Show ContentsFreewill History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Freewill family

The surname Freewill was first found in Staffordshire where Alexander Baron de Frevile, the lineal descendant of the Norman, married Joane, granddaughter and coheir of Sir Philip Marmion, and was great-grandfather of Sir Baldwin de Freville, who, in the 1st Richard II., claimed, as feudal Lord of Tamworth Castle, to be the King's champion on the day of his coronation; but the same was determined against him, in favour of Sir John Dymoke, in right of the tenure of Scrivelsby. The last direct male heir, Baldwin de Freville, died, in minority 6th Henry V., when his great possessions were partitioned among the husbands of his sisters; thus Sir Thomas Ferrers had Tamworth Castle, Sir Richard Bingham, Middleton in Warwickshire, and Roger Aston, Newdigate, in Surrey." 1

The Freville Baronetcy was originally from Fresville, in the arrondisement of Valognes, Montebourg. 2

Early History of the Freewill family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Freewill research. Another 171 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1178, 1510, 1552, 1570, 1579, 1600, 1603, 1607, 1628, 1630, 1642, 1665 and 1682 are included under the topic Early Freewill History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Freewill Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Freville, Fresville, Freevill, Freeville, Frevile, Frevill, Freefill, Frefill, Frevil, Freewill, Frewill, Freshville, Freschville, Freshfill and many more.

Early Notables of the Freewill family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was John Frescheville, 1st Baron Frescheville (1607-1682), an English soldier, landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1628 and 1665, Deputy Lieutenant of Derbyshire (1630-1642.) George Freville (d. 1579), was an English...
Another 42 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Freewill Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Freewill family

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Freewill or a variant listed above: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..



  1. Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
  2. Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.


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