Coales History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The origins of the Coales surname date from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name originated with an early member who was a person with a dark complexion. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Old English word col, which meant dark.

Early Origins of the Coales family

The surname Coales was first found in Somerset or Wiltshire at Cole. The Somerset hamlet is in the parish of Pitcomb, union of Wincanton, hundred of Bruto; while the Wiltshire parish is in the union, and hundred of Malmesbury, Malmesbury and Kingswood. 1

"Essentially south of England names, especially in the south - west, rarely occurring north of a line drawn west from the Wash. Cole is best distributed and has its principal homes in Devon and Wiltshire. Coles is most numerous in Somerset. Both names, strangely enough, are rare in Cornwall. Cole was a very ancient Teutonic name; there are places of the name in Somerset and Wiltshire, a circumstance that may perhaps explain the frequency of both names in Somerset and of Cole in Wiltshire." 2

Much farther to the north in Scotland, the name was "one of the many forms assumed by the name Macdowall." 3

Early History of the Coales family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coales research. Another 43 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1608, 1616, 1617, 1640, 1650, 1659, 1660, 1676, 1680, 1688, 1697, 1773 and 1843 are included under the topic Early Coales History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coales 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. Coales has been recorded under many different variations, including Coles, Coals and others.

Early Notables of the Coales family

Distinguished members of the family include Elisha Coles (ca 1608-1688), an English lexicographer and stenographer, chorister of Magdalen College, Oxford His nephew Elisha Coles (1640?-1680), was a lexicographer and stenographer, son of John Coles, schoolmaster of Wolverhampton. 4 Gilbert Coles (1617-1676), was an English divine, son of Edmund Coles, priest...
Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Coales Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Coales family to Ireland

Some of the Coales family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 47 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coales 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 Coales or a variant listed above:

Coales Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Anne Coales, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 5
George Coales, who landed in Virginia in 1664 5
John Coales, who arrived in Virginia in 1664 5

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)