The ancestry of the name Craster dates from the ancient
Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in the village of Craster, a fishing village located on the coast of the North Sea, northeast of Alnwick.
Early Origins of the Craster family
The surname Craster was first found in
Northumberland where they held a
family seat as Lords of the Manor at ancient Craucestre a barony outside Alnwick in that shire. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of
Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a
Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all
England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the
Domesday Book,
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8) indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. The
Domesday Book did not include the county of
Northumberland. King William the Conqueror believed he had laid
Northumberland waste in 1069. We are therefore unable to distinguish the Norman
Baron who held Craucestre, with certainty but we do know that Alnwick was held by
Baron John of Alnwick and may be the ancestor of the Craster surname. John had married Beatrice, daughter of Ivo de Visci and acquired Alnwick.
Early History of the Craster family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Craster research.
Another 213 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1242 and 1299 are included under the topic Early Craster History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Craster Spelling Variations
Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few
hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Craster have been found, including Craster, Crawcester, Craucestre, Craucester, Crawster and many more.
Early Notables of the Craster family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Craster Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Craster family to the New World and Oceana
Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in
England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in
England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Craster, or a variant listed above:
Craster Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- William Craster, who settled in Virginia in 1716
- William Craster, who arrived in Virginia in 1716 [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)