Colvile is one of the thousands of new names that the
Norman Conquest brought to
England in 1066. The Colvile family lived in Colton. There are places named Colton in
Staffordshire and
Norfolk. The family claim descent from Gilbert de Colleville, who lived in
Coleville, a town in Normandy.
Early Origins of the Colvile family
The surname Colvile was first found in
Suffolk, where they held a
family seat from early times. They were descended from Gilbert de Colleville (Colavilla, Colvile) from Coleville, a town between Caen and Bayeux in
Normandy. He accompanied Duke William from Normadny and had two sons.
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print. From Gilbert and William the English Barons of Colleville are descended. William held lands in
Yorkshire. His eldest son Phillip acquired the lands of Ancroft in
Northumberland, and from him are descended the Lords of Colville in Scotland.
Searching other records, we found Thomas de Colevill who was listed as a witness to many documents in the late 1100s, as well as being mentioned in a perambulation of the marches of Elstaneshalche in 1181. A Thomas de Colouilla, who may or may not be the same man, was charged with treason in 1211. Ada de Coleuyll generously gave the lands of Kynnard in Fife to the monks of the Abbey of Neubotle in 1241 and Thomas de Coleville, who lived in Dumfriesshire rendered homage to King Edward I on his invasion of Scotland in 1296. Robert de Colvylle of Scotland was rewarded for extreme courage and steady obedience in 1358; he was granted an annuity of 20 marks from the customs of Kingston on Hulle. [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Early History of the Colvile family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Colvile research.
Another 201 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1174, 1296, 1358, 1337, 1394, 1377, 1384, 1385, 1390, 1393, 1540, 1605, 1551, 1629, 1604, 1675, 1662, 1675, 1690, 1813, 1898 and 1871 are included under the topic Early Colvile History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Colvile Spelling Variations
Multitudes of
spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the
Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Colville, Coleville, Colevile, Colwell, Colwill, Collwell, Collwill, Colewell, Colewill, Caulville, Caulwell and many more.
Early Notables of the Colvile family (pre 1700)
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir John Colville (c.1337-1394), of Newton,
Cambridgeshire and Walsoken,
Norfolk, Member of the Parliament for
Cambridgeshire in 1377, 1384, 1385, 1390 and 1393; John Colville (c.1540-1605), a Scottish clergyman, judge, politician and author who was implicated in the Earl of Bothwell's attack on...
Another 162 words (12 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Colvile Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Colvile family to Ireland
Some of the Colvile family moved to
Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 39 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 Colvile family to the New World and Oceana
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Colvile Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
- Mr. John Colvile, "Colville" U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1783 [3]CITATION[CLOSE]
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X