Graveney is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Graveney family lived in Kent, where the family was found since the early Middle Ages.
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Early Origins of the Graveney family
The surname Graveney was first found in Kent where they held a family seat. At the taking of the Domesday Book in 1086 by Duke William of Normandy the village of Graveney was held by under-tenant Richard the Constable from chief-tenant, the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was customary that when the Normans introduced surnames into England the Baron or head of the family gave lands to his sons or other relatives. To distinguished these branches the offspring assumed the name of their holdings, and conjecturally, the surname was derived from Richard of Graveney in Kent, which at Domesday held manor and four salt houses on the edge of marshland.
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Early History of the Graveney family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Graveney research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1207, 1230, 1376, 1524 and 1546 are included under the topic Early Graveney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Graveney Spelling Variations
It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Graveney are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Graveney include Graveney, Graveny, Gravenel, Graveneye, Gravener, Gravenor and many more.
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Early Notables of the Graveney family
More information is included under the topic Early Graveney Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Graveney family
Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Graveney, or a variant listed above: John Gravener who was recorded as having arrived in Maryland in 1634; and other settlers who established themselves in the United States and in Canada during the 18th and 19th centuries..
Contemporary Notables of the name Graveney (post 1700)
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John Kenneth 'Ken" Richard Graveney (1924-2015), English cricketer who played for and captained Gloucestershire
David Anthony Graveney (b. 1953), Chairman of the England Test selectors since 1997, nephew of Thomas William Graveney
Thomas William Graveney OBE (1927-2015), English cricketer, representing England in 79 test matches and scoring over 4,800 runs
England
