Rowel History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsRowel is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Rowel family once lived 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 Rowel familyThe surname Rowel 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 Rowel familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rowel research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1563, 1627 and 1640 are included under the topic Early Rowel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Rowel Spelling VariationsSound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Rowel family name include Rothwell, Rathwell, Rosswell, Rosewell and others. Early Notables of the Rowel familyDistinguished 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... Migration of the Rowel family to IrelandSome of the Rowel family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Rowel surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Rowel Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
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