McCrawlay History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsEtymology of McCrawlayWhat does the name McCrawlay mean? The ancestors of the bearers of the McCrawlay family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found in Crawley in the counties of Northumberland, Sussex and Bedfordshire. These place names derive from the Old English word "cra-we," meaning "crow," and "le-ah," meaning a " clearing in the woods." 1 We shall attempt to now discuss their significance to the family. The Northumberland township "was anciently called Crawlawe, from Caer-law, a fortified hill. Crawley Tower, a Roman structure, stands on an eminence near an old and strong intrenchment, which is thought to be the Alauna Amnis of Richard of Cirencester, though some place this station at Alnwick, and others at Glanton. " 2 The East Sussex parish so named, is in the union of East Grinstead, hundred of Buttinghill, rape of Lewes. "Crawley is a post-town, consisting of one wide street, in which stands a remarkably fine old elm-tree of immense girth: the houses on the west side of the village are in the parish of Ifield." 2 Early Origins of the McCrawlay familyThe surname McCrawlay was first found in various counties throughout ancient Britain. So as to proves that point, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Alan de Craule, Oxfordshire; Hugh de Craule, Bedfordshire and Margaret de Craule, Oxfordshire. 3 Early History of the McCrawlay familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our McCrawlay research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1130, 1518, 1584, 1588, 1598, 1623, 1626, 1632 and 1649 are included under the topic Early McCrawlay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. McCrawlay Spelling VariationsUntil 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 McCrawlay include Crawley, Crawly, Craley, Crally and others. Early Notables of the McCrawlay familyNotables of the family at this time include Robert Crole, Croleus, Crowley (1518?-1588), English author, printer, and divine, born in Gloucestershire. 4
Sir Francis Crawley (1584-1649), was an English judge, born at Luton, Bedfordshire, on 6 April 1584. "There is no trace of him at the universities, however. He studied law first at Staple Inn and then at Gray's Inn, to which he was admitted... Migration of the McCrawlay familySearching 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 McCrawlay or a variant listed above: John Crally, who arrived in Maryland in 1664; Ann Crawley, who came to Pennsylvania in 1682; Charles Crawley, who settled in Virginia in 1700; John Crawley who settled in Maryland in 1729.
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