John Thomas Crenshaw, I

• Updated from MyHeritage Family Trees by SmartCopy: Nov 24 2014, 6:51:11 UTC

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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

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http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jwmurphy/shaw3.txt

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.

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: May 17 2022, 2:58:21 UTC