Craig was born in
County Down in Ireland of Protestant parents, and was fortunate enough to be apprenticed as a carpenter. After completing his apprenticeship, he became a journeyman carpenter and from his earnings was able to pay for his passage to
Philadelphia. He prospered as a carpenter in Philadelphia, and at a young age became a master carpenter and a member of the Carpenters Company. During the
American Revolution, he served first in the navy and later in the infantry. He was with General
George Washington at the
crossing of the Delaware River and in the
Battle of Trenton. In 1782, he was promoted to the rank of major. He purchased land in western Pennsylvania while still in Philadelphia, and eventually went to live in Pittsburgh. In 1785, Craig married Amelia Neville in Pittsburgh, daughter of Virginian
General John Neville. She survived him by more than two decades. The couple's thirteen children, ten of whom survived past infancy, included newspaper editor
Neville B. Craig and Army officer
Henry Knox Craig. Craig was elected to the
American Philosophical Society in 1787. ==Chief Burgess==