[1] Born near Port Tobacco, Maryland, the son of prominent physician Dr. James Craik, surgeon of the Continental Army and later President George Washington's personal physician, Craik attended Delameve School in Frederick County and later studied law.
He married Ann (1784–1806), daughter of prominent Virginia planter and patriot William Fitzhugh.
[3] He moved to Baltimore and was appointed chief justice of the fifth judicial district of Maryland on January 13, 1793, and served until his resignation in 1796.
Craik was elected as a Federalist to the Fourth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Jeremiah Crabb; he was reelected to the Fifth and Sixth Congresses and served from December 5, 1796, to March 3, 1801; again appointed chief justice of the fifth judicial district of Maryland and served from October 20, 1801, to January 28, 1802.
During this time he resided in Frederick, Maryland, He died in Alexandria, Virginia in 1807, months after his wife, and was buried at her father's estate in nearby Fairfax County.