Crookston History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe first people to use the name Crookston were Vikings who settled in ancient Scotland in the medieval period. Crookston was a name for a crooked person. A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nickname surnames referred to a characteristic of the first person who used the name. They can describe the bearer's favored style of clothing, appearance, habits, or character. This nickname was originally derived from the Old Norman word crok which meant "hook" or "something crooked." While this origin can be expected, more accurately, the name was for someone "who came from Crook (hill, or bend of a river), the name of several places in England and Scotland." 1 Early Origins of the Crookston familyThe surname Crookston was first found in Westmorland at Crook, a chapelry, in the parish, union, and ward of Kendal 2 of at Crook, a hamlet in the parish of Shevington, Lancashire. We find the earliest record of the family at the latter location. Specifically, the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1332 list William del Crok there at that time. 3 Kirby's Quest lists Kohn de Cruk in Somerset, 1 Edward III (during the first years of King Edward III's reign.) 4 Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed: Johannes de Crake; Thomas de Crokes; and Johanna de Crekes. 3 Moving further north into Scotland, two of the first entries were Malcolm Crok and Robert Cruk of Fingaldestone, Lanarkshire, who both rendered homage to King Edward I in his conquest of Scotland. A few years later, a benefice was reserved to Adam Croke of the diocese of St. Andrew in 1329 and John Cruke was a tenant in Garvalde under the Douglas in 1376. 5 Early History of the Crookston familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Crookston research. Another 138 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1560, 1562, 1574, 1575, 1576, 1582, 1591, 1617, 1635, 1641, 1649, 1674, 1699 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Crookston History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Crookston Spelling VariationsTranslation and spelling were non-standardized practices in the Middle Ages, so scribes had only their ears to rely on. This was a practice of extremely limited efficiency, and spelling variations in names, even within a single document, were the result. Over the years, Crookston has appeared Crook, Crooke, Crooks, Cruik, Cruiks, Crok, Cruke, Crukes, Cruikes and many more. Early Notables of the Crookston familyNotable amongst the Clan from early times was Andrew Crooke (died 1674) and William Cooke (died 1641) who were London publisher partners who published significant texts of English Renaissance drama, most notably of the plays of James Shirley.Thomas Crooke (fl. 1582), was an English divine, matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge, in May 1560, where he was elected scholar 1562, and afterwards fellow, proceeded B.A. 1562. 6Samuel Crooke (1575-1649), was an... Migration of the Crookston family to IrelandSome of the Crookston family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
The fertile east coast of what would become US and Canada was soon dotted with the farms of Scottish settlers. Some of them remained faithful to the crown and called themselves United Empire Loyalists, while others had the chance to pay back their old oppressors in the American War of Independence. That brave spirit lives on today in the highland games that dot North America in the summer. Passenger and immigration lists indicate that members of the Crookston family came to North America quite early: Crookston Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
Crookston Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
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