Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/27

Rh tlesnake," with the rank of master-commandant, and was made captain, 27 April, 1816. In 1829-30 he commanded the squadron on the coast of Brazil.

CREIGHTON, Johnston Blakeley, naval offi- cer, b. in Rhode Island, 12 Nov., 1822 ; d. in Mor- ristown, N. J.. 13 Nov., 1883. He entered the navy as a midshipman, 10 Feb., 1838, became a lieutenant, 9 Oct., 1853, commanded the steamer " Ottawa," of the South Atlantic blockading squad- ron, in 1862, commissioned as commander, 20 Sept., 1862, was on special duty in 1863, and in 1863-'4 commander of the steamer " Mahaska," of the South Atlantic blockading squadron, which was engaged in the bombardment of Forts Wagner and Gregg in August, 1863. He was transferred to the "Mingo," of the South Atlantic blockading squadron, and commanded that steamer till the close of the war. He was commissioned captain on 26 Nov., 1868, and became a commodore on 9 Nov., 1874. He was commandant of the Norfolk navy-yard in 1879, and was retired with the rank of rear-admiral in 1883. CREIGHTON, William, clergyman, b. in New York city in 1793; d. in Tarrytown, N. Y., 23 April, 1865. He was graduated at Columbia in 1812. studied theology, and took orders in the Protestant Episcopal church, and during a great part of his earlier ministry, 1816-'36, was rector of St. Mark's in New York city. During the suspen- sion of Bishop Onderdonk he was elected provisional bishop of the diocese of New York, but declined the office. He pi'esided in the diocesan convention for nine years, and in the lower house of the gen- eral convention of the P. E. church during its ses- h^ions of 1853, 1856, and 1859. He was, from 1836 until 1865, rector of Christ church, Tarrytown. CRELE, Joseph, centenarian, b. in Detroit, Mich., in 1725; d. in Caledonia, Wis., 27 Jan., 1866. The date of his birth is established by the record of his baptism in the French Catholic church, Detroit. He was married in 1755 at New Orleans, and a few years afterward settled at Prairie du Chien. He bore arms at Braddock's defeat, and before the Revolution was employed in carrying letters between Prairie du Chien and Green Bay. He settled in Wisconsin during the Revolutionary war. The later years of his life were passed with a daughter by his third marriage, born when he was sixty-nine years old. He enjoyed robust health up to within two years of his death, and was able to walk several miles without fatigue and to chop wood for the family. CRENSHAW, Anderson, "jurist, b. in South Carolina, 22 May, 1783; d. in Alabama in 1847. He was graduated in 1806 from the College of Co- lumbia, S. C, being the first graduate of the insti- tution, became a successful lawyer, removed to Alabama about 1819, and held the offices of judge of the circuit court from 1821 to 1838, being also, until 1832. judge of the supreme court, and chan- cellor of the southern division of the state from the organization of a separate court of chancery in 1838 till his death. Though a Whig in politics, he was elected to the judicial posts that he held by a Democratic legislature. — His son, Wjilter Henry, b. in Abbeville district, S. C, 7 July, 1817 ; d. in Alabama in 1878. He was graduated at the Uni- versity of Alabama in 1834, and was from 1838 till 1867 a member of either the upper or lower house of the Alabama legislature, officiating as speaker of the house in 1861-'5, and president of the senate in 1865-'7. In 1865 he was a member of the Constitu- tional convention. He was afterward judge of the Butler county criminal court, and with two other commissioners codified the laws of the state. CRESAP, Michael, trader and Indian fighter, b. in Alleghany countv, Md., 29 June, 1742 ; d. in New York city, 18 Oct., 1775. His father, Thomas, emigrated from Yorkshire, England, settled in western Maryland, and was a member of the Ohio company in 1752. His son married a Miss White- head, of Philadelphia, while yet a minor, became a merchant, removed to the Ohio in the spring of 1774, and established a settlement below Wheel- ing. He took command of the pioneers, who pre- pared for an Indian war, and, after Dr. Connolly had warned him of a general Indian war, made a declaration of hostilities on 26 April and defeated a party of Indians in a skirmish on the river. An- other party of whites treacherously massacred the family of the chief Logan on Yellow creek. Lo- gan, who had been friendly to the English, ac- cused Cresap, as the leader- of the white men in that region, of committing the crime, and through a pathetic speech, attributed to Logan and pre- served in Jefferson's " Notes," the deed attached to his memory, until his son-in-law, J. J. Jacob, and later Brantz Mayer, proved that he was in Mary- land at the time of the occurrence. Gov. Dunmore gave him the commission of captain of the Hamp- shire county militia in Virginia. After the con- clusion of tiie Dunmore expedition he returned to Maryland, but again went to Ohio the following spring, and penetrated almost to the Kentucky wilderness. On his return he learned that he had been commissioned by the Continental congress as captain of a company of Maryland riflemen. He went with his company to Boston and joined the army of Washington ; but, having been afflicted with his final illness before he took the command, and finding himself growing worse, he left for home, and died on the way, in New York, where he was buried with military honors in Trinity church- yard. See " Biographical Sketch of the Late Capt. Michael Cresap," by J. J. Jacob (1826 ; new ed., with notes, by Brantz Mayer, Cincinnati, 1866). See, also, Mayer's discourse in vindication of Cre- sap, delivered before the Maryland historical so- ciety in May, 1851, published under the title " Tagah-jute, or Logan the Indian, and Captain Michael Cresap " (New York, 1867). CRESPEL, Emanuel, clergyman, b. in Belgium about 1700. He arrived in Quebec in 1724, where he finished his ecclesiastical studies, and was ordained in 1726. He accompanied, as chaplain, the expedition of Lignery against the Foxes, and was then successively stationed at Niagara, Frontenac, and Crown Point. Being recalled to France, he sailed from Quebec in 1736, but his vessel, the " La Renommee," was driven on Anticosti island and wrecked. Fifty-four of the passengers escaped. The remainder, including Father Crespel, attempted to reach Mingan in two boats, one of which was lost. The survivors were hemmed in by ice and forced to remain till spring. Father Crespel escaped to an Indian camp, and thence found his way to a French post, from which he sent assistance to his companions. Only three of them were found alive. When he recovered from his sufferings he went to Quebec and was appointed pastor of Solanges. He returned to Europe in 1738. He wrote a series of letters describing his adventures, which appeared in French (Frankfort, 1742), and were shortly afterward published in German (English translation, 1797).

CRESSON, Elliott, philanthropist, b. in Philadelphia, 2 March, 1796; d. there, 20 Feb., 1854. He was a member of the Society of Friends, became a successful merchant in Philadelphia, and devoted his attention to benevolent objects, especially the