Cockrill History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Today's generation of the Cockrill family bears a name that was brought to England by the migration wave that was started by the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Cockrill family lived in Gloucestershire. The family was originally from Cocquerel, near Evreux, Normandy, and it is from that location that their name derives.

Early Origins of the Cockrill family

The surname Cockrill was first found in Gloucestershire where Illyas de Kokerel held fiefs in 1165 from Bohun and Neumarché. 1 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list the following: Geoffrey Cokerell in Norfolk; John Cokerel in Yorkshire; and Reginald Kokerel in Cambridgeshire. 2 "In 1324 Sir William Cockerell was returned from Essex to attend a great council at Westminster." 1 The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list the following: Matilda Cokrell; Elias Cokrell and Alicia Cokerell. 2

Early History of the Cockrill family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cockrill research. Another 96 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1305, 1574, 1575, 1754, 1759, 1788, 1790, 1794, 1802, 1807, 1809, 1827, 1832, 1833, 1840, 1861, 1863 and 1878 are included under the topic Early Cockrill History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cockrill Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, Norman French and other languages became incorporated into English throughout the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Cockrill include Cockerell, Cockerill, Cockrill, Cockrell and others.

Early Notables of the Cockrill family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Samuel Pepys Cockerell (1754-1827), English architect, son of John Cockerell of Bishop's Hall, Somersetshire. He was brother of Sir Charles Cockerell, M.P., of Sezincote, Gloucestershire, who was created a Baronet in 1809. His mother was daughter of John Jackson, the nephew and heir of Samuel Pepys, and through her Cockerell became the representative, and inherited many interesting relics, of the great diarist. One of his sons was Charles Robert Cockerell [q. v.], a far more distinguished architect than his father. 3Charles Robert Cockerell (1788-1863), the English architect was the son of Samuel Pepys...
Another 246 words (18 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cockrill Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cockrill family to Ireland

Some of the Cockrill family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cockrill migration to the United States +

In England at this time, the uncertainty of the political and religious environment of the time caused many families to board ships for distant British colonies in the hopes of finding land and opportunity, and escaping persecution. The voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, though, and many arrived in North America sick, starved, and destitute. Those who did make it, however, were greeted with greater opportunities and freedoms that they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Early immigration records have shown some of the first Cockrills to arrive on North American shores:

Cockrill Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Cockrill, who arrived in Virginia in 1704 4

Cockrill 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:

Cockrill Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Richard Cockrill, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "George Canning" arriving in Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 28th November 1857 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Cockrill (post 1700) +

Lieutenant Dan Robertson Cockrill (d. 1942), American seaman who died aboard the USS Meredith (DD-434) when it was sunk, eponym of the USS Cockrill (DE-398), an Edsall-class destroyer escort
Ellen Cockrill, American two-time Daytime Emmy Award winning producer, known for her work on Curious George (2006), Tom & Jerry Kids Show (1990) and Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest (2013)
Anne Robertson Johnson Cockrill (1757-1821), née Robertson, an American pioneer who became the first woman to receive a land grant in Tennessee; she rests in the Nashville City Cemetery, the oldest public cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee
Sterling Robertson Cockrill Jr., (b. 1925), American former politician, Arkansas State Representative from Pulaski County (1957-1970), Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives (1967-1968)
Harrison Cockrill (1826-1876), American politician, Member of Kentucky State Senate, 1863-65, 1869-73; County Judge in Kentucky; Presidential Elector for Kentucky, 1868 6
J W Cockrill, English borough engineer, known for his design of the Gorleston Pavilion or Pavilion Theatre in 1898
Darren Cockrill, English actor
Professor Maurice Cockrill RA, FBA (1936-2013), British painter and poet from Hartlepool, County Durham

Historic Events for the Cockrill family +

Air New Zealand Flight 901

Miss. Joan Audrey Cockrill (1916-1979), New Zealander passenger, from Auckland, New Zealand aboard the Air New Zealand Flight 901 for an Antarctic sightseeing flight when it flew into Mount Erebus; she died in the crash 7

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)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Mount Erebus, Memorial, Roll of Remembrance (Retrieved 2018, February 21st). Retrieved from http://www.erebus.co.nz/memorialandawards/rollofremembrance.aspx