William Crowne

Background

William Crowne was born in England about 1617.

Education

Little is known of his early life and education.

Career

In 1636, as a servant in the retinue of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, he accompanied him on a diplomatic mission to Ferdinand II of Germany.

After his return to England Crowne in 1637 published a brief narrative of the journey, A True Relation of All the Remarkable Places and Passages Observed in the Travels of Thomas, Lord Howard.

At the outbreak of the civil wars he joined the parliamentary cause and became secretary to Basil Fielding, Earl of Denbigh. After various services to Parliament he became a lieutenant-colonel of militia for Shropshire and for four years was one of the county commissioners.

In 1654 he was returned the sole member of Parliament for Bridgnorth. Crowne had amassed considerable fortune when he first became interested in land speculation in America; in 1656 he supplied the funds by which he and Colonel Thomas Temple acquired title to Nova Scotia from Charles de la Tour. The new proprietors came to America in the summer of 1657 and in the fall made a division of their property; Crowne became owner of the lesser half of the tract, including the Penobscot River country.

He entered his son John, the future dramatist, at Harvard College and himself proceeded to the Penobscot River where, at Negue, he built a trading- post.

He later leased the territory to Temple, who after a short time refused to pay the rent or surrender the land. With the restoration of Charles II the title of Temple and Crowne to Nova Scotia was jeopardized. Early in 1661 Crowne with his son John sailed to England.

In London he successfully defended their claim to Nova Scotia and secured the suspension of Thomas Breedon as governor. As Rouge Dragon he participated in the coronation ceremonies in April 1661 and shortly after resigned the office. While in England he was successfully engaged in making the new government more friendly toward Massachusetts. In recognition of his services the General Court of Massachusetts in October 1662 voted him five hundred acres of land.

Meanwhile Crowne could secure no settlement from his unscrupulous partner; the courts of New England, to which he appealed, disclaimed jurisdiction.

A greater misfortune befell in 1667, when, by the Treaty of Breda, Charles If disregarded the claims of both Crowne and Temple and ceded Nova Scotia to France. In the same year Crowne settled in Mendon, Mass. , and became the first town register.

There he lived until 1674 when he went to Rhode Island; by August 1679 he was again a resident of Boston where he remained until his death four years later. Efforts to secure compensation for the loss of Nova Scotia were without success; nor did the sale of his land in Massachusetts and a small grant from the General Court keep his declining years free of poverty.

Achievements

• He had a varied career as an officer of arms, a member of parliament, a colonel during the English civil war, and one of the early colonists of North America. He was also the father of the playwright John Crowne. He created Rouge Dragon in the College of Arms in September 1638.

Works

More photos

• book

  • A True Relation of All the Remarkable Places and Passages Observed in the Travels of the Right Honourable Thomas, Lord Hovvard, Earle of Arundell and ... Majesty Ferdinando the Second, Emperour Of...

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

  • Travels of Thomas Lord Howard (The English experience, its record in early printed books published in facsimile)

Membership

He was a member of parliament.

Connections

In 1638 he married Agnes, daughter of Richard Mackworth and widow of Richard Watts. Crowne and his wife had 3 children, of whom the eldest, John became a well-known dramatist.

Spouse:

Agnes Watts

Son:

John Crowne