“Caswell”
is a name derived from Anglo Saxon, and therefore one of the oldest English
names. A fair representation of the
Anglo Saxon is “Caerse Wielle, “Cress Well”, or in modern English, Watercress
Pond. (1) It is the name of a family that lived by such
a pond.
In
the 13th & 14th centuries in Britain it was required that
each family take a family name that would descend through the generations and
simplify the collection of taxes. Many
of the names taken represented the family’s occupation or location.
Mike Caswell (2) wrote a few paragraphs about the origin of the CASWELL name. He speculates that our Caswells came from
Wiltshire, which was known for its weaving, an occupation our Caswells engaged
in when in Ireland. Wiltshire was on the
Celtic highway from London to the Bristol Channel, where ships departed for Ireland. Mike believes this move west to Ireland would
be a natural one for our ancestors.
“To
many folk the name Caswell means 'someone who lives near a watercress bed’.
Others prefer to believe that it originates from the British War Lord CASWALLON,
or CASSIVELLAUNUS as Julius Caesar named him. My own belief is a combination of
both concepts, linked together by the county of Wiltshire.”
“The Canadian Caswells", written by Shirley Mayse
(so far, not related to our Caswell family), traced her Caswells back to Blackwater,
Ireland, an area famous for the export of pigs to London, England. These pigs
were driven east across country, right past the front door of the CASSWELLS of Yatesbury, making them
very aware of the goings on commercially in Ireland.” (Note: It's a small world - Shirley was a teacher from the high school I had attended. We had a number of visits trying to find a connection between our Caswells. Too many inconsistencies to find a common ground - even the naming patterns in her line were completely different from our own.)
HUGUENOTS
Two
traditions that have been mentioned about the origins of our Caswell family in
Northern Ireland and are not necessarily in conflict with the above. Although some of these stories may belong to
the Dicksons, the Wallaces or the wife of James #1. Any of these stories could relate to another
one of our lines in Ireland.
One
story from Albert Caswell was that the first Caswell of our line in Ireland was
a Presbyterian minister; another from Maryanne Hilliard was that they were
French Huguenot weavers.
In
order to increase the number of Protestant settlers in Ireland, various
encouragements were offered to immigrants of that faith. The earliest of these
was “an act to encourage Protestant settlers to settle in Ireland’’, passed in
1662. This helped the wave of French Huguenots to establish themselves in Ireland
in the late 1600’s. Louis XIV had repealed
the Edict of Nantes, which had previously granted toleration of the Huguenots. Many who came to Ireland were tradesmen, such
as goldsmiths, weavers, etc. and many became very successful merchants.
HOW DO WE SPELL OUR NAME?
Like
many “newbie” researchers, I discounted variations in the spelling of
surnames. Although I ignored Carswells
when doing my research, I luckily recorded the entries. Once in Canada our family used or dropped the
“r” on a regular basis. In Ireland the
use of the “r” seems to be more consistent.
From
a book of surnames by P.H. Reaney, he lists no less than 16 variants of our
name: Carswell (Berks & Devon), Carsewell (Renfrew), Casswell, Caswall,
Caswell (Dorset, Northampton & Somerset), Caswill, Crasswell (Hereford),
Craswell, Cresswell (Derby & Staffs), Cressell, Cresswell, Crasweill,
Criswell, Crissell, Kerswell (Devon & Wales), and Kerswill
(Devon).
Did
the Caswells flee England during the reign of Queen Mary the Catholic, during
Charles I
persecution of Puritans, or at some later time? Certainly the name is
English. Our Caswell’s brought their
weaving skills to Ontario, for the 1851 Canadian Census lists Andrew as a
weaver, Mary Jane as a spinner, and one of the children as a carder.
“Small
farms of one to five acres were typical of Ulster, accounting for half the
total in both County Armagh, in which Altnamackin is located, and in
neighbouring County Monaghan. Many of the farmers supplemented their incomes by
weaving, and an even larger share of the wives were spinners. Few spinners made
more than tuppence a day, and not many weavers had anything like steady
employment.”(3)
For
several decades before the Caswells left Ireland, linen production was shifting
to factories centered in Belfast. The outlook for small farmers and part-time
weavers, such as Andrew and Mary Jane Caswell, was not good.
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