The ancestors of the Cromar family brought their name to
England in the wave of migration after the
Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived in
Kent, where they were Lords of the manor of Tunstall Court.
Early Origins of the Cromar family
The surname Cromar was first found in
Kent where they held a
family seat as Lords of the manor of Tunstall Court. 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. Hence, Tunstall was held at the taking of the
Domesday Book by Hugh de Port from Bishop Odo of Bayeux as an under
tenant. Conjecturally, the surname Cromer is descended from this source.
Early History of the Cromar family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cromar research.
Another 263 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1471, 1509, 1603, 1543, 1532 and 1534 are included under the topic Early Cromar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Cromar Spelling Variations
Before the last few
hundred years the English language had no fixed system of spelling rules. For that reason,
spelling variations occurred commonly in Anglo Norman surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Cromar were recorded, including Cromer, Crowmer, Croamer, Croemer, Croomer, Cromar, Cromere and many more.
Early Notables of the Cromar family (pre 1700)
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cromar Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Cromar family to the New World and Oceana
The unstable environment in
England at this time caused numerous families to board ships and leave in search of opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad in places like
Ireland,
Australia, and particularly the New World. The voyage was extremely difficult, however, and only taken at great expense. The cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels caused many to arrive diseased and starving, not to mention destitute from the enormous cost. Still opportunity in the emerging nations of Canada and the United States was far greater than at home and many went on to make important contributions to the cultures of their adopted countries. An examination of many early immigration records reveals that people bearing the name Cromar arrived in North America very early: Dennise Cromer settled in Virginia in 1705.