Creese History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Creese is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Creese family lived in Northumberland. The family originally lived in Crecy (Cressy), Normandy. The name was "from the Lordship so named, near Dieppe and Rouen. Hugh de Cressy, and Simon, occur in Normandy 1180-1195. Anselm and Gilbert de Cressy c. 1119 held lands from the Earls of Warrenne in England." 1 The same source continues with another possible origin. "Hugh de Cresseio was of Huntingdonshire, 1130. He was son of Guy le Roux, Lord of Creci in La Brie, Senschal of France." 1

Early Origins of the Creese family

The surname Creese was first found in Norfolk at Beeston Regis, a parish, in the union of Erpingham, hundred of North Erpingham. "Here are some remains, consisting chiefly of the west end of the church, with a small tower, and part of the chapter-house, of a priory of Augustine canons, founded in the reign of John by Lady Isabel de Cressey, and the revenue of which, at the Dissolution, was £50. 6. 4." 2 Hugh de Cressy (died 1189) was an Anglo-Norman administrator and nobleman. Unfortunately little more is known of both people.

The Battle of Crécy (Cressy) was fought on 26 August 1346 near Créy, in northern France. This important English victory over the much larger French army led by Philip VI of France was due to tactical flexibility learned from battles with the Vikings, Muslims and the Scots.

Early History of the Creese family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Creese research. Another 125 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1390, 1450, 1605, 1646 and 1674 are included under the topic Early Creese History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Creese 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 Creasey, Cressy, Crecy, Cressi, Crease, Cresey and others.

Early Notables of the Creese family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Hugh Cressy, English politician, Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire in 1390. Robert Cressy (fl. 1450?), was a Carmelite, a student at Oxford, where he distinguished himself as a theologian. Hugh Paulinus Cressy...
Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Creese Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Creese migration to the United States +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Creese or a variant listed above:

Creese Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Marg Creese, who arrived in Virginia in 1654 3

Creese migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Creese Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Mark Creese, (b. 1825), aged 27, English shoe maker who was convicted in Worcester, Worcestershire, England for 10 years for theft, transported aboard the "Fairlie" on 9th Mary 1852, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island), he died in 1893 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Creese (post 1700) +

Walter T. Creese, American Republican politician, Member of Massachusetts State Senate Second Essex District, 1923-24 5
Dennis Creese, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Colorado, 1980 5

Historic Events for the Creese family +

RMS Titanic

Mr. Henry Philip Creese (d. 1912), aged 44, English Deck Engineer from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 6

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 26th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html