Crawford was born in the east end of Sunderland. He trained as a keelman until 1786 when he joined the crew of the "Peggy" at South Shields as an apprentice. He was still only 11 or 12 years old. In 1796, he was press-ganged into the Royal Navy and served on HMS "Venerable" under Admiral Duncan, the Royal Navy Commander-in-Chief of the North Seas.