The Cravens family is part of Harold Hawes' ancestry as shown in the lineage below, which also includes the Harrison family. Both families were originally from Virginia and were well acquainted.
In 1812, Hannah Cravens was married to Rev. William Shanks. These are Harold Hawes' G2 grandparents.
Along with the Harrisons, the Cravens were prominent settlers of Augusta/Rockingham County, Virginia. As accounted in both text and family tree, the families knew each other very well. Below is a snapshot of the ancestors of Hannah Cravens.
The evidence of the parents of Robert Cravens and his sister Margaret is fragmented. However it seems generally accepted that the parents were Joseph and Rachel. Exerpt from The House of Cravens by Ruth McConathy:
The families are also documented in Settlers by the Long Grey Trail: Some Pioneers to Old Augusta County, Virginia, and Their Descendants of the Family of Harrison and Allied Lines by John Houston Harrison.
The father of Hannah (Cravens) Shanks was Rev. William Cravens. In various texts, he is referred to as "The Bold Frontier Preacher", the "Fighting Methodist", and other intriguing names. He must have made quite an impression on those he encountered. The texts all seem to regard him highly. The book Centennial History of Washington County, Indiana: Its People, Industries and Institutions : with Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families begins it's chapter dedicated to Rev. Cravens as follows:
Rev. J. B. Wakeley wrote a book about William entitled The Bold Frontier Preacher: A Portraiture of Rev. William Cravens, of Virginia. Many of the tales within were told to the author by William's son-in-law, Rev. William Shanks.
Among his deeds, Rev. Cravens was the first minister in 1821 of what would become the historic Meridian Street United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. From Great Is Thy Faithfulness: A Bicentennial History of Meridian Street United Methodist Church:
And from Circuit-Rider Days in Indiana by William Warren Sweet, Professor of History in DePauw University:
In her Notes, Aunt Charlene mentions a "circuit rider" that started a school which became DePauw University. Both William Cravens and his son-in-law, William Shanks, were circuit riders for the Methodist Church. However I have not found any evidence yet that they were involved in establishing the school. DePauw is a Methodist institution and, as evidenced by the segment from Professor Sweet above, includes works both of and by William Cravens in its online information.