HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



43 



was captain of the "Laurel," in the British 

 squadron, sent against the Spanish pos- 

 sessions in America, arriving at Bar- 

 badoes, January 29, 1654-5. He partici- 

 pated in the capture of jamica, May 17, 

 1655, was named as one of the commis- 

 sioners for supplying Jamica, and remained 

 there when Penn returned to England, but 

 following him soon after, and with him 

 retired to Kinsale, Ireland, where he lived 

 for about twenty years. On Penn re- 

 ceiving the grant of Pennsylvania he 

 named Captain Crispin as one of the three 

 "Commissioners for the Settleing of the 

 present Colony this year transported into 

 ye Province," as stated in his letter of in- 

 structions, dated September 30, 1681. Cap- 

 tain Crispin, with his fellow commissioners 

 John Bezar and Nathaniel Allen, sailed 

 for Pennsylvania, but in different ships, 

 Crispin sailing in the "Amity," which was 

 blown off after nearly reaching the Dela- 

 ware capes and put into Barbadoes for 

 repairs. Crispin died there, and the 

 "Amity" returned to England, and, return- 

 ing to Pennsylvania in April, 1682, brought 

 over Thomas Holme, Penn's surveyor gen- 

 eral, who also succeeded Crispin as com- 

 rnissioner. Captain William Crispin mar- 

 ried Anne Jasper, daughter of John Jasper, 

 a merchant of Rotterdam, and a sister to 

 Margaret, wife of Admiral Sir William 

 Penn, and mother of the great founder. 

 William and Anne Crispin were the parents' 

 of four children: Silas, above referred to, 

 who came to Pennsylvania^ with Thomas 

 Holme, and later married his daughter 

 Esther; Rebecca, who married. August 24, 

 1688, Edward Blackfan, son of John Black- 

 fan, of Stenning, county of Sussex, Eng- 

 land ; Ralph, who remained in Ireland 

 and Rachel who married Thomas Arm- 

 strong and also remained in Europe. 

 Edward Blackfan prepared to come to 

 Pennsylvania, where William Penn had 

 directed land to be laid out to him, but 

 died before sailing, in 1690. His widow 

 Rebecca and their only son William came 

 to Pennsylvania and located in Bucks 

 county at Pennsbury, where she lived for 

 a number of years. She married, in 1725, 

 Nehemiah Allen, son of Nathaniel, the com- 

 missioner. William, the son, married Elea- 

 nor Wood, of Philadelphia, and located in 

 Solebury, Bucks county. They are the 

 ancestors of the now numerous family of 

 Blackfan. Captain Crispin married a second 

 time, and had eleven children, most of 

 whom located in the West Indies. 



Silas Crispin, only son of the Captain 

 by his first marriage, in 1684 located in 

 Upper Dublin township, Philadelphia 

 county, where he lived the rest of his life, 

 dying May 31, 171 1. He married a second 

 time. Mary, daughter of Richard and Abi- 

 gail Stockton, and widow of Thomas Shinn, 

 who after his death married a third time, 

 September 11, 1714. Richard Ridgway, Jr.. 

 son of Richard Ridgway, who was one of 

 the earliest English settlers on the Delaware 

 in Bucks county. Silas and Esther (Holme) 



Crispin were the parents of eight children^ 

 six of whom lived to maturity: Sarah, 

 married Lesson Loftus, of Philadelphia; 

 Rebecca, married Joseph Finney ; Marie^ 

 married John Collett ; Eleanor, married 

 John Hart; Esther, married Thomas Rush; 

 Thomas, married Jane Ashton, and lived 

 on his father's plantation in Lower Dublin ; 

 and William and Susanna who died young. 

 By the second marriage Silas Crispin had 

 six children ; Joseph, who removed to Dela- 

 ware ; Benjamin, of Chester county; Abi- 

 gail, married John Wright, of Chester 

 county ; Silas ; Mary, married Thomas 

 Earl, of New Jersey; and John. 



John and Eleanor (Crispin) Hart were 

 the parents of ten children, viz :- 



T. John, born September 10, 1709, went 

 to Virginia, where he was killed June ir, 

 1743 by the accidental discharge of a gun. 



2. Susanna, born April 20, 171 1, mar- 

 ried March 31, 1731. John Price, and died 

 two years later, leaving an only child^ 

 Joseph Price. 



3. William, born JMarch 7, 1713, died 

 October 7, 1714. 



4. Joseph, born September r, 1715. died 

 February 25, 1788; see forward. 



5. Silas, born May 5, 1718, removed in 

 early life to Augusta county, Virginia. • At 

 the organization of Rockingham county ht 

 became a resident of that county, filling 

 the position of judge, sheriff, etc. He 

 died without issue October 29, 1795. 



6. Lucretia, born July 22. 1720, died 

 December 15, 1760; was twice married, 

 first, October 15, 1741, to William Gilbert, 

 who died about 1750, and on March 5, 1752, 

 to John Thomas ; had three sons by first 

 marriage, and a son and two daughters by 

 the last. 



7. Oliver Hart, born July 5, 1723, was 

 for thirty years pastor of a Baptist 

 church at Charleston, South Carolina, 

 1749-80, and fifteen years at Hopewell, 

 New Jersey; died December 31, 1795. 



8. Edith, born 1727, married Isaac 

 Hough ; — see Hough Family. 



9. Seth, died at age of nine years. 



10. Olive, died in infancy. 



Colonel Joseph Hart, fourth child and 

 eldest living son of John and Eleanor 

 (Crispin) Hart at the death of his father, 

 was born in the old family mansion in 

 Warminster. September i. 1715, and died 

 there February 25. 1788. He was an active 

 member of the Baptist church of South- 

 ampton, and a deacon from its organiza- 

 tion in 1746. and succeeded his father as 

 clerk and trustee in 1763. He entered into 

 public life at an early age; was sheriff of 

 Bucks county 1749-51 : justice of the county 

 courts 1764 to the time of his death. He 

 was ensign of Captain Henry Kroesen's 

 company of Bucks County Associators in 

 1747, and captain in 1756 of a Bucks county 

 company. His most valuable services were 

 however rendered during the Revolutionary 

 contest, during which period to write of 

 him is to write the history of the struggle 

 in Bucks county, where he was in the fore- 



