Show ContentsCorwine History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

A Boernician family in ancient Scotland were the ancestors of those who first used the name Corwine. They lived in Cumberland, where it was originally associated with Culwen. Culwen or Culewen is the old spelling of Colvend which was located near the river Urr, Kirkcudbrightshire.

Early Origins of the Corwine family

The surname Corwine was first found in Northumberland, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Corwine family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Corwine research. Another 158 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1320, 1379, 1554, 1558, 1559, 1567, 1571, 1621 and 1679 are included under the topic Early Corwine History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Corwine Spelling Variations

Spelling variations occur frequently in Scottish names that date from the medieval era. They result from a general lack of grammatical rules and the tendency to spell names according to sound. Corwine has been spelled Curwen, Curwens, Corwen, Corwyn, Curwyn, Curwin, Curvin, Corwin, Kerwen, Kerwin, Kerwyn, Kervin and many more.

Early Notables of the Corwine family

Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Corwine Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Corwine migration to the United States +

In the 20th century, the ancestors of many of those Boernician-Scottish people still populate North America. They distributed themselves on either side of the border at the time of the War of Independence. United Empire Loyalists went north to Canada and those who wanted a new nation stayed south. Both groups went on to found great nations. Some of the first North American settlers with Corwine name or one of its variants:

Corwine Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • F Corwine, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 1


The Corwine 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: Si je n'estoy
Motto Translation: If I were not.


  1. 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)


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