CRAFTS, William, lawyer, born in Charleston, South Carolina, 24 January, 1787; died in Lebanon Springs, New York, 23 September, 1826. He was graduated at Harvard in 1805, studied law, became an eloquent and successful pleader in Charleston, especially in criminal cases, and for several terms was a member of the legislature, serving both in the senate and house of representatives. He printed essays on subjects of contemporary interest in the Charleston "Courier," of which he was for a time the editor, delivered frequent popular addresses, was the Phi Beta Kappa orator at Cambridge in 1817, wrote "The SeaSerpent, or Gloucester Hoax," a humorous three-act drama, contributed humorous sketches to the "Omnium Botherum," a journal devoted to local satire, and published a few poems, the longest of which are "Sullivan's Island" and "The Raciad." A selection from his writings and orations was published, with a memoir by the Rev. Samuel Gilman (Charleston, South Carolina, 1828).