Shuel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Anglo-Saxon name Shuel comes from the family having resided in any of the places named Sewell, Showell, Seawell, and Sywell in England. Shuel is a local surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. There are a variety of types of local surnames, some of which include: topographic surnames, which could be given to a person who lived beside any 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. It is also possible that the surname Shuel is a patronymic surname, which derives from the Old English given name Siwal(d). This surname is composed of the elements sige, sæ and weard, which mean victory, sea, and rule, respectively.

Early Origins of the Shuel family

The surname Shuel was first found in Warwickshire where the earliest record of the name was Sewallis, a "noble Saxon" who possessed Lower Eatington before the Norman Conquest. Sewallis was an ancient personal name and was not uncommon in Saxon times. 1

Girart de Sevele was listed in Normandy in 1180 and the Rotuli Hundredorum lists Roger Sevale in England c. 1272. 2

Two references claim that four different listings of the name were found in Warwickshire the Domesday Book, our translation 3 only listed one Sewell, in Bedfordshire as land held by the King that was originally belonging to the Odecrooft hundred but Ralph Taillebois added it to the manor of Houghton Regis with King William's consent.

Today Sewell, is a hamlet located in central Bedfordshire and is still in the Houghton Regis civil parish.

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had quite a few listings for the name as a forename and as a surname: Sewallus de Cleton, Hertfordshire; Sewale de Retcote, Oxfordshire; Robert filius Sew, Norfolk; Thomas Sewald, Oxfordshire; and Godard Sewale, Cambridgeshire. 4

Early History of the Shuel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shuel research. Another 166 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1150, 1257, 1366, 1393, 1643, 1652, 1654, 1667, 1671, 1674, 1676, 1688, 1701, 1720 and 1730 are included under the topic Early Shuel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shuel Spelling Variations

Shuel has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Spelling variants included: Sewell, Shewel, Sewel, Sewall, Shewall, Shewal and many more.

Early Notables of the Shuel family

Distinguished members of the family include Sewall de Bovill (d. 1257), Archbishop of York, a pupil at Oxford of St. Edmund (Rich), the future Archbishop of Canterbury. John Suell (fl. 1393), was an English politician, Member of the Parliament of England for Totnes in 1393. Gabriel Saywell (died 1688), was rector of Pentridge, Dorset; and his son, William Saywell (1643-1701), was an English churchman and academic, known as a controversialist, Archdeacon of Ely, and Master of Jesus College, Cambridge. Samuel Sewall (1652-1730), was "a colonist and judge, son of Henry Sewall and Jane, daughter of Stephen Dummer, born at Bishopstoke, Hampshire. Emigrating in childhood...
Another 111 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shuel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Shuel family to Ireland

Some of the Shuel family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 41 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Shuel family

In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Shuels to arrive on North American shores: Thomas Sewell settled in Virginia in 1637; along with Charles in 1654; Martha in 1652; John in 1639; Thomas in 1773; Charles and John Sewell settled in Maryland in 1774.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)