Joseph Crenshaw, of Lunenberg County

Joseph Crenshaw (1698-1758) & Sarah Macallester. Son of Thomas J. “Granger” Crenshaw (abt 1670 - aft 1708) & Hannah Hester

• 1. William Crenshaw
• 2. Joseph Crenshaw
• 3. Thomas Crenshaw
• 4. Gideon Crenshaw
• 5. Mary Crenshaw
• 6. Priscilla Crenshaw
• 7. Hannah Crenshaw
• 8. Micajah Crenshaw

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Which man?

Joseph-Crenshaw was a man nearly sixty, if not already so, and with a large family and a flourishing enterprise on the banks of the Pamunkey, when he enlisted. We do not know the precise reason for the enlistment of a sixty year old man into the British Colonial Army, but some of the background information has been examined, and from that source, a reasonably laid out analysis may be made.

First of all, it was probably something that young Washington may have wished. This youthful soldier had gained much experience by his early participation in the French and Indian War and in the engagements preliminary to it.

As early as the campaign of 1753, half a decade before Joseph Crenshaw became involved, George Washington had certain military responsibilities thrust upon him. The manner in which he anticipated problems and prepared for them bears upon this point. For example, he had no knowledge of the language of the French and Indian enemies against whom he was to contend. In order to solve one of these shortcomings, Washington, at the insistence of Governor Dinwiddie, sought out the help of Christopher Gist.

Selection of Gist was a boon for two reasons. First was his command of the Indian language, and second, was his skill as a woodsman. It was into a wilderness that Washington must go, and it was in such a place that Washington was to learn that a military commander must be a master of many things.

It was here, on the way to the Ohio River that the future leader of the Continental Army was to struggle with great difficulties and to learn how to solve problems, or to avoid them. Quality in manpower, brainpower and experience became very important, and the test of quality became more important than quantity.

Gist had much experience, not only in translating for his commander, but was something of a diplomat and he could negotiate with the Indians, both those who were allied with the French and those who supported the British forces. In George Washington's Papers II, page 41 it says that Washington, "...knows but little of their language."

Christopher Gist was not the first of the great Indian linguists of Colonial Virginia. Cornelius Dabney, of Pamunkey Neck had performed that function for the Williamsburg authorities when Joseph Crenshaw was an infant. Later, John Crenshaw, brother of Joseph had married Sarah Dabney, a grand daughter of the old man who served the colony in its negotiations with the Indians. It is a strong possibility that Joseph Crenshaw had acquired a knowledge of the Indian language. The opportunity to do so, must have developed from the many Delaware, Pamunkey and Rappahannock Indian families who crossed at the ferry landings, and who gathered about that place where there was trading to be done and jobs to be had. But certainly, the example set by Cornelius Dabney must have influenced other family members to emulate him. There is every reason to believe that Joseph Crenshaw had a more than elementary understanding of the Redman's tongue, and, added to his other skills, made him a valuable addition to the headquarters unit of George Washington.

Disputed identity

From https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Crenshaw-1103

He was NOT the "Private Joseph Crenshaw" listed as a casualty in Col. George Washington's Company, among the men of the First Virginia Regiment who were killed in the last action near Fort Duquesne, September 14, 1758.

Joseph Sr.'s son Joseph Crenshaw Jr. received his legacy from his father's estate in 1759-1760 (again, see original court records), so HE was not the soldier killed in 1758 at Fort Duquesne. We don't yet know who that soldier was.

Joseph Crenshaw in the Family Data Collection - Individual Records

• Name: Joseph Crenshaw
• Spouse: Sarah Maccallister
• Parents: Thomas J Crenshaw
• Birth Place: Lunenburg, Cumberland Parish, VA
• Birth Date: 1698
• Death Place: Fort Duquesne, VA NO
• Death Date: 14 Sep 1758

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Not this man

He died at Fort Duquesne, at the junction of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, on the site of what is now Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Because of its strategic location, it was a major objective in the last of the French and Indian Wars. The fort was begun by a group of Virginians in 1754 at the insistence of Gov. Robert Dinwiddie. The French drove the Virginians away on April 17, 1754, and completed the fort; they named it after the Marquis de Duquesne, governor general of New France. George Washington's Virginia militia had failed to reach the fort before the arrival of the French (see Fort Necessity). Fort Duquesne was also the goal of an unsuccessful expedition under English Gen. Edward Braddock in 1755. On Nov. 24, 1758, the French abandoned their position without a fight to advancing British troops led by Gen. John Forbes and retreated north after burning Fort Duquesne. The English rebuilt it and renamed it Fort [...], around which Pittsburgh grew.

This man

The Edward Pleasants Valentine Papers, Vol. I; p. 376

Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/185871297/joseph_crenshaw

References

• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jwmurphy/shaw3.txt (2 of 23)7/19/2006 3:22:29 PM
• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jwmurphy/shaw3.txt
• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Aug 15 2016, 23:02:32 UTC
• https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/111701831/person/4...
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/185871297/joseph_crenshaw