The surname Cobelstone was first found in Devon where the earliest recorded of the name was Hugh of Coplestone in the year 1275 who was Lord of the Manor at that time. It was a hamlet and manor in the parish of Colebrook. Conjecturally, the family may be descended from the tenant of the parish, Manfred, who held it from William Cheever at the time of the taking of the Domesday Book by Duke William of Normandy in 1086. (This Guillaume La Chievre of Normandy, held 47 baronies in the county of Devon, and held a family seat at Bradninch in Devon. He attended William the Conqueror at Hastings in 1066,) Manfred was most likely a son or nephew of this great Baron Guillaume. It was customary amongst the Norman nobles at that time to allow their relatives to adopt the place name of their under-tenancy as their Sirename, so as to distinguish the branch from the main stem of the family. However, it seems clear that by the mid 13th century the name was well established. This unusual name and hamlet may have been connected with the small stones which were ballast brought back from Iceland by the fishing fleet which plied from Devon, and from the 12th to the 16th century were used extensively for paving the roads of England.

Early History of the Cobelstone family

Cobelstone Spelling Variations

Early Notables of the Cobelstone family (pre 1700)

Migration of the Cobelstone family to the New World and Oceana