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Show ContentsCrowshar History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
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Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

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Crowshar is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the village of Cranshaw (Cronkshaw) in Lancashire. The name is derived from the Old English "cran(uc)" which means "crane" + "sceaga" which means "grove" or "thicket." 1 Another source claims the name literally means "the twisting or winding shaw (wood.)" 2

Early Origins of the Crowshar family

The surname Crowshar was first found in Lancashire at Cranshaw (Cronkshaw) in the parish of Rochdale or Bury. One of the first records of the name was William de Crounkeshawe who was listed there in 1412. 3

Cranshaws Castle or Cranshaws Tower is a 15th-century pele near the village of Cranshaws in Berwickshire, Scotland. The castle is thought to be the inspiration for "Ravenswood Castle", home of Edgar, the hero of Sir Walter Scott's tragedy the Bride of Lammermoor.

Early History of the Crowshar family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Crowshar research. Another 116 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1572, 1590, 1610, 1612, 1626, 1649 and 1667 are included under the topic Early Crowshar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Crowshar 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 Crowshar family name include Crawshaw, Crawshay, Crawshawe, Cranshaw, Crankshaw and many more.

Early Notables of the Crowshar family

Distinguished members of the family include William Crashaw (1572-1626), English Puritan divine and poet, son of Richard Crashaw of Handsworth, near Sheffield, Yorkshire. Major Joseph Croshaw (1610-1667), son of Captain Raleigh Croshaw, was a substantial planter living near Williamsburg in the US Colony and Dominion...
Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Crowshar Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Crowshar family

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 Crowshar surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Joseph Crawsha who arrived in New York in 1822; James, Titus, and William Crawshaw, settled in Philadelphia in the 1860's; William Crawshaw settled in Virginia in 1624.
  1. Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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