The motto Viresco (which is on the coat of arms) means "I Flourish".
Greenwell's are an ancient Durham family. It's ancestry as a family of Anglo Saxons originate before the year 1100. First recorded history of the Greenwell family exist in Durham .
The surname Green, when derived as an English surname, is from the color as a Nickname for the man who liked to wear green, who played the "Green Man" in the May Day celebration, or who lived near the village green. So Greenwell is likely to be from a man who lived near a village green with a public well on it.
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Greenwell is a small hamlet near Tow Law in Co. Durham - there's still
a farm there. Most of the Greenwells originated from that
area - the relevant two places are Wolsingham and Lanchester, especially
the former. The C17 graveyard in Wolsingam is full of
Greenwell graves, which my grandfather catalogued.
The American Greenwell connection is early, and seems to come from the
arrival in the early C17 of a Greenwell whose families
(he married twice) later populated Kentucky, where there is a high
density of Greenwells.
I'll tell you more in due course - you probably know this much anyway.
My great (x 4) grandfather came from Wolsingham, and I've traced all his
descendants over the last four years. He was part of a devout Baptist community,
although the first American
Greenwell was Catholic. I was born in Sunderland myself, altho' now
live further south.
Greenwell is mentioned in "The Boldon Book" as a tiny community in the
12th century.
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THE NAME GREENWELL COMES FROM A PLACE CALLED GREENWELL WHICH IS THE
NAME OF A PARISH
IN DURHAM. THEREFORE THE SURNAME GREENWELL LITERALLY MEANS "ONE FROM
GREENWELL". THE PLACE NAME GREENWELL MEANS "GREEN (GRASSY) SPRING OR STREAM".
THE WIDE SPREADING AND ANCIENT FAMILY OF GREENWELL ARE DESCENDED FROM GULIELMUS
PRESBYTER, WHO IN 1183, AS APPEARS FROM "BOLDON BUKE", HELD THE LANDS OF
GREENWELL IN THE PARISH OF WALSINGHAM, DURHAM, AND WHOSE SON JAMES ASSUMED
THE NAME OF THE PLACE OF HIS INHERITANCE.
THE CREST OF GREENWELL IS:- AN EAGLE'S HEAD ARGENT, BEAKED GULES GORGED
WITH A CHAPLET OF LAUREL VERT. THE BLASON OF ARMS:- TWO BARS AZURE BETWEEN
THREE DUCAL CORONETS GULES.
TRANSLATION:-(YELLOW OR GOLD)SYMBOLIZES THE SUN AND DENOTES GENEROSITY
AND ELEVATION OF MIND. AZURE (BLUE) SYMBOLIZES THE PLANET VENUS AND SIGNIFIES
TRUTH AND LOYALTY. GULES (RED)SYMBOLIZES THE PLANET MARS AND DENOTES MAGNANIMITY
AND MILITARY FORTITUDE.
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Looking for GREENWELL Or these spellings de Grenville, de Greenwell
Grenwell. There is a straight male line of GREENWELL going back 400 hundred
years. I have not gotten past John GREENWELL 1731 Leisc. England. On a
pedigree chart of some yeas ago presented at our family reunion. It was
all laid out. The family went back into the royals to Clovis
the Frank. Then it came forward to about the time of Edward
the III. Some where along our Sir GREENWELL comes in. My Greenwells
left England in 1850 from Duton Bassett,Leisc.England to come to America
Hope some one can solve this.
We all agree to the names on the chart. But not to just who or where
that now said chart went to. All the old folks are gone now
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