Person:John Creasy (2)

Name^[1]^[2]^[4]^[6]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]	John Creasy
Alt Name^[3]^[7]	John Cressey
Alt Name^[5]	John Cressy
Gender	Male
Birth`^?`	1647	Sussex, England
Alt Birth^[13]	1647
Marriage	4 Aug 1678	East Grinstead, Sussex, Englandto Dorothy Greenwood
Marriage License	22 Jul 1693	East Grinstead, Sussex, Englandto Judith Langridge
Marriage	23 Jul 1693	East Grinstead, Sussex, Englandto Judith Langridge
Occupation^[12]^[13]		chirurgeon / surgeon
Death^[13]	1712
Burial^[12]	22 Oct 1712	St. Swithun Churchyard, East Grinstead, Sussex, England

John Creasy (aka Cressey/Cressy) was born about 1647, probably in Sussex, England. Some trees online give John's baptism as 5 Jul 1640 in Etchingham, Sussex, which is around 25 miles from East Grinstead where he married. Given the distance and the details on his gravestone this is unlikely to be the correct baptism record for John. A possible alternate theory is that John was related to the family of Ninian and Ursula Creasie who had children baptised in Ardingly from 1633-1639, East Grinstead in 1644 and in Worth 1645 & 1649. It's notable that John and Dorothy had a son and a grandson named Ninian. It's possible that John was actually baptised closer to East Grinstead (than Etchingham) and the baptism record has been lost. The first records of Creasys in East Grinstead is Ninion Cresy's baptism in 1644. Other than the Ninion & Ursula Creasie family, other Creasy families are found in baptism records in the period from 1600-1650 in the following towns: Ardingly, Brightling, Catsfield, Etchingham, Ewhurst, Framfield, Frant, Sedlescombe, and Wartling.

The first record that definitely relates to this John Creasy is his marriage (at the age of around 31) to 28 year-old Dorothy Greenwood on 4 August 1678 in East Grinstead. Dorothy was the daughter of Silvanus Greenwood Jr. and Dorothy Beard. Dorothy and her elder brother Silvanus III were baptised in the small village of Cowden, Kent, which lies 6 miles to the east of East Grinstead, but the family moved to East Grinstead while Dorothy was still a toddler.

John and Dorothy went on to have six children, all baptised in East Grinstead:

John bap. 10 Dec 1680
Ninian bap. 20 Aug 1682
Elizabeth bap. 21 Jul 1684
Edward bap. 8 Mar 1685
Richard bap. 2 Apr 1689, bur. 12 May 1689
Thomas bap. 20 Sep 1690

Sadly John's wife Dorothy died just after Thomas was baptised and she was buried in East Grinstead on 24 Sep 1690. Given the timing, it's quite possible she died from complications of childbirth. She was only about 40 when she died.

John was left with young children to raise, so it's unsurprising that just a few years later he remarried. On 23 Jul 1693 John married 46 year-old Judith Langridge, an unmarried daughter of William and Mary Langridge of East Grinstead. They were granted a license to marry on 22 Jul and were married just a day later.

John's eldest son John married in 1705 and gave John Sr. two grandsons baptised 1706 and 1709 in East Grinstead. Apart from John Jr., it's not known for certain what became of John and Dorothy's children. It's possible that Ninian died in West Hoathly (6 miles from East Grinstead) in 1755 however there were a number of people with the same name living within 20 miles of East Grinstead at the same time - see Early Creasy families in Sussex, England for a list of records.

John's wife Judith died in 1711 aged about 64 and was buried in East Grinstead on 28 Jul 1711.

John was buried just over a year later on 22 Oct 1712 in East Grinstead. His headstone inscription reads "Here lyeth y body of John Creasy surgeon who departed this life October y... (unfortunately in the image currently available the rest of the inscription is obscured by long grass, however the website gives his age at death as 65).

John's burial record and headstone note that he was a "chirurgeon"/surgeon. This doesn't necessarily indicate he was educated or well-off - in the late middle ages many surgeons had no formal learning and were illiterate. They learned their skills as an apprentice to an experienced surgeon who taught them to suture wounds, set bones, extract teeth, and practise bloodletting.

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Geographical and Historical Context

East Grinstead has been an important market town since the early middle ages. St. Swithun's Church was rebuilt after it was struck by lightning in 1772. Near the entrance to the church, stones mark the supposed ashes of three martyrs who were burned on 18 July 1556 during the reign of Mary I because they refused to renounce the Protestant faith.

John was likely born during the reign of Charles I. He lived through the tumultuous interregnum period, the restoration era of Charles II and James II and the "Glorious Revolution" that put William III & Mary II on the throne. He died during the reign of Queen Anne.

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