| ![Show Contents]() Knowls History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The name Knowls is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in the area that was referred to as the knoll. This surname was originally derived from the Old English word cnolle which means one who lived at the top of the hill or the summit. 1 2 3 The name frequently found in its plural form (Knowles, Knolles, etc.) which "may be patronymic, as in Brooks, Styles, Holmes." 4 Early Origins of the Knowls familyThe surname Knowls was first found in Devon where Robert de la Cnolle was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of 1185. Later in Kent, we found Theobald de Chnolle in 1242 and in Cambridgeshire, Thomas Knolle was recorded in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1279. William atte Knolle was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296; Adam del Knol was found in the Assize Rolls for Staffordshire in 1318; and Christopher Knolles was a Freeman of York in 1407. 5 The Hundredorum Rolls on 1273 also show Roger de la Cnolle, Devon; John Cnolle, Dorset; and Robert de la Cnolle, Sussex and the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 include Cecilia de Knolle; Johannes Knoll; and Thomas de Knoll. 4 Early History of the Knowls familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Knowls research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1325, 1399, 1407, 1410, 1514, 1521, 1537, 1547, 1550, 1571, 1588, 1596, 1599, 1610, 1614, 1621, 1622, 1624, 1626, 1628, 1629, 1632, 1646, 1659, 1665, 1668, 1691 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Knowls History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Knowls Spelling VariationsSound 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 Knowls family name include Knollys, Knoll, Knolle, Knolles, Knowles, Knowlys and others. Early Notables of the Knowls familyNotables of the family at this time include Sir Robert Knolles (c. 1325-1407), an important English knight of the Hundred Years' War, operating with the tacit support of the Crown, succeeded in taking the only two major French cities, other than Calais and Poitiers, to fall to Edward III, methods earned him infamy as a freebooter and a ravager, the ruined gables of burned buildings came to be known as "Knolly's mitres."Sir Francis Knollys (1514-1596) was an English statesman, elder son of Robert Knollys (d. 1521.) He claims descent from Sir Thomas Knollys, Lord Mayor of London in 1399 and 1410...
Another 133 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Knowls Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.  Migration of the Knowls family to Ireland
Some of the Knowls family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 70 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Knowls migration to the United States | + |
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, 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 Knowls surname or a spelling variation of the name include :
Knowls Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Math Knowls, who arrived in Virginia in 1704 6
- John Knowls, who arrived in Virginia in 1717 6
Knowls Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- John T Knowls, aged 10, who landed in Key West, Fla in 1847 6
- Thomas Knowls, aged 23, who landed in Key West, Fla in 1847 6
| Contemporary Notables of the name Knowls (post 1700) | + |
- Frank Knowls, American politician, Village President of Royal Oak, Michigan 7
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
- Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- 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)
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 6) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
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Knowls migration to the United States 
England
Ireland
