| The Meadowcroft Family. The surname Meadowcroft seems to have originated as a name given to people coming from an area near Middleton, Lancashire. The earliest Meadowcroft that I have been able to locate is ' Peter de Medwcrofte ' mentioned in the Lancashire Assize rolls in about 1234. They appear to have been granted a coat of arms in 1664, whilst living at Smethurst Hall. I have been researching my Meadowcroft and Lang ancestors for some time. This is a summary of the information I have gathered thus far. Please take into consideration that some of the information regarding individuals born before 1785 is unconfirmed, and therefore should not be taken as being 100% accurate, and may be subject to alteration.I find the early Meadowcrofts difficult to research due to the similarity of names and as some were Quakers their details can be elusive! I have visited the Manchester Family History Unit (at the Central Library), but have found the microfiched church records to be very hard going! I am also still trying to 'weed out' some mis-information which has found its way into my web pages as sadly, I feel that some researchers have chosen to select the most "attractive" ancestor in preference to the correct one! These pages will be regularly updated. I have included a few unconnected Meadowcrofts, in the hope that they can eventually be integrated into the whole. I have accumulated a lot of information relating to such Meadowcrofts which I may try and post elsewhere in due course. I am still interested in the Apochryphal story which suggests that the Essex Meadowcrofts are descended from Russian Emigres who anglicised their name! My Dna test results do suggest that there may be some truth in this story - but a very, very long time ago! I wonder if an emigre had been adopted into the family at a time when such matters were not properly recorded ? It is also possible that someone has stolen the identity of a deceased Meadowcroft at some point- an early example of identity theft perhaps? Interestingly, Kath has drawn my attention to a book called 'The Russian Album' by Michael Ignatief, which mentions the great assistance given by a Peggy Meadowcroft, who assisted his grand parents to escape the Bolsheviks in 1919 and I wonder if the story became distorted in the retelling? I am particularly grateful to Shirley Parker, whose research has enabled me to correct a few errors and add a few more Meadowcrofts to my data files! Many thanks also to Anita Rothermel whose research and photos of Thomas, Grace and Ernest Meadowcroft have also contributed much to these pages. I have also had further contact with Alison Ewbank, who has helped identify a few more Meadowcrofts and correct a few errors. She has also sent me a photo of the Joshua Cottages in Chigwell Row where many of the Meadowcrofts lived at the end of the 19th century. I am also grateful to Kath Lightbown, who has sent me recent photos of Smethurst Hall and continues to supply other useful research.She is now delving into the Manchester Library Files! The Lang & Croker Families. I am particularly interested in the fate of Abraham Lang (dob approx 1818) who after committing bigamy, is said to have escaped to the USA in the 1860's and I have been unable to locate him after that date. He may have changed his name to Long or Langdon. I have found two possible Abraham Langs, one in the US census (Minnesota) and another in Canada who both fit some of the available information. The Lang family appear to have married into the Croker (Crocker) family of Bovey Tracy during the early 1800's. New information regarding the Anderson/Smees family has been recently provided by Andy Smees for which again, many thanks! |
The Meadowcroft & Lang Ancestors Pages
Updated April 17, 2008 |
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Chris MEADOWCROFT chris.meadowcroft@dsl.pipex.com |
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