Nicholas Cresswell

Nicholas Cresswell (5 January 1750 – 26 July 1804) was a British diarist.

Early life and writing
Cresswell was the son of a landowner and sheep farmer in Crowden-le-Booth, Edale, Derbyshire. In 1774, at the age of 24, he sailed to Virginia after becoming acquainted with a native of Edale, who was now resident in Alexandria. For the next three years he kept a journal of his experiences, along with comments on political and social issues. He described slaves in Maryland dancing to a banjo, fashioned out a gourd, as "something in the imitation of a guitar, with only four strings".

Later life and death
After a failed attempt to receive a provincial commission from Lord Dunmore, Virginia's British governor, during the American Revolutionary War, Cresswell returned to Edale to resume farming. He died in Idridgehay in 1804.