Craggs is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived at the crag or crags in the county of Lancashire.
The surname Craggs was first found in West Yorkshire at Cragg Vale, a village that dates back to Roman times. The Cragg Vale Coiners were a band of counterfeiters from the area who produced fake gold coins in the late 18th century. The gang was hunted down and one of the was murdered.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Craggs research. Another 106 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1332, 1296, 1657, 1721, 1686, 1721, 1713 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Craggs History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Craggs family name include Cragg, Crag, Cragge and others.
Notables of the family at this time include Robert Cragg of Lancashire; James Craggs the Elder (1657-1721), an English politician, Postmaster-General, the eldest son of Anthony Craggs of Holbeck...
Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Craggs Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Craggs 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 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 Craggs surname or a spelling variation of the name include: