ROBERT M. CROASDALE

ROBERT M. CROASDALE, one of the well known young business men of Newtown, was born in Newtown, May 16, 1864, and is a son of John Wilson and Elizabeth B. (PARRY) CROASDALE, and is a descendant of the oldest families in Bucks.  His paternal ancestor, Ezra CROASDALE, was a native of Yorkshire, England, and brought a certificate from the Friends’ Meeting at Brighouse, Yorkshire, dated 1 mo. 29. 1683, and settled in Middletown, where he married 2 mo. 6, 1687, Ann PEACOCK, also a native of Yorkshire, coming from Kirksdale, in that county, in 1684, in the ship “Shield,” of Stockton, which arrived in the Delaware river in the later part of the 8^th month, 1684.  They were married at the house of Nicholas WALN, under the direction of Neshaminy (now Middletown) Monthly Meeting.  Ezra CROASDALE died 4 mo. 18, 1740, and his wife Ann 10 mo. 8 1732.  They were the parents of four children, viz.: Ezra, born 12 mo. 5, 1689, died 4 mo., 1702; William born 7 mo. 19, 1690, died 9 mo. 19, 1777; Grace, born 2 mo 6, 1692; and Jeremiah, born 8 mo. 29, 1694.

            Jeremiah CROASDALE, son of Ezra and Ann was born and reared in Middletown, and spent his whole life there.  He married 7 m. 22, 1720, Grace HEATON, daughter of Robert and Grace (PEARSON) HEATON, of Middletown.  Robert HEATON was born in Yorkshire in 1671, and came to Pennsylvania with his parents, Robert and Alice HEATON, from Settle, Yorkshire, in the “Welcome,” with William PENN, arriving 8 mo. 27, 1682.  He was a large landholder in Middletown, and one of the prominent men in the little Quaker colony on the Delaware.  Jeremiah and Grace (HEATON) CROASDALE were the parents of nine children:  Grace, born 9 mo. 8, 1721, married Jonathan KNIGHT; Mercy, born 12 mo. 28, 1723-4; Ezra, born 5 mo. 12, 1726; Robert, born 6 mo. 30, 1728; Ann, born 11 mo. 15, 1730-1; Eber, born 1 mo. 28, 1733; and Abijah, born 10 mo. 5, 1735; Macre and Achsah. Jeremiah died in 1748.

Robert CROASDALE, son of Jeremiah and Grace, married 9 mo. 15, 1750, Margery HAYHURST, born in Middletown, 2 mo. 15, 1730, daughter of Cuthbert and Deliverance (BILLS) HAYHURST.  Cuthbert HAYHURST was a son of William and Rachel (RADCLIFFE) HAYHURST, and a granddaughter of Cuthbert and Mary HAYHURST, who also came over in the “Welcome” from Settle, Yorkshire, in 1682.  James RADCLIFFE, the father of Rachel, was an eminent preacher among Friends, and came from Rosendale, Lancashire, to Middletown in 1685.  Robert CROASDALE died 8 mo. 9, 1780, and his widow Margery 6 mo. 29, 1783.  They had seven children:  Jeremiah, born 6 mo. 20, 1751 married Ann QUINBY, of New Jersey, and died 9 mo. 27, 1829, Abi, born 7 mo. 16, 1753; Rachel, born 3 mo. 7, 1756; Margery, born 7 mo. 3, 1758; Macre, born 12 mo. 7, 1760, married Samuel EASTBURN; and Robert, born 2 mo. 20, 1763.

            Robert CROASDALE, son of Robert and Margery, married (first) Tacy KNIGHT, and had three children, all of whom died young. Tacie died 5 mo. 30, 1791, and he married 10 mo. 25, 1792, Hannah (WOOLSTON) MITCHELL, daughter of Jeremiah WOOLSTON, who died 9 mo. 14, 1793, leaving a son, Jeremiah W., born 8 mo. 14, 1793.  Robert CROASDALE married a third time, 11 mo. 11, 1802, Ruth RICHARDSON, daughter of Joshua RICHARDSON, who bore him five children, Mary, born 8 mo. 7, 1803; Joseph H., born 1 mo. 8, 1806; Rachel, born 1807, died 1815; Tacy, born 11 mo. 28, 1819; and Robert Morris, born 2 mo. 6, 1812.  Robert. the father, died 6 mo. 15, 1821, and his widow Ruth 9 mo. 30, 1854, at the age of eighty-one years.

            Jeremiah W. CROASDALE, only child of Robert by his second wife Hannah, was born and reared in Middletown township, and spent the active years of his life as a farmer in that township.  After the death of his wife in 1866 he removed to Newtown, where he died in 1873.  He married 12 mo. 27, 1825, Sarah WILSON, who bore him four children.  She was a daughter of Joseph and Mary (BLAKEY) WILSON, and was born 7 mo. 9, 1799, and died 7 mo. 1, 1866.  The children of Jeremiah W. and Sarah (WILSON) CROASDALE were: Mary W., born 8 mo. 2, 1826, married Moses PAXSON; John Wilson, born 5 mo. 1, 1829; Hannah, born 1 mo. 28, 1831, married Charles W. KIRKBRIDE; and Robert Morris, born 10 mo. 14, 1834.

            John Wilson CROASDALE, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born and reared in Middletown township, and remained on the farm with his parents until 1853, when he removed to Newtown and embarked in the mercantile business, which he followed until his death, 1 mo. 19, 1894.  He married in 1862 Elizabeth B. PARRY, daughter of Thomas FELL and Mary (EASTBURN) PARRY, of Langhorne, whose ancestry is given in another part of this work.  Their children are: Robert M., the subject of this sketch; Thomas P., also of Newtown; and Mary E., married R. B. McKINNEY, of Philadelphia; she died February 1, 1905.

            Robert M. CROASDALE was born and reared in Newtown, and received his education at the local schools, and at an early age became a clerk in his father’s store, where he was employed until thirty years of age.  After his father’s death he was clerk in different stores in Newtown until 1903.  On July 1, 1903, he was appointed United States revenue collector for the first district of Pennsylvania, which position he still fills.  Mr. CROASDALE is an ardent Republican, and has always taken an active interest in the councils of his party, serving for several years as a member of the county committee.  He has served as chief burgess of Newtown for three years, as borough auditor for seven years; and is the present president of the town council.  He married, October 9, 1902, Helen CASTNER, of New Jersey.

Test taken from page 545 to 546 of: 

Davis, William W. H., A.M., History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania [New York-Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1905] Volume III

Transcribed August 2006 by Joan Lollis as part of the Bucks Co., Pa., Early Family Project, www.rootsweb.com/~pabucks/bucksindex.html

Published August 2006 on the Bucks County, Pa., USGenWeb pages at www.rootsweb.com/~pabucks/