Contents [hide]

Ravenscroft History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Ravenscroft History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Anglo-Saxon name Ravenscroft comes from when the family resided in the region of Ravenscroft in Cheshire. Ravenscroft is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties.

Early Origins of the Ravenscroft family

The surname Ravenscroft was first found in Cheshire where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Ravenscroft family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ravenscroft research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1582, 1600, 1621, 1622, 1632, 1635, 1640, 1654, 1660, 1665, 1673, 1681, 1683, 1689, 1697 and 1707 are included under the topic Early Ravenscroft History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ravenscroft Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Ravenscroft has been recorded under many different variations, including Ravenscroft, Ravenscroff and others.

Early Notables of the Ravenscroft family

Distinguished members of the family include

Thomas Ravenscroft (ca. 1582- c.1635), English editor, singer at St Paul's Cathedral, composer and music theorist
Ravenscroft, English wigmaker who co-founded Ede & Ravenscroft, the oldest tailors in London in 1689
John Ravenscroft (c. 1665-1697), also known as Giovanni Ravenscroft and Giovanni Rederi, an English violinist and composer
Hall Ravenscroft (ca.1600-ca.1673), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1660
Thomas Ravenscroft (died 1681), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Monmouth Boroughs (1621-1622)
John Ravenscroft (c. 1665-1697), an English violinist and composer of the Baroque era, who moved to Rome
George Ravenscroft (1632-1683), English businessman, known for his advances in the glass making trades

Ravenscroft migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Ravenscroft or a variant listed above:

Ravenscroft Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Benjamin Ravenscroft who settled in Virginia in 1679
Samuel Ravenscroft, who arrived in New England in 1679 1

Ravenscroft Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Francis Ravenscroft, who settled in Maryland in 1733
Richard Ravenscroft, who settled in Philadelphia in 1772

Ravenscroft Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Helen McLean Ravenscroft, aged 45, originally from London, England, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Adriatic" from Liverpool, England 2

Ravenscroft migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Ravenscroft Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Hannah Ravenscroft, (Susannah), (b. 1788), aged 15, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Experiment" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, she died in 1851 3
Mr. Henry Ravenscroft, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl Spencer" in May 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4

Ravenscroft migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Ravenscroft Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Henry Ravenscroft, (b. 1854), aged 23, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Oamaru" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 13th January 1878, for Bluff 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Ravenscroft (post 1700) +

Webster Ravenscroft, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Maryland, 1908 6
W. H. Ravenscroft, American politician, Mayor of Frostburg, Maryland, 1877-78, 1882 6
Margaret M. Ravenscroft, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 24th District, 1992 6
Leighton Price Ravenscroft (1860-1945), American politician, Mayor of Winfield, Kansas, 1925, 1928, 1938, 1940, 1942, 1944 6
John W. Ravenscroft, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Litchfield; Elected 1910 6
Donald R. Ravenscroft, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York, 1988, 1996 6
John Stark Ravenscroft (1772-1830), American first Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina
Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft (1914-2005), American voice actor, best known as the deep voice behind Tony the Tiger's "They're grrreat!" in Frosted Flakes, but uncredited as the vocalist for the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" from the Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Stephen Charles Wood "Steve" Ravenscroft (b. 1970), English former rugby union footballer
Timothy John "Tim" Ravenscroft (b. 1992), Guernsey cricketer
... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

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)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-spencer
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html