Crockford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The history of the Crockford family goes back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from the family living in Crockford, a remote village in the county of Oxford. This place-name is derived from the Old English word Cocford, which referred to those individuals who lived by the ford of potters.

Early Origins of the Crockford family

The surname Crockford was first found in Surrey where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

Early History of the Crockford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Crockford research. Another 96 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1214 is included under the topic Early Crockford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Crockford Spelling Variations

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 Crockford include Crockford, Crockfords, Crocford, Crochford and many more.

Early Notables of the Crockford family

Notables of the family at this time include

Crockford of Surrey

Crockford migration to the United States +

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 Crockford or a variant listed above:

Crockford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

James Crockford who landed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1651
James Crockford, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1651 1
Robert Crockford, who landed in Maryland in 1677 1

Crockford Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Crockford, who landed in Boston in 1750

Crockford migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Crockford Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Henry Crockford, (Smith), British Convict who was convicted in Southampton, Hampshire, England for life for house breaking, transported aboard the "Earl St Vincent" on 20th April 1826, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 2
Mr. Hurlock Crockford, English convict who was convicted in Sussex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 2nd February 1831, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Crockford (post 1700) +

General Allen Crockford, World War II hero
Douglas Crockford, software developer for Yahoo!
Beryl Crockford (1950-2016), née Mitchell, English gold and silver medalist rower who represented Great Britain from 1975 to 1986
William Crockford (1775-1844), London gambling club proprietor
Harold Arthur Crockford (1893-1983), English footballer
Eric Bertram Crockford (1888-1958), British Olympic field hockey player

Citations +

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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-st-vincent
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza