Contents [hide]

Roswell History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Ireland United States Canada New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Roswell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancient history of the Roswell name begins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the family resided in Rothwell, a place-name found in the counties of Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, and the West Riding of Yorkshire. 1 The place-name Rothwell is derived from the Old English words roth, which means forest clearing, and wella, which means spring or stream. The place-name as a whole translates as "spring or stream in the summer clearing." 2 In the Domesday Book, 3 compiled in 1086, each of those places was originally listed as Rodewelle.

Early Origins of the Roswell family

The surname Roswell was first found in Lincolnshire where one of the first listings of the family was Robert de Rothewelle who was listed there in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. Later in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls, Johanna de Rothewell and Johannes de Rothewell were listed. 1

Early History of the Roswell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Roswell research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1563, 1627 and 1640 are included under the topic Early Roswell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Roswell Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Roswell include Rothwell, Rathwell, Rosswell, Rosewell and others.

Early Notables of the Roswell family

Distinguished members of the family include Richard Rothwell, the exorcist, who was born at Bolton (now in Greater Manchester) in 1563. 4 He died in 1627 and was "known as "Bold Rothwell, the Apostle of the North," and famed as an exorcist, who professed to have wonderful contests...
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Roswell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Roswell family to Ireland

Some of the Roswell family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 43 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Roswell migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Roswell or a variant listed above:

Roswell Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Roswell, who landed in Virginia in 1665 5

Roswell Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Roswell, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1842 5

Roswell migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Roswell Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. John Roswell U.E., (Rosenell) who settled in Carleton [Saint John City], New Brunswick c. 1784 6

Roswell migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Roswell Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Samuel Roswell, aged 22, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1875

Contemporary Notables of the name Roswell (post 1700) +

Roswell Dwight Hitchcock (1817-1887), American Congregationalist clergyman
Roswell A. Parmenter (1821-1904), American lawyer, New York State Senator (1874-1875)
Roswell Winans (1887-1968), U. S. Marine Corps general and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient
Roswell Rudd (1935-2017), American Grammy Award-nominated jazz trombonist
Roswell Root, American Republican politician, Supervisor of Plymouth Township, Michigan; Elected 1901 7
Roswell P. Crafts, American politician, Mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, 1877, 1882-83 8
Roswell S. Sturdivant, nicknamed "Bloody Jack" Sturdivant, American counterfeiter who led the Sturdivant Gang, a multi-generational family group of counterfeiters founded in the 1810s
Roswell Fenner Cottrell (1814-1892), American Seventh Day Baptist preacher, counsellor, writer, hymnist and poet
Roswell Keyes Colcord (1839-1939), American politician, 7th Governor of Nevada (1891-1895)
Roswell "Bob" Garst (1898-1977), American farmer and seed company executive, founder of the Garst Seed Company in 1931

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, September 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html