The history of the Critch family goes back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from the family living in the parish of Crick, in the diocese of Peterborough. This place-name is derived from the Old English word creke, which means a creek.
The surname Critch was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Critch research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1789 is included under the topic Early Critch History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Critch include Criche, Crich, Crick, Critch, Creyke, Creik, Criek and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Critch Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Critch or a variant listed above:
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: