J. A. Crewitt, physician, P. O. Newtown, was born in Reedsville, Mifflin county, this state, March 29, 1853, was reared in Huntingdon, Pa., began the study of medicine in 1873 with Dr. D. P. Miller, of Huntingdon, entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore in 1874, was graduated in 1876, and began the practice of his profession in Robertsdale the same year, where he remained eight years. In 1884 he located in Newtown, where he has since been in active practice. He is a member of the Bucks County Medical society. He is township and borough physician and president of the school board. He is an Odd Fellow.
J. Wilson Croasdale, merchant, P. O. Newtown, was born in Middletown township, this county, January 5, 1829, and is a son of Jeremiah W. and Sarah AV. (Wilson) Croasdale. Jeremiah W. was a farmer of Middletown and died in Newtown in 1873. His wife was a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Blakey) Wilson, of Middletown, by whom he had four children : Mary W., who married Moses Paxson ; J. Wilson, Hannah W., who married Charles W. Kirkbride; and Robert M. Our subject was reared in Middletown and remained on the home farm until 1853, when he located in Newtown and embarked in the mercantile business in which he has ever since been engaged. In 1862 he married Elizabeth B., daughter of Thomas F. and Mary E. (Eastburn) Parry, of Langhorne, by whom he has three children : Robert M., Thomas P. and Mary E. His paternal grandfather was Robert Croasdale, a son of Robert and Margery (Ilayhurst) Croasdale, and he a son of Jeremiah who was a son of Thomas who came from Yorkshire, England, and settled in Middletown township in 1682.
George W. Cunningham, nurseryman, P. 0. Newtown, was born in Newtown township, May 21, 1816, and is a son of Matthew and Rachel (Taylor) Cunningham. His paternal grandparents were Thomas and Ann Cunningham, of Scotch-Irish parentage, who settled in Lower Makefield about 1770. Thomas was a farmer and died in Lower Makefield. His children were: Thomas, Matthew and four daughters. Mr. Cunningham's maternal grandfather was Joseph Taylor, son of Benjamin, who married Hannah Towne. His father, Matthew Cunningham, was a successful school teacher from the age of 16 years until his death, which occurred September 14, 1835, at the age. of 56 years and 8 months. He also owned and operated a farm. His children were Joseph and George W. The former married Rebecca Cadwallader and had five children, three of whom are living: Mary, Matthew and William. George W. was reared in Newtown and was educated in the schools of Bucks county and Samuel Smith's school, of Wilmington, Del. Until 1857 he was engaged in farming; since that time he has carried on an extensive nursery business, growing all kinds of fruit and ornamental trees. In 1852 he married Mary, daughter of Barclay and Mary (Thompson) Ivins, of Penn's Manor. They have three children : Agnes, Mary I. and Edith.
Isaac Eyke, retired farmer, P. O. Newtown, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., October 10, 1819, and is a son of Isaac and pjleanor (Cooper) Eyre. His paternal grandfather, Isaac Eyre, a native of Chester county, this state, and of English descent, was a son of William Eyre, a pioneer of Chester county. In Thorpe's catalogue of the deeds of Battle Abbey is found the following legendary account of the name of Ayres, formerly Eyre. The first of this family was named Truelove, one of the followers of William the Conqueror. At the battle of Hastings, A. D. 960, Duke William was thrown from his horse and his helmet beaten into his face, which Truelove observing, pulled off, and horsed him again. The Duke told him : " Thou shalt hereafter from Truelove be called Eyre (or Air), because thou hast given me the air I breathe." After the battle the Duke, on inquiring concerning him, found him severely wounded. He ordered that he should be given the utmost care, and on his recovery gave him land in Derby in reward for his services, and the leg and thigh in armor cut off for his crest, an honorary badge still worn by all the Eyres in England, and the land is still in the name of Eyre. William Eyre, of Chester, now in Delaware county, the first known of the family in America, was a large landholder. Isaac, his youngest son, was also a large landowner in Chester, and was a magistrate for many years. His first wife was a daughter of Jonas Preston, a pioneer miller of Middletown, who built the first mill at Bridgetown on Core creek, and who afterward established the Brandywine mills at Wilmington, Del., and died there. Our subject's maternal grandfather was Isaac Cooper, of Camden, N. J., a descendant of William and Margaret Cooper, who settled in Burlington, N. J., in 1678. William Cooper was a member of the colonial legislature of New Jersey in 1681, and was also a commissioner for laying out lands in that province, and became the owner of the land whereon the city of Camden, N. J., is now built, and established the ferry between there and Philadelphia. Isaac Eyre, the father of our subject, was born in Chester in 1778. He learned the trade of shipbuilder in Philadelphia, and was in Daniel Boone's time a builder of gunboats in Kentucky for eighteen months. After that he embarked in business in Philadelphia, and was a prominent builder of vessels there for many years. In 1828 he removed to Middletown, to the farm now occupied by Malachi White. He died in Attleboro, now Langhorne, January 26, 1843. He had ten children, six of whom grew to maturity: William, Mary, Joseph, Edward, Preston and Isaac. Isaac was reared in Middletown from 9 years of age. He was married in 1842 to Elizabeth, daughter of Caleb and Mary (James) Knight, of Byberry. The issue of this union was two children : William and Mary E. The latter married Thomas Thompson, of Montgomery county. Isaac Eyre was engaged in farming until 1871, when he retired and removed to Newtown, where he now resides. He still owns what was formerly known as the Joseph Jenks farm, of forty-five acres, in Middletown.