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Where did the English Lever family come from? What is the English Lever family crest and coat of arms? When did the Lever family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the Lever family history?The lineage of the name Lever begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in the township of Great Lever in Lancashire as well as in Little Lever the chapelry in the parish of Bolton in Lancashire. According to history the Lever family were industrialists and millers, perhaps giving rise to the modern city of Liverpool, from their own Leaver's Port.
Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Lever has undergone many spelling variations, including Lever, Leaver, Leyver and others.
First found in Lancashire at Little Lever, now a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester. Great Lever, a township nearby "was long held by the family of Lever, but in the 6th year of Edward IV., Sir Rauff Assheton, Knt., sued out a 'write of right of warde' against Roger Lever, for the recovery of the manor, and obtained judgment against him at the assizes of Lancaster. Lever, however, with a number of dependants of his name, and a large concourse of persons, many of whom had been outlawed, riotously broke into Lancaster Castle, and carried off the record of recovery. Sir Rauff complaining of this outrage to the two houses of parliament, they ordained that the copy of the record which was annexed to his petition should be of the same force and efficacy as the original; and the justices thereupon ordered execution to issue, and reinstated him in the possession, which, notwithstanding, was not undisturbed until some time after. "  The village's name was derived from the Old English word "laefre," which means "place where the rushes grow."  The first listing of the place name was found in 1212 when it was listed as Parua Lefre.  Nearby is Darcy Lever which was the ancestral home of the D'Arcy family since 1590.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lever research. Another 171 words(12 lines of text) covering the years 1521, 1577, 1551 and 1553 are included under the topic Early Lever History in all our PDF Extended History products.
Another 67 words(5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lever Notables in all our PDF Extended History products.
To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Lever were among those contributors:
Lever Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
Lever Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
Lever Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
The Lever Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Lever Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.
This page was last modified on 15 July 2015 at 08:58.