Robert Crowson was probably the first Crowson to immigrate to America, having sailed from England and settled in Accomack County, Virginia around 1686. There is  record of a man named Thomas Welburne being granted 2,450 acres of land in Accomack County, Virginia as compensation for transporting 49 persons to the new colony among whom was Robert Crowdson. There is no record of him being married, so he likely married after arriving in the colony. He and his wife had two sons, William and Thomas. Both were apprenticed at a very young age in 1702 to local planters. William went to John Evans and Thomas to Sarah Coe, a widow of Thomas Coe, a quaker.

As a forerunner to formal vocational education in America, children were often apprenticed during the colonial period. The apprenticeships were similar to those that had prevailed in Europe for many years. Two kinds of apprenticeships were established in the American colonies. These were voluntary and compulsory. When the apprentice entered into the agreement of apprenticeship of his own free will it was voluntary. The apprentice was motivated in most cases by a desire to learn a trade and he selected the master who was willing and able to teach him a trade. The compulsory apprentices were, as a rule, children of the poor. They were usually bound out as apprentices by the town authorities primarily for the purpose of providing maintenance for the child. Typically, the apprentice agreed to serve his master obediently and faithfully according to a carefully specified ethical code during the period of apprenticeship, which was usually several years or until the apprentice reached the age of twenty one. The master was to provide food, lodging, washing, and adequate clothing.

Both contracts were of a voluntary nature and remain as historical documents from the Virginia Colonial Period. The contract for William is  reproduced here in its original spelling.

"This Indenture maide this twelfe day of January in the yeare of Our Lord God Ano 1702 Wittneseth That I Robert Crowson planter of Accomack County in the Collony of Vergenia Doath Bind out his son as an aprentis named Wm Crowson with the conscent of his sd son William he the sd Wm being at the age of Eight years and Aight months he the sd Robert doath put his Sd Son as an aprentis to John Evins planter of the afore sd County or his heairs to Serve till he attaines to the age of twenty and one years faithfully performed he the Sd William Crowson is to serve ye sd Evins or his hears in all Lawfull Imployment as hear thay shall Inploy them in, Consideration of the above named servis John Evins is to find & Allow his sd Aprentis Meate drink washing lodging & Clothes fitting for one of his degree the Sd Evins doath further obledg himselfe that when his Sd aprentis doth attaine to ye age of twenty and one years ye sd Evins is to give him one sute of Apparrell with others Shoos & Stockings, and a two yeare Heifer the next May with all her futer Increase Robert Crowson is to recieve the sd heaifer & to looke after till his son come to the age of twenty one years ye sd Robt Croson is to have all ye bull calfs yt comes of the sd heifer dureing the time aforesd for looking after them to ye premices we set to our hands and fixed our Seal this third day of February Ano 1702."

A similar contract was made for Thomas and we do not know what happened to him. He may have died young or changed his name to Coe.

No record of a family crest being registered but someone found this one in England

William Crowson, born in May of 1693 married Comfort Littleton when he was 22 years of age. They had nine children with the eighth  child being John Crowson. John was born in 1725 in Accomack County, Virginia and died in Richmond County, North Carolina about 1780 at the age of 55. We do not know who John married, but they had six children with William being born about 1750.

William was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He married Mary Thomas and together they had 12 children. The firstborn and the last were girls and ten boys were born in between. William at various times owned land in what is now Greene County, Blount County and Sevier County, Tennessee before leaving the area to move to Giles County, Tennessee where he died. Of the ten sons only Aaron, born in 1773 ,  remained in Sevier County where he built a home, on the same land that is now the Crowson home place today. Aaron's older sister, Mary, also stayed and married William Hatcher. The rest of this project will concentrate on the descendents of Aaron Crowson.

(Much of the information above was taken from Crowson Genealogy, by Billy Elton Crowson)

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