Creelman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancestors of the Creelman family brought their name to England in the wave of migration after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived at Kirkley, a township in the parish of Poneteland in the county of Northumberland. The family name Creelman became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, when William the Conqueror gave his friends and relatives most of the land formerly owned by Anglo-Saxon aristocrats. An early roll lists John de Curli of England, 1199 and this source presumes the name is from Thomas de Curleio in Normandy, 1198. 1

Another source postulates the name means "dweller near Curley (bend or turn in the road), in Scotland; one who came from Curley, in France; one who had curly hair." 2

Early Origins of the Creelman family

The surname Creelman was first found in Sussex where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Ashburnham, anciently Esseborne. These estates, including three salt houses, were granted to Robert de Criel, a Norman Knight, by William, Duke of Normandy for his assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D., and is so noted in the Domesday Book, 3 a survey taken of landholders in England in 1086.

Robert de Criel was from the Castle of Criel near Criel-sur-Mer in the arrondisement of Dieppe. Part of the walls of this huge castle are still standing, and there are also traces of a moat. Robert's chief tenant was the Count of Eu. 1

Early English rolls showed a wide variety of spellings in Latin and early English: Rannulf de Curleio was listed at Hinton, Hampshire c. 1110; Robert de Curli was found in the Pipe Rolls for Oxfordshire in 1190; William de Curly in the Feet of Fines for Warwickshire 1227-1228; Benedict le Curly in Staffordshire in 1271; and Thomas Curly in the Subsidy Rolls for Warwickshire in 1332. 4

Early History of the Creelman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Creelman research. Another 257 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1295, 1339, 1489, 1575, 1628, 1629, 1632, 1637, 1647, 1678, 1679, 1724 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Creelman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Creelman Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years the English language had no fixed system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations occurred commonly in Anglo Norman surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Creelman were recorded, including Crull, Crul, Cruel, Criel, Cryle, Kriel, Krile, Crile, Kirle, Kyrle, Cyrle, Kreel, Creel, Crulle, Crule, Curl, Curle, Girl, Cryll and many more.

Early Notables of the Creelman family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Walter Curle (Curll) (1575-1647), an English bishop, a close supporter of William Laud, Bishop of Rochester in 1628, Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1629...
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Creelman Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Creelman family to Ireland

Some of the Creelman family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 58 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Creelman migration to the United States +

The unstable environment in England at this time caused numerous families to board ships and leave in search of opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad in places like Ireland, Australia, and particularly the New World. The voyage was extremely difficult, however, and only taken at great expense. The cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels caused many to arrive diseased and starving, not to mention destitute from the enormous cost. Still opportunity in the emerging nations of Canada and the United States was far greater than at home and many went on to make important contributions to the cultures of their adopted countries. An examination of many early immigration records reveals that people bearing the name Creelman arrived in North America very early:

Creelman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Creelman, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1832 5
George C Creelman, who arrived in Mississippi in 1896 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Creelman (post 1700) +

William James Creelman (1874-1928), American Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor
James Ashmore Creelman (1894-1941), early American Hollywood film writer
George Creelman, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Connecticut State House of Representatives from Salisbury, 1926 6
George Creelman (1869-1929), Canadian President of the Ontario Agricultural College (1904 to 1920), eponym of Creelman Hall, University of Guelph
Samuel Creelman (1808-1891), Canadian farmer, merchant and political figure in Nova Scotia
Sharon Creelman (b. 1964), retired Canadian field hockey player
James Creelman (1859-1915), Canadian reporter during the height of yellow journalism

The Creelman Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Nil moror ictus
Motto Translation: I do not care for blows.

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html