Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

members of the Congregational church of
Darien, taking an interest in its charities
and good works.
CRAW, Frank Conrad,
Inventor.
Frank C. Craw was born in Norwalk,
Connecticut, May 23, 1854, son of William
Thomas and Mary (Selleck) Craw. All
the Craws came originally from Scotland,
but are of two distinct families. First, a
portion of the Clan MacRae or M'Crae
adopted the form, M'Craw, and later some
of them dropped the prefix Mac and became
Craw. Second, a family which had
been settled in Berwickshire within a few
miles of the Scottish border since 1200.
Tradition says the founder came with a
Danish invasion in 970, but in the earliest
records (the Charters of Coldingham
Priory) the family is mentioned among
the largest landowners of the county. The
form of the name was then Aldengrave
and later became Aldencraw. This was
altered to Anchencraw, and finally to
Craw. The Craw coat-of-arms is de-
scribed as:
Arms—Parted per chevron, engraved vert and
gules, three craws argent.
Crest—A crow proper, standing on a sheaf of
corn.
Motto—Nee careo, nee euro, signifying "I have
neither want nor care."
(I) William W. Craw, grandfather of
Frank C. Craw, was born January 11,
1777, in Dinoon, Scotland, and came to
America about 1800. He located in South
Norwalk, Connecticut, and for many
years was the keeper of the toll-gate between
Darien and South Norwalk. Mr.
Craw is buried in Rowayton. He mar-
ried Sally Jarvis Webb, born July, 1782,
daughter of Moses Webb, of Norwalk
(see Webb XI).
(II) William Thomas Craw, son of
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
53
William W. and Sally Jarvis (Webb)
Craw, was born in January, 1816, and died
in April, 1897. He grew to manhood in
Norwalk, Connecticut, and learned the
trade of carpenter. As a young man he
went into business on his own account,
later entering a partnership with Burr
Knapp. Many of the fine old residences
in Norwalk and vicinity were built by
Mr. Craw and he built the old Methodist
Episcopal church building. Singularly
enough, on the very day he was buried,
they started to move the old church off
the lot to make room for a new and larger
edifice. Under the first city charter of
South Norwalk, a City Court was estab-
lished and he was appointed the first city
judge, a position which he held for many
years. Mr. Craw had no formal legal
training, but was self-taught in the law,
and his logical mind, keen perception and
sound judgment made his decisions just
and equitable, based as they were on the
facts in cases and the fundamentals of
substantial justice rather than on the
technicalities of law and procedure which
are often used to defeat justice. A man of
fine intellectual caliber, Mr. Craw was
held in high esteem by all those whose
pleasure it was to know him. In politics
he was a Republican, and was a member
of the Legislature for several terms. In
his later years, Mr. Craw removed to New
York City and made his home with his
son, John W. Craw, and after this time
did not engage in any business.
Mr. Craw married Mary Selleck,
daughter of Ray Selleck, of Norwalk, and
they were the parents of eight children,
seven of whom grew to maturity. Their
children were: Ann Eliza, deceased, wife
of Alfred Kellogg; John W., who died in
1916; Elizabeth, deceased, wife of Howard
H. Smith ; Mary, deceased, married
Robert M. Wilcox, of Norwalk ; Josephine,
married J. Manning; Decker, of Nor-