Rawle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Rawle surname is a patronymic from a medieval form of the personal name Ralph.

Early Origins of the Rawle family

The surname Rawle was first found in Cornwall where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Kennet and Trevil in St.Juliet. "The manor called Tresparvet [in the parish of St. Ives] belongs to William Rawle, Esq. in whose family it has been vested for many generations. The manor of Tremorvill or Tremorill, which belonged to the Bottreaux family so early as the reign of Edward I. is the property of Mr. Rawle." 1

Early History of the Rawle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rawle research. Another 168 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1632, 1658, 1660, 1683, 1686 and 1727 are included under the topic Early Rawle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rawle Spelling Variations

Cornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly, spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of Cornwall and the rest of England. The Cornish spoke a unique Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Rawle, Rawles, Rorles, Ralls, Rall and others.

Early Notables of the Rawle family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Francis Rawle (1660-1727), Cornish colonist, born in England, son of Francis Rawle, and came of an old Cornish family of some wealth and standing, settled at one time near St...
Rawle first settled on 2,500 acres in New Plymouth, where he founded the society known as the Plymouth Friends...

Rawle migration to the United States +

An investigation of the immigration and passenger lists has revealed a number of people bearing the name Rawle:

Rawle Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Francis, Rawle Sr. and Francis, Rawle Jr. who, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1686
Francis Rawle, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1686 2

Rawle Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

David Rawle, a bonded passenger who arrived in America in 1746
Elizabeth Rawle, who arrived in West New Jersey in 1772

Rawle Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Samuel Byede Rawle, who arrived in New York, NY in 1823
Peter Rawle, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1837 2

Rawle 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:

Rawle Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Martha Rawle, (b. 1829), aged 31, British laundress travelling from Bristol aboard the ship "Matoaka" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd December 1860 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Rawle (post 1700) +

Henry Rawle, American politician, Mayor of Erie, Pennsylvania, 1874-75; Pennsylvania State Treasurer, 1876-78 4
Bernard A. Rawle, American politician, Member of California State Assembly 11th District, 1883-85 4
William Rawle (1759-1836), American lawyer and politician, United States district attorney in Pennsylvania in 1791, first president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, president of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society
Samuel Rawle (1771-1860), English topographical engraver and draughtsman, who practised in London
Mark Rawle (b. 1979), English professional footballer
Graham Rawle, British writer and collage artist
Rt Rev Richard Rawle (1812-1889), Engliish divine, born at Plymouth, Bishop of Trinidad and Tobago, son of Francis Rawle (1778–1854), an attorney at Liskeard
Jeff Rawle (b. 1951), British actor known for his roles in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Drop the Dead Donkey (1990) and Hollyoaks (1995)
Keith Trevillian Rawle (1924-2005), Australian rules footballer
George Rawle (b. 1889), Australian rules footballer
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. 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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). 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