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Family history

     We have traced this lineage back through our Scruggs and Carter ancestors to James Crewes.  James was born at London, England about 1623.  By 1651 he had come to America and in 1652 was making a living as a merchant who traded between Native-Americans, Virginia colonists, and the markets of London.  In 1655 he acquired 541 acres of land on Turkey Island in Henrico County.  Here he kept a store at his Henrico County home and engaged in the fur trade.  By 1670, James was a Captain of the Henrico County militia.  He would be known by this rank until the end of his life.  James Crewes took part in Bacon's Rebellion (1676-1677).  Fearful of Indian attacks, Crewes and his neighbors persuaded Nathaniel Bacon to organize local men to defend the colony.  After Bacon attacked some Indians during the spring of 1676, he was rebuked by Governor Sir William Berkeley.  Crewes took Bacon's side and possibly marched with a company of Bacon's men to Lower Norfolk County.  He was captured and was among a group of prisoners delivered to the governor on January

 19, 1677. Singled out at a court-martial as "a most notorious actor & assistor in the Rebellion," Crewes was one of seven men convicted of treason and rebellion against the king on January 24. He was sentenced to hang two days later.

     Although no official record has been found which names the parents of Hannah, wife of Giles Carter, a convincing accumulation of evidence indicates that Hannah was a daughter of James Crewes and a Native American woman. Hannah Crews (born about 1652), the wife of Giles Carter of Turkey Island, Henrico County, Virginia. Hannah married Giles in about 1670. Their children were: Theodorick (born about 1672), Susannah (born about 1674), Mary (born about 1676), Ann (born about 1678), and Giles Jr. (born after September 14, 1681).

Direct ancestors

Additional information about the persons in our database  as   well  as   a   complete

listing of individuals with this surname may be reviewed by clicking on this LINK.

 JAMES¹ CREWES was born on 1622/23 in London, Middlesex, England. He died in 1677 in Henrico County,    Virginia.   James Crewes had the following child:

i. HANNAH² CREWES was born about 1638 in Turkey Island, Henrico Co., Virginia. She died on 02 Apr 1702 in Henrico County, Virginia. She married Giles Carter Sr., son of Theodore Cartor about 1670 in Turkey Island, Henrico County, Virginia. He was born in 1634 in Cirencester Parish, Gloucestershire, England. He died on 02 Feb 1701 in Henrico County, Virginia.

HANNAH² CREWES (James¹) was born about 1638 in Turkey Island, Henrico Co., Virginia. She died on 02 Apr 1702 in Henrico County, Virginia. She married Giles Carter Sr., son of Theodore Cartor about 1670 in Turkey Island, Henrico County, Virginia. He was born in 1634 in Cirencester Parish, Gloucestershire, England. He died on 02 Feb 1701 in Henrico County, Virginia.

Giles Carter Sr. and Hannah Crewes had the following children:

i.        SUSANNAH³ CARTER was born about 1674 in Turkey Island, Henrico County, Virginia. She married (1) DANIEL PRICE before 1696 in Virginia. She married (2) THOMAS WILLIAMSON after 1696 in Henrico Co., Virginia.

ii.      THEODRICK CARTER was born about 1676 in Turkey Island, Henrico Co., Virginia. He died about 1737 in Henrico County, Virginia. He married Elizabeth Webb, daughter of James Webb and Elizabeth Godwin about 1704 in Virginia. She was born about 1673 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. She died about 1751 in Henrico County, Virginia.

iii.     MARY CARTER was born about 1678 in Turkey Island, Henrico Co., Virginia. She married Thomas Davis before 1699 in Virginia. He was born about 1679.

iv.     ANN CARTER was born about 1680 in Turkey Island, Henrico Co., Virginia. She married James Davis before 1699 in Virginia. He was born about 1676.

v.      GILES CARTER II was born about 1682 in Turkey Island, Henrico Co., Virginia. He died after 1760 in Halifax County, Virginia. He married MARY POVALL.

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that will likely improve your results. The different searches will give you many different ways of using Google and the Internet to find ancestry information about this or any other Surname. 

Source documents

The documents contained within this “Source Documents Archives” have been located during our research of this family, and used as evidence to prove many of the facts contained within the database of this family’s record.   We have source documents related to the following persons within our database with this surname.

·       Hannah Crewes - Evidence of Paternity

·       Hannah Crewes - Giles Carter 1699  Will

·       James Crewes - Bacon’s Rebellion 1676-77

·       James Crewes - Last Will & Testament, 1676-77

·       James Crewes – Settlement of Estate, Dec. 1680

·       James Crewes - Time Line of Events

·       James Crewes – Wm. Randolph purchase of estate lands

This Link will take you to our

archive of source documents.  

You are welcome to download any of the documents contained within this archive that does not cite a copyright.  Should you encounter a problem obtaining a copy you may get in touch with us via the contact information found at the end of this web-page.

     Most of these documents can be considered as primary or secondary evidence.  Primary evidence is usually defined as the best available to prove the fact in question, usually in an original document or record.  Secondary evidence is in essence all that evidence which is inferior in its origin to primary evidence. That does not mean secondary evidence is always in error, but there is a greater chance of error.  Examples of this type of evidence would be a copy of an original record, or oral testimony of a record’s contents.  Published genealogies and family histories are also secondary evidence.

     Classifying evidence as either primary or secondary does not tell anything about its accuracy or ultimate value.  This is especially true of secondary evidence.  Thus it is always a good idea to ask the following questions: (1) How far removed from the original is it, (when it is a copy)?; (2) What was the reason for the creation of the source which contains this evidence?; and (3) Who was responsible for creating this secondary evidence and what interest did they have in its accuracy?

SOURCE: Greenwood, Val D., The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, 2^nd edition, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD 21202, 1990, pgs. 62-63

Migration routes

       Tracing our own family’s paths of migration can prove crucial in identifying previous generations and eventually, figuring out where and how they arrived in the “New World” as well as where they eventually settled.  Knowing the network of trails American pioneers traveled can help you guess where to start looking.  The trail map(s) provided below may assist you in understanding the routes that our direct ancestors of this family may have taken to find new homes and opportunities in the vast area now encompassed by the United States.

      During the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries hundreds of thousands of Europeans made the perilous ocean voyage to America.  For many it was an escape from economic hardship and religious persecution.  For most it was an opportunity to start over, own their own land, and make a better future for their descendents.

Immigration records show a number of people bearing the name of CREWE, or one of its variants, as arriving in North America between the 17^th and 20^th centuries.  Some of these immigrants were: Randall Crew who settled at Virginia in 1621; Rebecca Crewe came to Virginia as an indentured servant in 1635;  Roger Crewe emigrated to Virginia in 1638; John Crewe was recorded as a planter at Virginia in 1642; Thomas Crew had arrived in Virginia by 1652;  and William Crew who settled at Barbados in 1660.

Use the following links to find more early immigrants with this surname:

$ Search Ancestry.com Immigration Records; or Free Ship’s Passenger lists at OliveTreeGenealogy.com

The Development of an Historical Migration Route

It is understood that in many if not all cases we do not know exactly what routes our ancestors took as they migrated throughout the United States.   As such certain assumptions have been utilized to re-create the migration path presented above.  With regard to 18^th and 19^th century land routes we assume that they travelled along few trails and roads that were in existence at the time.  Research shows that a great many of these old paths and trails are today designated as U.S. Highway Routes.  For example, a major east-west route of migration known as the National Road is now U.S. Route 40, and a primary north-south migration route of the 18^th century followed the Great Indian War and Trading Path is now U.S. Route 11.  In some situations the re-created migration route may travel along state routes that connect or run through the seat of a county as that populated place is probably the oldest settlement in the area. The use of water as a migration route is also likely.  For example, during the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries many families travelled west on the Ohio River as they moved on the new lands in Missouri or the Old Northwest Territory.  As such when applicable water routes have been included as the possible migration route.   

Images gallery

During our research we have collected images and photographs that are of general interest to a particular family.  Some of them are presented on this website because we believe they tend to provide the reader with additional information which may aid in the understanding of our ancestors past lives.

This Link will take you to our

collection of family photographs.  

Use the power of Google™ to find more interesting images about this topic. This button will link you to the Google Images Search   page.   Enter   the   topic   you   are

searching in the box and click “Search Images”. At the “Images” display page you will see the image, as well as the website of which it is associated.

Ancestral locations

Researching the locations where our ancestors lived has provided us with valuable evidence needed to fill in the gaps in our family trees.  It has also led us to many interesting facts that enhance the overall picture of each family group.

Locations of

Direct Ancestors

Locational Distribution

of  this Surname

Where In the World

are my Ancestors?

Locatiof Direct Ancestors

The names of states and counties on the following list were derived from the known places where the Direct Ancestors in the “Ancestral Lineage” (see above) were born, married, and / or died.

United Kingdom

England

Middlesex

United States

Virginia

Henrico County

Use this LINK to find out more about this

ancestral family and the locations listed above.

Locational distributionstors

Knowing the geographical areas where the surname you are researching is clustered and distributed is an indispensable tool in deciding where to focus your research.  We believe that the “Public Profiler” website will open up to you a wide range of solutions which implement current research in spatial analysis.  This site provides an array of local spatial information tools useful to the genealogist. 

The information presented herein shows where the CREWES surname is distributed within North America as well as in the British Isles, the probable country of origin of this family.      Statistics show that there are approximately 37 persons per million of population with this surname, within the British Isles, and 2 persons per million of population within the United States.  Canada is found to be the country in the world where this surname is the most highly clustered having approximately 46 persons per million of population.  The top region of the world where this surname is the most highly clustered is the Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, with 568 per million, and

NORTH AMERICA

ENGLAND

click on thumbnail for larger image

Leicester in the East Midlands of  England, United Kingdom is the top city where this surname is found.

Click on the LINK to the right to see more information about the World distribution of a surname.  You can get

greater detail for any of the following maps by clicking on the area, i.e state, county that you are interested in.

Wjere are my ancestors Ancestors

Resources which enhance our knowledge of the places inhabited by our ancestors are almost as important as their names. The LINK to the right will take you to Maps, Gazetteers,   and  other  helpful   resources 

that will assist in discovering Ancestral Locations.  These web sites comprise only a small portion of what is available for researchers interested in learning more about where their ancestors lived.

Origins of the surname

An Introduction

to the Surname

Source/Meaning

of the Surname

History of

the Surname

More About

Surnames

An Introduction to the Surname

Source(s) & Meaning(s) of the Surname

     Most of the modern family names throughout Europe have originated from with of the following circumstances: patronym or matronym, names based on the name of one's father, mother or ancestor, (Johnson, Wilson). Each is a means of conveying lineage; occupation (i.e., Carpenter, Cooper, Brewer, Mason); habitational (Middleton, Sidney, or Ireland) or topographical (i.e. Hill, Brook, Forrest, Dale); nicknames (i.e., Moody Freeholder, Wise, Armstrong); status (i.e. Freeman, Bond, Knight); and acquired ornamental names that were simply made up.

History of the Surname

    Surnames as we know them today were first assumed in Europe from the 11th to the 15th century. They were not in use in England or Scotland, before the Norman Conquest of 1066, and were first found in the Domesday Book of 1086. The employment in the use of a second name was a custom that was first introduced from the Normans who had adopted the custom just prior to this time.    Soon thereafter it became a mark of a generally higher socio-economic status and thus seen as disgraceful for a well-bred man to have only one name.  It was not until the middle of the 14^th century that surnames became general practice among all people in the British Isles.

Variations of the surname

Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to unfold and expand often leading to an overwhelming number of variants.  As such one can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames because in early times, spelling in general and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized.  Later on spellings would change with the branching and movement of families. 

The complexity of researching records is compounded by the fact that in many cases an ancestors surname may also have been misspelled.  This is especially true when searching census documents.   The Soundex Indexing System was developed in an effort to assist with identifying spelling variations for a given surname.  Soundex is a method of indexing names in the 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 US Census, and can aid genealogists in their research. 

Searching for more Information about this and other surnames?

Click LINK button to view our Surname Locator & Resources page.

Amorial bearings, symcbols and mottoes

In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armored warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe.  In the British Isles the College of Arms, (founded in 1483), is the Royal corporation of heralds who record proved pedigrees and grant armorial bearings.

Gallery of Images

Descriptions of the

Armorial Bearings

Motto(es) of

this Surname

More About Hearldic Bearings

Image gallery

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

ARMORIAL BEARINGS

The associated armorial bearings for this surname and close variant spellings are recorded in Burke’s General Armorie and Rietstap’s Armorial General.  The additional information, presented below, is offered with regard to the armorial bearings depicted above:

FIGURE 1:  This coat-of-arms is the most recognized for Crewe and forms the basis for the arms and crests of other Crewe relatives. These armorial bearings belong to Crewe of the town of Crewe located in Cheshire.

     The arms are described as having a blue shield containing a silver Lion (rampant).  The crest has a golden ducal coronet out of which is a white lion’s leg.  The use of a lion in the arms of crest means, “dauntless courage.”

     Similar arms having the same crest and a crescent for difference belonged to Baron Crewe of Steane, in Northamptonshire.  First bestowed upon the 1st Baron John Crewe around 1661.  It then descended to Thomas Crewe the 2nd Baron Crewe.  As he had no male issue, the barony passed to his brother, Rev. Nathaniel Crew. The barony became extinct upon his death 1721. The mottos of this lineage was “Vis Unita Fortior.”

    This same coat-of-arms was also bestowed upon a Crewe of Holt in Wales, as well as Nantwich, Pulcroft, and Aston of Cheshire.

FIGURE 2: These arms represent a branch of the Crewe (or Crew) family descended from Sir Ranulph Crewe.  Sir Ranulph's grandson John Crewe, Esq. of Crewe Hall was the father of Ann Crewe, who married John Offley, of Madeley Manor, Staffordshire.  As a result of this union John took the Crewe family name as well as the title of Baron Crew and associated arms in 1708.  The motto of this family is, “Sequor nec inferior.”

     The shield is divided quarterly with the 1^st and 4^th  representing Crewe and being blue and containing a silver lion (rampant).  The 2^nd and 3^rd quarters represent Offley and are silver each containing a blue cross flory charged with a gold lion (passant).  The crest has a golden ducal coronet out of which is a white lion’s leg, (see figure 1).  The cross flory within these arms signifies, “one who has conquered.”

FIGURE 3: These arms are attributed to Crewe of County Durham as well as the Harpur-Crewe Baronets of Calke-Abbey in Derbyshire.  Sir John Harpur, 4^th Baronet married Katherine daughter and co-heir of Thomas Crewe the 2nd Baron Crewe.  The great-grandson of this marriage Sir Henry Harfur, 7^th Baronet of Calke-Abbey assumed the name of Crewe by royal license in 1808. On the death of Sir Vauncey Harpur Crewe in 1924, the Harpur-Crewe baronetcy became extinct.  The motto of this family is, “Degeneranti genus opprobrium.”

     The shield is divided quarterly with the 1^st and 4^th being blue and containing a silver lion (rampant).  The 2^nd and 3^rd quarters are silver each containing a black lion.  A black engrailed border surrounds the quarters. During the 298 years of the baronetage’s existence there were two different crests that accompanied these arms the first was  of a golden ducal coronet out of which is a white lion’s leg, as seen in figure 1; the second displayed a boar (passant) collared with a red ducal coronet.  The blue color is found in many Crewe coats-of-arms represents, “truth and loyalty.”

FIGURE 4: According to Burke's Peerage this coat-of-arms was granted to a Crewys of London before 1568.  A lasting legacy of this Crewys is Crewys Road in the London borough of Barnet. 

     The shield is blue with an indented bend of white and red between six golden scallop shells.  The crest shoes a stork holing a gold scallop shell.  The heraldic use of a scallop shell signifies either a “traveller to far places” or “a victorious naval commander.”

MOTTO(ES)  

     A motto is a word or sentence usually written upon a scroll and generally placed below the shield, but sometimes, especially in Scotland, above the crest.    Many ancient mottoes were war-cries such as the Douglas motto of “Forward.”    Many mottoes refer to the name of the bearer, for example “cole regem” for Coleridge.   In general most mottoes convey a sentiment, hope, or determination, such as the Cotter motto “Dum spiro spero” where the meaning is “While I have breath I hope“.     Mottoes are often used by several successive generations, but may be changed at any time by the grantee. The languages most in use are Latin, French, and English.  Exceptions are seen in Scotland where they are often in the old Lowland dialect, and in Wales, often in the language of the principality.   

The following mottoes have been found for CREWE and variant spellings of the surname: “Vis Unita Fortior”; “Degeneranti genus opprobrium.”; “Sequor nec inferior,” translated as “I follow, but am not inferior,” and “J’espeère bien,” translated as “I hope well.”

Heraldic bearings

The art of designing, displaying, describing, and recording arms is called heraldry. The use of coats of arms by countries, states, provinces, towns and villages is called civic heraldry.   A Coat of Arms is defined as a group of emblems and figures (heraldic bearings) usually arranged on and around a shield and serving as the special insignia of some person, family, or institution.  Except for a few cases, there is really no such thing as a standard "coat of arms" for a surname.  A coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, is a design usually granted only to a single person not to an entire family or to a particular surname.  Coats of arms are inheritable property, and they generally descend to male lineal descendents of the original arms grantee.  The rules and traditions regarding Coats of Arms vary from country to country. Therefore a Coat of Arms for an English family would differ from that of a German family even when the surname is the same. 

Some of the more prominent elements incorporated into a  coat of arms are :

Crest - The word crest is often mistakenly applied to a coat of arms.  The crest was a later development arising from the love of pageantry.  Initially the crest consisted of charges painted onto a ridge on top of the helmet.

Wreath or Torse – The torse is a twist of cloth or wreath underneath and part of a crest. Always shown as six twists, the first tincture being the tincture of the field, the second the tincture of the metal, and so on.

Mantling – The mantling is a drapery tied to the helmet above the shield. It forms a backdrop for the shield.

Helm or Helmet - The helmet or helm is situated above the shield and bears the torse and crest. The style of helmet displayed varies according to rank and social status, and these styles developed over time, in step with the development of actual military helmets.

Shield or Arms - The basis of all coats of arms.  At their simplest, arms consist of a shield with a plain field on which appears a geometrical shape or object.  The items appearing on the shield are known as charges.

Motto - The motto was originally a war cry, but later mottoes often expressed some worthy sentiment. It may appear at the top or bottom of a family coat of arms.

Searching for more information about heraldry? Click on the button at the  right to look at our webpage featuring links   to   websites   having   images

of a wide variety of arms, crests, and badges.  They may also feature additional heraldry resources as noted in the accompanying descriptions.

Web resources

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·             Our Surname Locator And Resources web page contains the following: (1) links that will take you to an updated listing of all surnames as posted in our three databases at the Rootsweb WorldConnect Project; (2) the Surname List Finder a tool that finds sound-alike matches for a given surname from among RootsWeb's thousands of surname lists; (3) the Soundex Converter that can be used to find the soundex code for a surname, plus other surnames/spellings sharing the same soundex code;  (4) Surname Message Boards the world's largest online genealogy community with over 17 Million posts on more than 161,000 boards; (5) Surname Mailing Lists of all surnames having mailing lists at RootsWeb, as well as topics that include (6) Surname Heraldy, and  (7) Mapping a Surname.  

·              Your genealogy research of this surname can be facilitated by use of Surname Web. This website links to the majority of the surname data on the web, as well as to individual family trees, origin and surname meaning if known, and many other related genealogy resources. 

·              Surname Finder provides easy access to free and commercial resources for 1,731,359 surnames. On each surname specific "finder" page, you can search a variety of online databases all pre-programmed with your surname.

·             Use All Surnames Genealogy to get access to find your surname resources .  There are almost 1300 links in this directory.

·             SurnameDB Free database of surname meanings - This site SurnameDB.Com contains a large FREE to access database (almost 50,000 surnames) on the history and meaning of family last names.

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·             Linkpendium Surnames - Web sites, obituaries, biographies, and other material specific to a surname.

·              Cyndi's List - Surnames, Family Associations & Family Newsletters Index - Sites or resources dedicated to specific, individual family surnames.  

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-- This webpage was last updated on --

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