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Crevecouer is an ancient Norman name that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Crevecouer family lived in Suffolk. The family was originally from Crevecoeur, Normandy, and it is from this location that the name derives.
The surname Crevecouer was first found in Kent where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, Hamon, Sire of Crevecoeur was Duke William's historian. He and his brother were at the Battle of Hastings. William appointed Hamon, Sheriff of Kent. He has two sons, the eldest, Robert FitzHamon became the founder of Tewksbury, and the youngest was Hamon, who was the ancestor of this great baronial family of which we report. One of Hamon's descendents, another Hamon, married Maud d'Avranches, the great Folkstone heiress, in the time of King Richard I of England. For more extensive reading, "The Falaise Roll" by Crispin and Macary, Genealogical Publishing, Baltimore is recommended.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Crevecouer research. Another 83 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1158, 1195, 1200, 1212, 1273 and 1284 are included under the topic Early Crevecouer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval 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. The name has been spelled Crawcour, Creuequor, Croueqoer, Creuker, Crewquer, Craker, Crigor, Crevequer, Crevequere, Crevcure, Crevequre, Crevecoeur, Creegor, Cregor, Crewker, Crouequoer, Crevequer, Crequer and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Crevecouer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Crevecouer or a variant listed above: Wm. Craker, who arrived in New York in 1832; William Craker, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1832; Levy Craker, who settled in New York in 1832; Levi Craker, who came to Pennsylvania in 1832.