The Infamous William Crawford of Washington County, PA

Here is a synopsis of the story of my infamous ancestor, William Crawford from The History of Washington County by Earle Forrest, accessed through Heritage Quest from my local library.

He fought in the War of 1812 and he called himself "Old Brittania."  He did not get along with his son Henry because he "had inherited some of his father's spirit and resented his parent's severity.  "The Blackbird" was a popular patriotic American song of the day, and the son took great delight in aggravating his father by singing and whistling it." (374).  William and his wife, Rebecca Morton, had a falling out and Henry took his mother's side.  Henry and his mother left William and William threatened to kill Henry many times.  Henry did not fear him because of his age and on account of him breaking his father's gun.  However, William had the gun repaired unbeknownst to Henry.  On July 30, 1822 William had a bunch of people over and he told his friends over drinks that Henry had really been bothering him and if Henry didn't shape up, he would kill him that very day.  They warned Henry but Henry didn't take it seriously since he thought that the gun was broken.  So that night, he was whistling "The Blackbird" outside his father's barn and when he started the second verse, William shot his son and he was dead within minutes.  William "stated that he had intended to kill his son, and would do it again if he had to do it over" (375).

Long story short, he was convicted of murder in the first degree and he wrote a history while he was in jail awaiting his execution.  "He never expressed a regret for his terrible deed, and he went to his death without once asking for spiritual consolation" (376).  As he was taken to the gallows he appeared very indifferent to the whole affair.  "...he leaned on the coffin, peeled and ate an apple, and talked of worldly affairs with an astonishing air of indifference, telling the boys who ran beside the sled not to hurry, as the hanging would not take place until he got there" (376).

And that, my friends, is the lasting legacy of my ggggggrandfather.  Isn't it fabulous!  William takes annoyance to the extreme.