Unbeknownst to Jon, he is part of a branch of the Crowhurst family that came to America and settled in northern New York. By now, the wealth is long gone, and only the older generations remember their roots. The children have dispersed and mostly live mundane lives. Any relationship with the noble family in England is written off as a coincidence. This is history.
Jon is one of a pair of fraternal twins born to Adrian and Maria Crowhurst. His brother's name is Alexander. His family has lived in a small town in northern New York for generations. Throughout Jon's childhood, Adrian and Maria have always had some inkling of the old ways and talked about the supernatural casually. It was common enough that the twins' first encounter with a specter in their old attic did not shock so much as fascinate them.
Rather than stifle their learning, at their grandfather's urging, Adrian decided to educate them, at least to avoid mishaps. Both of the twins took their learning to heart. As teens, they started searching out the supernatural and, eventually, Alexander became an independent hunter in their little town while Jon dedicated himself to spellcraft. He became a talented artificer, specializing in the elements and metalcraft.
However, they couldn't spend their whole lives in their sleepy childhood town. Right after high school, they were sent off to college. Adrian and Maria would have it no other way. Jon continued to improve on his ritual work and frequently worked with other arcanists around New York and grew his network. Alexander became a particularly skilled hunter. After college, they finally parted ways. Alexander's work led him to the Exchange, who eagerly recruited him after he'd made a name for himself (though the Crowhurst name was still a coincidence, he'd say). Meanwhile, Jon joined the military as a mechanical engineer. He met his familiar, a mastiff named Marley, while in England.
While on furlough in Egypt, he met Farah. She was an analyst, she was beautiful, and sexy, and their relationship flared hot and fast. They were involved for a few years before she became pregnant with their child. Upon hearing the news, Jon was ready to settle down and get married, but Farah wasn't ready to give it all up. It took a lot of convincing before she reluctantly agreed to try.
The couple returned to the States and after their daughter, Yasala, was born, they began planning the wedding, but it never came to fruition. Fed up with family life and it's demands, Farah left when Yasala was one, and Jon's life fell apart. He held it together for his daughter, who became the center of his existence, but he gave up on ritual work and most other things.
In the following years, Marley lost his intellect and Jon stowed his spellbooks away in his parents' attic. He stopped communicating with his network of friends and fellow arcanists. He left his artifacts out in the sun, letting the magic fade. Magic had nothing to do with Farah's departure, but he'd lost his passion for it among other things. He no longer wittled, or tried playing the guitar. He turned to his work and raising his daughter. The family moved frequently while Jon was in the service and Yasala grew up somewhat withdrawn, but self-sufficient. She is close with her father.
After his discharge, Jon started working as a mechanic before branching out into general maintenance. It's not prestigious, but he works hard and makes good money. It is a fairly good existence, with his family close and his daughter flourishing. Still, with near a decade since Farah's departure, every time he and Yasala go home for the holidays, he thinks of his spellwork. However, he hasn't had the heart to dig things out yet.
After deciding that he didn't want to set down roots in the small town he grew up in, Jon sought opportunities elsewhere. This led him to Easthaven, where he found a position as a mechanic at Arctic Airways. He purchased a large fixer-upper in Old Town. It's in shambles, and very likely haunted. but he and Yasala have already made two bedrooms, the kitchen, and a bathroom habitable. The rest of the house is an untapped mystery, but he works tirelessly every day to make it more and more functional. The plan is to one day give it to Yasala when she starts her own family, but for now, Jon takes it one day at a time.