Chew on this: Piecing together our Chew history, and tracing it all the way back to the year 1030 in England, was possible thanks to tremendous efforts by Chew relatives from all over the world who have worked on it for years. Informantion that Mildred Hatmaker recorded more than twenty years ago was also essential.

Mildred left a document with William Paca Chew's birth date and location, and the story that his family came from a place called Chewton, England. But if his middle name had not been so unusual (Paca) and if Mildred had not recorded what she learned, we would never have completed the links.

Naturally, there are many assumptions in the very earlest years. But starting in the 1600s, with the move from England to the Colonies, the record becomes much clearer. Click the Chew Line link to the right to see the basic outline of our Chew lineage from the beginning to now.

We can now follow the trail of this pioneering family, starting in the time of William the Conqueror in England, then to helping establish the first Colonies in America and then packing up again to help settle Indian territories in the expanding new country.

Name Game There is an area of Somerset England, near Bath and Wells, where the Chew River winds along from Chewton Mendip to Chew Magna, Chew Stoke, Chew Lake and Chew Mendip. You might think the area was named for our relatives, but it's more likely the other way around. Our relatives were probably named because they came from that area, since that is one way people were identified back then.

One source believes that the name Chew means 'winding water' derived from the French 'eau' for water. Or, it could be Old English 'chare' for 'turning' and the word 'chewer' which means a narrow passage. Certainly the Chew River meets all the winding, turning and narrow passage definitions. Click the Chew River link to see this area as it was in 1900.

However, the town of Chewton Mendip says it was named after the Viking war god 'tiw' and the Old English word 'ton' meaning an enclosure. Mendip is from the Old English words 'moen' and 'deop' which mean mighty and awesome. There was apparently a village of Chew Magna as early as 901 AD, spelled 'Chiwe.'

Other Chew genealogists think the name came from Normandy in 1066 with the Norman Conquest as ''le Cu.' William the Conqueror granted land in nearby Devonshire to a 'le Cu.' There is a record that the area of Chewton was land owned by the Crown and is mentioned in 1086 in the Domesday Book and in 1085 in the Geld Inquest as Chiwe for land taxes. Click this link to see the Chewton area in the Domesday Book.

Confused yet? If you are confused, you're not alone. In the Chew records we have found the name spelled TEN different ways, the last of which is Chew, which seems to have been solidly established with the Virginia colonists in 1622 and left that way. Click the Chew Spelling link to the right to see the various changes over time.

Family Crest In 1982 a distant relative, Robert Chew of New Jersey, compiled a book of over 400 pages on the "Genealogy of the Chew Family." (Gloucester County Historical Society, 1982, 2000) While most of the book deals with his New Jersey Chew line, he also covers our common ancestors and describes theories on the Chew ancient heraldry that he researched.

Descriptions from England and also Colonial American sources describe the Chew coat of arms as: "a shield red, chevron silver on a chief blue, three leopard faces gold." He says that there are some color variations and that sometimes a gold or silver leopard is shown standing on the top. Click the crest image to the right to see a large version and description of what the Chew crest may have meant.

The people behind the name Very little is known about the people themselves until about 1300 in England, when birth, marriage and death records as well as wills and other supporting information started to become available. In England there were a number of Chewes who were Vicars and church clerks, some who were in the service of the King but there were also a few interesting arrests for assault on the King's servants and for burning a bridge and taking away trees.

The Chewes mainly lived in Whalley Parish, Lancashire and Chewton, Somerset. The photo to the right is of the church at Chew Magna. You can click it for a larger view. The Chewes owned lands, estates, and married well for many centuries in England.

But then a few decided to try their hand in the new world and that is where our story continues with the Chew Colonists. Click the link below to continue the story or use the navigation bar at the top to return to 'Histories' or visit other pages.

Chew Crest

Continue Chew Story