Jewel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Anglo-Saxon name Jewel comes from the baptismal name Joel. The surname Jewel referred to the son of Joel which belongs to the category of patronymic surnames. In Old English, patronyms were formed by adding a variety of suffixes to personal names, which changed over time and from place to place. For example, after the Norman Conquest, sunu and sune, which meant son, were the most common patronymic suffixes. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the most common patronymic names included the word filius, which meant son. By the 14th century, the suffix son had replaced these earlier versions. Surnames that were formed with filius or son were more common in the north of England and it was here that the number of individuals without surnames was greatest at this time.

Early Origins of the Jewel family

The surname Jewel was first found in Devon where the Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. included three listings of the name as both a forename and a surname: Warin filius Juelis, Henry III Edward I; Juel de Stanhuse; and Juel de Buketon, Devon. 1

"Helias and Robert Juels are mentioned in the Norman Exchequer Rolls of 1180-95. Galfrid, William, and Richard Juel or Joel occur in Huntingdonshire, about 1272 in the Hundredorum Rolls. 'This family derived probably from Juel or Judael de Mayennc, Baron of Totness and Barnstaple, temp. William I.: a Breton noble. He held lands from the Earl of Mortaine, besides his own barony; and a portion of the former, as well as a fief created in the Barony of Totness, seems to have passed to the younger branch names Fitz Juel. Warin Fitz Juel, in 1242, held a knight's fee,which had been granted by the Earl of Mortaine at the Conquest.' " 2

The source Calendarium Genealogicum: Henry III-Edward I had two listings: Jordan filius Juel; and Jordan filius Jowell, 25 Edward I (during the 25th year of King Edward I's reign.) 3

Robert le Jewell, Alicia le Jueler were listed in the Subsidy Rolls for London in 1319. 4

John Jowell, was Sheriff of Norwich, Norfolk in 1486. 5

"Jewell was the name of a gentle family of Bowden in the parish of Berry - Narbor or Berryn - Arbor, near Ilfracombe, [Devon], in the 16th and 17th centuries; to this family belonged John Jewell, the noted Bishop of Salisbury, who was born at Berryn - Arbor in 1522 (W. and Pr.). The name is now well represented in the Bideford district, but still occurs in Berry. Narbor. It has also long been a Cornish name." 6

Early History of the Jewel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Jewel research. Another 50 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1522, 1535, 1559, 1560 and 1571 are included under the topic Early Jewel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Jewel Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Jewel has appeared include Jewell, Jewall, Jule, Joel, Jouel and others.

Early Notables of the Jewel family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

John Jewell (1522-1571), Bishop of Salisbury...
He was "born on 24 May 1522, was the son of John Jewel of Buden, in the parish of Berimber, or Berrynarbor, Devonshire...

Jewel migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Jewel arrived in North America very early:

Jewel Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Philip Jewel, who landed in New England in 1739 7

Jewel migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Jewel Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Abraham Jewel U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 8
Mr. Ezekiel Jewel U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 8

Jewel Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mrs. Sarah Jewel, aged 40 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Argo" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle on 18th June 1847 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Jewel (post 1700) +

Thomas Jewel (b. 1842), American politician, Mayor of Wyandotte, Michigan, 1871-72; Resigned 1872 10
Lindsey L. Jewel, American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Colón, 1914 10
Willie Jewel Ray, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1996 11
Jewel Lansing (b. 1930), American (Oregon) writer and politician
Jewel Winklemeyer Ens (1889-1950), American Major League Baseball infielder, manager and coach, he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1922–1925) and later managed the same team (1929–1933)
Jewel Plummer Cobb (1924-2017), American biologist, cancer researcher, and academic administrator, President of California State University, Fullerton (1981-1990)
Jewel Eugene Akens (1933-2013), American singer and record producer
Jewel Lafontant-Mankarious (1922-1997), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1960 (alternate), 1972, 1988; Candidate for Superior Court Judge in Illinois, 1962 12

Citations +

Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. 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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 35)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html