Crispin was one of five Commissioners appointed by William Penn for settling the colony of Pennsylvania, September 30, 1681.
William Penn appointed Crispin as the first Chief Justice in a letter dated August 18, 1681.
Captain William Crispin married (1) Sept. 28, 1652, Rebecca Bradshaw, the daughter of Ralph Bradshaw and Rachel Penn (1609-1669), who was the sister of Admiral Sir William Penn.
His son Silas was born of this marriage, and from him are descended the Crispin families of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
William Crispin married Jane Chudeleigh of Kinsdale, Ireland in 1655, and they had 7 children: William Penn granted James, Benjamin, Jane, Eleanor, Elizabeth and Amy, "his free gift" of 3000 acres of land in Pennsylvania by deed on November 22, 1698.