(?1742 - 1814) of Errol, Perth., e. s. of Patrick Craufurd of Auchenames, Renf.; educ. Eton and Glasgow U. 1757; MP 1768 - 84, 1790; suc. fa. 1778; unm.
1761 - 2 Rome (by Easter 1762), Florence (12 Jun.)
1770 near Venice (Jun.)
John Craufurd is said to have made a grand tour with his brother James in 1760 - 11 and he was wintering in Italy in 1761 - 2 for the sake of his health.2 The 'Granfurd-Inglese-28' staying on the Piazza Mignanelli in Rome in the spring of 1762 was probably the same as 'one Mr Craufurd', whom Horace Mann described as 'a very ingenious young man ... intimate with Voltaire and his library'; in June 1762 Mann gave him some Inigo Jones designs for Horace Walpole.3
'Fish' Craufurd, so named for his avid sense of curiosity, was a restless traveller; in September 1768 he planned to spend the winter at Naples, and in June 1770 he was en route to a spa near Venice.4 Madame du Deffand was fond of 'le petit Craufurd', while Voltaire, though 'penetr? d'estime' for his visitor, was critical of his 'petites velleit?s de sortir de la vie, quand il ne s'y trouve pas bien'.5
1. Commons 2, 2:269. 2. Voltaire, no.34. 3. AVR SA, S.Andrea delle Fratte. Wal.Corr., 22:40. 4. Wal.Corr., 4:140, 428. 5. Ibid., 468. Voltaire, nos.79, 106.