Craggs History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Craggs is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived at the crag or crags in the county of Lancashire.

Early Origins of the Craggs family

The surname Craggs was first found in West Yorkshire at Cragg Vale, a village that dates back to Roman times. The Cragg Vale Coiners were a band of counterfeiters from the area who produced fake gold coins in the late 18th century. The gang was hunted down and one of the was murdered.

Early History of the Craggs family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Craggs research. Another 106 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1332, 1657, 1686, 1713 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Craggs History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Craggs Spelling Variations

Sound 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 Craggs family name include Cragg, Crag, Cragge and others.

Early Notables of the Craggs family

Notables of the family at this time include

Robert Cragg of Lancashire; James Craggs the Elder (1657-1721), an English politician, Postmaster-General, the eldest son of Anthony Craggs of Holbeck, in the parish of Wolsingham, Durham
Hi son, James Craggs the Younger (1686-1721), was an English politician, Secretary of State and Member of Parliament for Tregony (1713-1721.) 1

Migration of the Craggs family to Ireland

Some of the Craggs 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.

Craggs migration to the United States +

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 Craggs surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Craggs Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Mary Craggs, who arrived in Virginia in 1654 2

Craggs migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Craggs Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

William Craggs, English convict from York, who was transported aboard the "Ann" on August 1809, settling in New South Wales, Australia 3
Mary Craggs, aged 25, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Star Queen" 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Craggs (post 1700) +

Dr. John Dixon Craggs M.B.E., British recipient of Member of the Order of the British Empire on 8th June 2018, for services to Education and to the community in Birmingham 5

Citations +

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)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Ann voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1809 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/ann/1809
South Australian Register Monday 1st January 1855. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Star Queen 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/starqueen1854.shtml
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists