Crews History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Crews is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived as dwellers at a cattle-pen or cattle-fold. 1
Early Origins of the Crews family
The surname Crews was first found in Cheshire where the "ancestors of Lord Crewe were Lords of Crewe, co. Chester, 13 Edward I." (during the thirteenth year of King Edward I's reign.) 2
Today, Crewe is a township, in the parish of Barthomley, union and hundred of Nantwich in Cheshire. "It has been the inheritance of the Crewe family from a very early period. The Hall, the seat of Lord Crewe, exhibits a good specimen of the more enriched style of architecture which prevailed in the early part of the 17th century: it was begun in 1615, and completed in 1636, and the ceilings and wainscots of many of the rooms, and the principal staircase, retain their original decorations. The gallery, a hundred feet in length, is fitted up as a library, and contains a number of family portraits, and fine pictures: the mansion has also a private chapel, where divine service is performed every Sunday morning, and where is a large painting of the Last Supper, with two beautiful specimens of ancient stained glass. " 3
Looking back further researchers found the name actually dates back to Norman times as "Crewe was in the barony of Malbanc, and was possessed c. 1150 by Henry de Criwa, who attested a charter of Hugh Malbanc. Sire Thomas de Crue was living after 1241. Hence the Lords Crewe of Stene, maternally represented by the Lords Crewe." 4
Early History of the Crews family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Crews research. Another 175 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1558, 1565, 1598, 1623, 1624, 1625, 1633, 1634, 1646, 1656, 1671, 1674, 1679, 1697 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Crews History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Crews Spelling Variations
Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Crews family name include Crewe, Crew, Croux, Crewes, Creuse and others.
Early Notables of the Crews family
Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir Randulphe or Randolph Crew or Crewe (1558-1646), English judge, second son of John Crew of Nantwich, who is said to have been a tanner; Sir Thomas Crewe (or Crew) (1565-1634), of Stene in Northamptonshire, an English Member of Parliament and lawyer, Speaker of the...
Another 53 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Crews Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Crews Ranking
In the United States, the name Crews is the 1,373rd most popular surname with an estimated 22,383 people with that name. 5
Crews migration to the United States +
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Crews surname or a spelling variation of the name include:
Crews Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- James Crews, who landed in Virginia in 1664 6
- Mary Crews, who landed in Virginia in 1664 6
- James Crews, who arrived in Virginia in 1677 6
Crews Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Henry Crews, aged 50, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 6
- Juan Bautista Crews, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1860 6
Crews migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Crews Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century
- Mr. Nicholas Crews, Cornish settler convicted in Cornwall, UK on 14th January 1790, sentenced for 7 years for stealing 3 yards of flannel and 3 yards of swan skin from John Pearce, transported Atlantic" on 27th March 1791 to New South Wales, Australia 7
Contemporary Notables of the name Crews (post 1700) +
- David William Crews (1933-2015), American lawyer and politician, Member of the Texas House of Representatives
- Tyrone Crews (b. 1956), American former linebacker in the Canadian Football League for the BC Lions (1981-1987)
- Judson Crews (1917-2010), American poet, bookseller and small press publisher
- Kambri Crews, American comedic storyteller
- Charles Constantine "C.C." Crews (1829-1887), American attorney, physician, railroad executive and Confederate Colonel in the American Civil War who lead his eponymous Crews' Brigade
- Laura Hope Crews (1879-1942), American stage and silent film actress
- Jim Crews (b. 1954), American head men's basketball coach for Saint Louis University
- Frederick Campbell Crews (b. 1933), American essayist, literary critic, author, and Professor Emeritus of English at the University of California
- Terry Alan Crews (b. 1968), American actor and former American football player
- Stanley Timothy Crews (1961-1993), American Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1987 to 1992
- ... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
The Crews Motto +
The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Motto: Sequor nec inferior
Motto Translation: I follow, but am not inferior.
Citations +
- Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, 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)
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- 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)
- Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 30th May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_convicts.pdf