Croshaw Family Genealogy & History

Captain Raleigh Croshaw, also spelled Rawley Crashaw, was a prominent English merchant and early settler in colonial Virginia, known for representing Elizabeth City County in the House of Burgesses in 1624. Arriving in Jamestown on the ship Mary and Margaret in 1608, Croshaw was a member of the Virginia Company of London, contributing to John Smith's "The Generall Historie of Virginia" in 1624. His adventurous spirit was evident in his role as an Indian trader and fighter, notably during a tense encounter with the Powhatan people in 1609 and while trading on the Potomac River at the time of the 1622 Indian massacre.

Although Raleigh Croshaw's exact parentage is unknown, he is believed to be from the Crashaw family of Crawshawbooth, Lancashire, England. His family's connections to the Virginia Company included the Reverend William Crashaw and his son Richard Crashaw, the poet. Raleigh Croshaw and his unknown wife are presumed to have had three sons, Joseph, Noah, and Richard, based on York County land transactions, though empirical evidence is lacking. Katherine Crowshaw (Graves) is speculated to be a sister or cousin rather than a daughter due to her age.

Major Joseph Croshaw (c. 1610-1667) was a prominent planter in colonial Virginia, renowned for establishing the Poplar Neck plantation near Williamsburg. On December 10, 1651, he patented 1000 acres along the York River, a property that later passed to Colonel John West through marriage to Croshaw's daughter, Unity. Croshaw's substantial estate was notable for its household items and a large silver tankard, highlighting his wealth and status in the Colony of Virginia.

Joseph Croshaw was the son of Captain Raleigh Croshaw, embedding him in a legacy of early Virginia settlers. His familial connections included marriages to five women, the last four being widows. His children, particularly Unity Croshaw, continued his lineage and influence in the region.

Unity Croshaw was a notable figure in British Colonial Virginia, renowned as a colonist from the first surviving European settlement in North America. Born around 1636, she became the wife of Colonel John West, son of Captain and Governor John West, by 1664. Through her marriage, she played a key role in the transfer of the 600-acre plantation "Poplar Neck," which was sold and renamed "Ripon Hall" in 1687. Unity and John West had several children, contributing to the prominent West lineage in colonial Virginia.

Unity Croshaw was the daughter of Major Joseph Croshaw and the granddaughter of Raleigh Croshaw, who arrived in the Colony of Virginia in 1608 with the Second Supply to Jamestown. She was one of at least seven siblings, indicating a robust family presence in the early colonial landscape.

Glenn Randall Croshaw was a notable American politician and legal figure, serving as a Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates for the 81st district from 1986 to 1999. He had a distinguished career, highlighted by his later appointment as a Judge of the Virginia Beach Circuit Court in 2011. A graduate of East Carolina University and the University of Virginia Law School, Croshaw's legal expertise was further honed through his work as an attorney at Wilcox and Savage and as a senior affiliated consultant at Kemper Consulting. Despite a strong political tenure, he was narrowly defeated in the 1999 election, marking the end of his legislative service.