Coniers is one of the many new names that came to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Coniers family lived in Durham. The family were originally from the area of Coigners, Normandy, and it is from this location that their name derives.
The surname Coniers was first found in Durham at Sockburn, where the then Bishop of Durham, Ralph Flambard, granted lands to Roger de Conyers sometime between 1099 and 1133. Many of the family were found at East and West Newbiggin. "This place formerly belonged to the Conyers family, with whom it continued until the beginning of the 17th century, when Sir George Conyers, Knt., and his son, alienated the manor in various parcels to their tenants. " [1] Hutton-Conyers in the wapentake of Allertonshire in the North Riding of Yorkshire is another ancient family seat. "This place was anciently the residence of a branch of the Conyers family, whose Hall appears to have been on the north side of the village, in a field still called the Hallgarth." [1]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coniers research. Another 135 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1080, 1628, 1628, 1731, 1810, 1587, 1663, 1630, 1619, 1684, 1660, 1685, 1758, 1650, 1725, 1695, 1666, 1728, 1633 and 1694 are included under the topic Early Coniers History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Conyers, Coniers, Coigniers, Convers, Converse and many more.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir John Conyers of Horden; Deacon Edward Convers (1587-1663) born in Navestock, England, he arrived in Salem, Massachusetts with the Winthrop Fleet in 1630, and quickly became one of the founders of Woburn, Massachusetts; Tristram Conyers (1619-1684), an English lawyer and politician, Member of Parliament for Maldon...
Another 55 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Coniers Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Coniers family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Coniers or a variant listed above were: