Crauster History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Crauster is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the village of Craster, a fishing village located on the coast of the North Sea, northeast of Alnwick.

Early Origins of the Crauster family

The surname Crauster 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. 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. "The manor of Craster, olim Crawcestre, near Alnwick, was held by the family temp. Henry I., and still belongs to Craster of Craster Tower." 1 The family have held the tower since 1278, but over the years many changes have taken place. Today, it is regarded as a 18th-century Georgian mansion incorporating a 14th-century pele tower.

Early English rolls provide us a glimpse of the spelling variations used through Medieval times. Albert de Craucestre and Ivo de Crawecestre were both recorded here in the 1200's. 2

Early History of the Crauster family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Crauster research. Another 107 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1242, 1299, 1681, 1682, 1779, 1803, 1879 and 1944 are included under the topic Early Crauster History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Crauster Spelling Variations

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 Crauster family name include Craster, Crawcester, Craucestre, Craucester, Crawster and many more.

Early Notables of the Crauster family

Another 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Crauster Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Crauster family

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 Crauster surname or a spelling variation of the name include: William Craster settled in Virginia in 1716.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)