs  of  Excellent  Personages;  Biographia  Britan- 
nica; ed.  Kippis,  volume  IV.]" 

REVEREND    TOBIAS    CRISPE. 

The  Reverend  Tohias  Crispe  is  highly  spoken  of  in 
the  Dictionary  of  National  Biography,  volume  XIII,  as 
follows:  "Tobias  Crispe  (1600- 1643);  antiuomian;  third 
son  of  Ellis  Crispe  once  Sheriff  of  Loudon,  who  died  in 
1625:  was  born  in  1600,  in  Bread  street,  London.  His 
elder  brother  was  Sir  Nicholas  Crispe  Iq.  v.).  After  leav- 
ing Eton,  matriculated  at  Cambridge,  where  he  remained 
until  he  had  taken  his  B.  A.,  when  he  removed  to  Balliol 
College,  Oxford,  graduating  M.  A.  in  1626.  About  this 
time  he  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Rowland  Wilson,  a 
London  merchant,  an  M.  P.,  and  member  of  the  Council 
of  State  in  1640-9,  by  whom  he  had  thirteen  children. 
In  1643,  Sir  R.  Lancaster  completed  his  edition  of  Crispe's 
sermons  and  works.  The  same  authority  states  that 
Crispe  refused  'preferment  and  advancement.'  When  he 
obtained  the  degree  of  D.  D.  is  not  known,  but  certainly 
prior  to  1642,  in  which  year  he  was  compelled  to  leave 
his-  rectory  in  consequence  of  the  petty  persecution  he 
met  with  from  the  Rovalist  soldiers  on  account  of  his  in- 


\  0    \ 


mm 


SEALS  AND  SIGNETS  ON  OLD  CRISPE  DOCUMENTS 


f— 1 


^ 


GOLD  AND  PEARL  GRECIAN  SIGNET  RINGS. 
(Heirlooms  of   Thomas  Crispe.) 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  393 


clination  to  Puritanism,  and  retired  to  London  in  August, 
1642.  His  controversey  with  Episcopalians — fifty-two 
opponents — was  held  at  the  close  of  that  year,  a  full  ac- 
count of  which  is  given  in  Nelson's  Life  of  Bishop  Bull 
(pages  260-270).  He  died  of  small-pox  on  February  27, 
1642-3,  and  was  buried  in  St.  Mildred's  church,  Bread 
street.  Several  authorities  state  that  he  contracted  the 
disease  from  the  eagerness  with  which  he  concluded  his 
part  of  the  debate  After  his  death  his  discourses  were 
published  by  R.  Lancaster  as:  1,  'Christ  Alone  Exalted,' 
in  fourteen  sermons,  1643;  2,  'Christ  Alone  Exalted,'  in 
seventeen  sermons  on  Phil.  Ill,  8-9,  1644;  3,  'Christ 
Alone  Exalted  in  the  Perfection  and  Encouragement  of 
His  Saints,  Notwithstanding  Sins  and  Tryals,'  in  eleven 
sermons,  1646;  4,  'Christ  Alone  Exalted,'  in  two  ser- 
mons, 1683.  When  the  first  of  these  volumes  appeared 
the  Westminster  Assembly  proposed  to  have  it  burnt  as 
heretical,  which,  however,  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
done.  In  1690,  his  'Works,'  prefaced  by  portrait,  were 
republished  with  additions  by  one  of  his  sous. 

"Lancaster  says:  His  life  was  innocent  and  harm- 
less of  all  evil.     *      *      Zealous  and  fervent  of  all  good. 

"[Granger,  IV,  179;  Lysons's  Environs  of  London, 
VII,  1;  Biog.  Brit.,  art.  Toland,  note  B;  Crispe's  Works 
(Lancaster's  edition),  1643;  Wood's  Athanae,  Oxon, 
(Bliss),  III,  50;  Bogue's  History  Dissenters,  I,  399; 
Wilson's  History  of  Dissenting  Churches,  II,  201;  III, 
443;   Mermoir  in  Gill's  edition   of  Crispe's  Works,  1 791 ; 


594  THE  HISTORY  OF 


Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans,  III,  iS,  edition  1736. 
A  curious  account  of  Crispe's  death  is  given  in  the  Last 
Moments  and  Triumphant  Deaths,  etc  ,  1857.]" 

AMERICAN    NOTES. 

"Green's  History  of   Colonists  at  Groton,  says,  page 

44:     The  following  is  a  list  of  soldiers  who  served  in  the 

garrison  at  Groton  during  King  Philip's  War;  diary  kept 

by  John  Hull,  Treasurer  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts: 

"Soldiers  were  paid  at  Boston  as  follows: 

"April  24,  1676,  to  Jonathan  Crispe,  £2    sio    d6. 

"June  2.1,   1676,  to  Zacharey    Crispe,    £2    si 5    d8." 

Page  73  si  vs:      "The  story  of   William  Longiey  and 

Deliverance  is  a  sad   one.     They  were  living  with  eight 

children  on  a  small  farm  perhaps  a  mile  from  the  village, 

on    the  east  side  of  the    Hollis  road.      Their  house  was 

built  of  hewn  logs,  and  was  standing  at  the  beginning  of 

the   present  century.      The   old   cellar  with   its  well  laid 

walls  was   distinctly  visible   forty    years  ago;   traces  of  it 

could  be  seen   even   to  very   modern  times.     The  site  of 

this  house  has   recently  been    marked   with  a  monument 

bearing  the  following  inscription: 

"  'Here  dwelt 

William    Longiey 

with  eight  children. 

On  the  27th  of  July,  1694,  the  Indians  killed 

the  father  and  mother  and  five  children,  and 

carried  into  captivity  the  other  three.' 

"The  monument  was  erected   in   the  autum  of   1S79, 


THE  CRISPE  FAMILY.  395 

at  the  expense  of  the  town,  on  land  generously  given  for 
the  purpose  by  Mr.  Z.  Fiteh,  the  present  owner  of  the 
farm.  On  the  fatal  morning  of  July  27th,  1694,  the 
massacre  of  this  family  took  place.  The  savages  ap- 
peared suddenly,  coming  from  the  other  side  of  the 
Merrimac  river,  and  began  the  attack.  Early  in  the 
morning  of  the  attack  the  Indians  turned  the  cattle  out 
of  the  barn-yard  into  the  cornfield,  and  lay  in  ambush. 
The  stratagem  had  the  desired  effect,  for  as  he  rushed 
out  of  the  house  unarmed,  in  order  to  drive  the  cattle 
back,  he  was  captured  and  murdered;  the  rest  of  his 
family  murdered  and  captured.  The  bodies  of  the  slain 
were  buried  in  one  grave  by  the  neighbors,  and  a  small 
apple-tree  growing  on  the  spot  and  a  stone  lying  even 
the  ground  marked  the  grave  of  this  unfortunate  family. 
"Deliverance  Crispe  Longley  was  among  the  captives. 
Deliverance,  or  Lydia  as  she  was  called,  was  sold  to  the 
French  and  placed  in  the  Congregation  of  Xotra  Dame, 
Canada  (Montreal),  where  she  embraced  the  faith  of 
Roman  Catholicism,  and  died  July  20,  1758  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  S4  years.  Her  captive  sister,  Betty,  per- 
ished soon  after  her  capture  from  hunger  and  exposure, 
and  John,  the  third  captive,  remained  with  the  savages 
for  more  than  four  years,  when  he  was  ransomed  and 
brought  away,  much  against  his  own  will.  At  one  time 
during  his  captivity  he  was  on  the  verge  of  starving 
when  the  Indians  kindly  gave  him  a  dog's  foot  to  gnaw, 
which  for   a   time  appeased  his  hunger.      He  was  known 


396  TIIIC   HISTORY   OF 


among  his  captors  as  John  Augary.     Their  grand-mother, 

the  widow  of  Benjamin  Crispe,  made  her  will  on  April 
13,  1698,  which  was  admitted  to  probate  on  December 
28th  following,  and  in  it  she  remembered  these  absent 
captive  children:  'I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  three 
grand-children,  yet  in  captivity,  if  they  return,  vizdt: 
Three  books;  one  of  them  a  Bible,  another  a  sermon  book 
treating  of  faith,  and  the  other  a  Psalm  book.' 

"The  old  lady  herself  doubtless  had  read  the  'sermon 
book  treating  of  faith,'  and  it  must  have  strengthened 
her  belief  in  Divine  wisdom,  and  been  a  great  consolation 
in  her  trials.  She  did  not  know  at  this  time  that  her 
grand-daughter  was  a  convert  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith.  The  knowledge  of  this  fact  would  have  been  to 
her  an  affliction  scarcely  less  than  the  massacre  of  her 
daughter's  familv." 


G 


I  -  ' 


■       -.        ■     ■     .p-.c-,-..^^,  .  -,    ... 


."  : 


MR.  AND  MRS.  CLEMENT  CRISPE. 
(FaKe  287.) 


*. 


11       l 


m 


. >\. 


CHILDREN  OF  MR.  AND  MRS.  \Y.   H.  CRISFE. 


ERRATA. 

In  the  fall  of  1901  Mr.  John  Crispe  (page  349)  was 
married  to  Miss  Martha  Forebaum,  who  for  some  years 
taught  school  at  Plainwell,  Michigan. 


On   page  317,    the   name   "Gum"    Plains  should  be 
Gun"    Plains. 


The  engraving  marked   "  Crispe  and  Winne  Arms  " 
should  be   "Crispe  and  Denne  Arms." 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


Arms  of  Cri.spe  .  .  .  Frontispage 

American  Families              .              .               .  165   271 

Anna  Crispe,  No.  IX     .              .              .              .  1 54 
Anna  Hutchinson.                   ....       205 

Addie  Hunt          .....  3°4 

Allie  N.  Crispe         .              .                            .  ■       3*7 

Alice  M.  Crispe               ....  360 

Appendix      .              .              .              .              .  -37  7 

B 

Bowles  Famil}-   .....  272 

Birchington  Family             .                           .  .47 

Banker  Crispe                 ....  274 

C 

Crispe  Charity  Farm              .              .              .  .81 

Crispe  Monuments              .              .              .  .89 

Clement  Crispe.   No.  IV              .              .              .  151 

Charles  Crispe,  No.  V              .                             .  151 

Colonial  Crispes               .              .              .              .  1 73 

Crispe  Grant              .              .              .              .  1 75 

Colonial  Soldiers              .              .              .              .  215 

Charter  Oak               .               .               .               .  .231 

Charles  Crispe,  B              .                             .              .  285 

Cherry  Delefebvre       ....  35« 


406  INDEX. 


Honorable  J.  Leverett 


Deliverance  Crispe              .  .              .                       23'^ 

Dr.  Frank  Bowles             ....  280 

Dr.  B.  J.  Cigraud          .  .              .              •                31? 

Dr.  B.  J.  Cigrand             .  .             -          Frontispage 

E 

English  Crispes         .       .  .              .              .               47 

Elizabeth  Crispe,  No.  VIII  .              .              •        *53 

Edward  Crispe,  No.  XIII  .              .              •          l55 

Edward  Crispe,  E          .  .               ■               •                 288 

Edward  Crispe,  a                 .  294 

Edward  Crispe,  b         .  .              .              •                3°4 

Episcopalian  Crispes              .  .              .                      27' 

Emma  Crispe,  G              .  .              .              •              3"° 


French  Soldiers  ....              33 

French-Huguenots  .                                                     43 

G 

George  Crispe,    No.  Ill  .              .              .              15° 

Governor  Anclros  .              .              .               .229 

Grace  E.  Crispe,    B  .              .              •                334 

George  Level t              .  .              .                                 342 


20S 


Honorable  C.  F.    Crisp  .               .               .               .246 

Honorable  \V.  J.  Bryan  ....     269 

Honorable  C.  R.  Crisp  .             «              -              269 

Hannah  Crispe        .  .              .              .              -357 


rNDKX.  407. 

Honorable  John  Clark                 .              .               .  213 

I 

Inscription            .....  7 

Introductory               .            .  .              .              .  10 

Indian  Captives                  ....  23S 

Indian  Wars  .  .  .  .  .215 

J 

John  Crispe.         .                .                .                .                .  142 

John  Crispe,  No.  XI  .  .  .  .        154 

John  Crispe,  A  .  .  ■    .  .  .        271 

John  L.  Crispe,  e                 ....  312 

John  Crispe,    E                   ....  349 

James  Crispe.  No.  XII  .  .  .  .  ^    155 

James  Crispes,  C  2>>^ 

Julia  Emma  Crispe,  c  309 

James  X.  Cooler               .               .               .               .  310 

John  Polhemns             ....  366 

K 

King  of  Thanet               ....  79 

Katherine  Crispe      .  .  .  .  .341 

L 

Laws  of  Heredity               ....  20 

I,ord  Mayor  of   London            .               .               .  132 

M 

Manor  Royton                 .               .               .               .  127 

Mary  Crispe.  Xo.  VI               .               .               .  .152 

Mary  Stone  Crispe.  b                  .                              .  3°2 
Marv  and  William  College               .               .               .          232 


4o8  INDEX. 


Name          .......  30 

Nellie  Keating     .              .              .              .              .  312 

Norman  Soldiers            .              ...              .  36 

Nellie  Smith  .  .  .  .340 

O 

Origin  of  Family              .              .              .  29 

Old  State  Papers          ....  82 

P 

Preface                  .                  ....  9 

Pilgrims            .                .                          .  192 

Priscilla  Crispe,                    ....  286 

Priscilla  Crispe,  D  342 

Proem   to  America          .              .              .               .  165 

Q 

Quex  Park                  .              .              .  68 

Quex  Drama              .              .              .               .          .  10 1 

Queen   Kli/abeth              ....  82 

R 

u 
Reverend  Tobias  Crispe     .  .  .  .129 

Reverend  Samuel  Crispe.            .              .              .  129 

Reverend  J.  Wheelwright                .              .  205 

Reverend  B.  Coleman                                    .              .  214 

Roger  Williams             ....  203 

S 

Story  of  Quex                  .              \              .              .  48 

Sir  Nicholas'Crispe         .              .                                 t  14  37- 


Sir  Henry  Crispe 


INDEX  409 

Sir  Abra.  Raynardson      .              .              .              .  137 

vSir  Anthony  Colepcppr       .              .              .  .138 

Sir  Harry  Gough              .              .              .              .  138 

Sir  Richard  Ingolsby              .              .  .138 

vSir  Edward  Moiling        .              .              .              .  138 

Sir  Richard  Levett        .              .              .              .  139 

Sir  Edmund  Andros           .              .              .  139 

Sir  Charles  Crispe,        .              .              .              .  139 

Sir  John  Crispe       .....  1 

Sutton  Valance   Family           .              .              .  141 

T 

Thomas  Crispe,   Xo.  2          .              .              .  .149 

W 

William  Crispe,    Xo.    1                 ...  143 

William  Crispe,           .              .              .              .  .     144 

William  H.  Crispe,  d                        .              .  .311 

William  Crispe,   C  336 

v\rilliam  Delano      ....'.  302 

Winde  Family                ....  78 

Z 

Zulestein   Family             ....  72 


"The  history  of  a   nation    is    made  up  of  the  lives 
of  its  inhabitants."  Victor  Hroo.