Re: HISTORY OF THE CROFTS NAME
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In reply to:
HISTORY OF THE CROFTS NAME
8/16/01
Nearly 30 years ago I did a survey of the Crofts name, and have discovered the follwing:Normans with the surname (or title) Roi de Crofte rode with William the Conqueror.Their descendants were known first as Croftes and later as Crofts.As Normans they were landowners with titles, even knights, and some served in royal courts.One such Crofts worked for King Charles II (I believe) as the guardian of Charles' illegitimate children.One of these bastards, James, took Crofts as his surname.He also obtained the title Duke of Monmouth, raised an army to challenge the throne, was defeated and beheaded.His children settled in Wiltshire.
It would appear that most Crofts are old Crofts from Normandy, while some Crofts are Stewarts from Scotland.I have never been able to determine which are which, which is frustrating for me as my Crofts ancestors are from Wiltshire.