Crawford Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Crawford Family History

Crawford Family History

The ancient origin of the name Crawford was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. The earliest historic reference to the families of Crawford is in the charter of William de Lindsay conferred to King William, wherein mention is made of Johannis de Crawford filius Reginaldi. In 1127 there were two Knights of this name serving under King David I, Sir John and Sir Gregan, the latter obtained a grant of land from this King in Galloway. The surname is derived from the Barony of Crawford, in Lanarkshire. Members of this family are mentioned in charters of 1170, 1190, 1228, 1230, and 1248. The Arms of Loudoun were quartered by Sir Reginald de Crawford about 1200, on his marriage with Margaret de Loudoun, the heiress of that extensive Barony. Margaret the daughter of Sir Hugh Crawford, Sheriff of Ayr, married Sir Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie, and became the mother of Sir William Wallace, the hero of Scotland. Sir Reginald Crawford was prominent in the service of both Wallace and Robert the Bruce, and was executed at Carlisle in 1307 for his loyalty to the latter. In Ireland the name Crawford is usually of immigrant origin having been introduced into Ulster Province by settlers from England and Scotland, especially during the seventeenth century.The Crawford family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Crawford descendants.