The name Firniwul was brought to England by the Normans when they conquered the country in 1066. The ancestors of the Firniwul family lived in Lincolnshire. Their name, however, is not a reference to this area, but to their place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Fourneville in Calvados, Normandy.
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Early Origins of the Firniwul family
The surname Firniwul was first found in Lincolnshire where "the best authorities state that the first of this name, known in England, was Girard de Furnival, who came over from Normandy, temp. Richard I., and accompanied the crusade to the Holy Land. It is impossible to reconcile this fact with the entry on the Battle Roll. " 1
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Early History of the Firniwul family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Firniwul research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1250 is included under the topic Early Firniwul History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Firniwul Spelling Variations
It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Firniwul are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Firniwul include Furnival, Furnivall, Furniwal, Furniwall and many more.
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Early Notables of the Firniwul family
More information is included under the topic Early Firniwul Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Firniwul family
Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Firniwul, or a variant listed above: Richard Furnwall and Samuel Furnwall arrived in Philadelphia in 1876.
England
