[1] Crichton married firstly, about 1425, a daughter of Sir William Douglas of Strathbrock, by whom he had a son, James.
In 1441 he was sent as an ambassador to the Duchy of Brittany, to negotiate the marriage of James II's sister Isabella.
He then began to entail his property to prevent his son, James Crichton, from succeeding to his estates and title.
In retaliation, James imprisoned his father in Blackness Castle, but he was rescued by the King.
A compromise settlement was agreed, under which James would inherit the ancestral estate of Cairns and also received from the Scottish crown some land in Perthshire.