Creelman

Creelman is a surname of Scottish Lowlands and later Ulster-Scottish origin.

Origin of name

Creelman is thought to have originated from an occupational name, derived from creel, which refers to a wicker basket used for putting fish inside.^[1]

Distribution of name

United Kingdom

Scotland

In the mid-19th century, concentrations of people bearing the name Creelman were living in Scottish Lowland counties of Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, Midlothian, and Roxburghshire. The 1841 Census reports 54 people bearing the surname with 29 hailing from Ayrshire, 7 from Lanarkshire, 7 from Midlothian, and 5 from Roxburghshire. The 1851 census has 34 Creelmans living in Ayrshire, 11 in Roxburghshire, 8 in Lanarkshire, 5 in Fife, and 4 in Orkney. 1861 sees 24 Creelmans in Lanarkshire, 12 in Ayrshire, 9 in Orkney, 7 in Renfrewshire, just 2 in Roxburghshire, and 1 each in Fife and Midlothian.

By the turn of the 20th-century however, most Scots with the surname Creelman lived in Dumbartonshire, Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, and in the far north in Orkney. The 1871 Scottish Census reported a total of 62 Creelmans - 30 in Lanarkshire, 10 in Orkney, 9 in Ayrshire, 5 in Selkirkshire, and 4 in Midlothian. 1881 saw 15 Creelmans in Renfrewshire, 13 in Lanarkshire, 10 in Orkney, 9 in Ayrshire, 4 in Argyll, 3 in Selkirkshire, 3 in Midlothian, and 2 in Dumbartonshire. The 1891 census lists 60 Creelmans - 21 living in Renfrewshire, 16 in Lanarkshire, 13 in Orkney, 4 in Dumbartonshire, 3 in West Lothian, 2 in Argyll, 1 in Midlothian, and none in Ayrshire. Finally, the 1901 Scottish Census lists 105 Creelmans, with 33 living in Renfrewshire, 32 in Lanarkshire, 15 Dumbartonshire, 15 Orkney, 8 in West Lothian, 1 in Midlothian, and 1 in Argyll. .

Ulster

Ayrshire Creelmans migrated to Ulster during the 17th century. A concentration settled in the Coleraine and Limavady area of County Londonderry. Large numbers live in County Antrim as well.

England

Information gathered by Ancestry.co.uk on English Census reports has a "Robt Creelman" of Suffolk as the only Creelman to be recorded in the 1841 English census. The 1851 census recorded three Creelmans in Northumberland bordering Scotland and one in Northamptonshire. The 1861 census records but one Creelman again, an "H. Creelman" in Lancashire. The 1871 English census however records 15 Creelmans, with more 9 living in Warwickshire. Similarly, the 1881 census lists 12 Creelmans in total and 10 in Warwickshire. The 1891 Census lists 25 Creelmans in England with concentrations in Warwickshire, London, and Yorkshire. Finally, the 1901 census lists 39 English Creelmans living mostly in Warwickshire and London, but with none in Yorkshire.

North America

Canada

In 1756 three brothers Samuel, Matthew and Francis Creelman emigrated from Coleraine, County Londonderry, Ireland to Nova Scotia. Samuel settled in Upper Stewiacke, Cobequid District, and the other two elsewhere. All three grew prosperous ^[2]

A concentration of Creelmans lived in Grey County, Ontario in the mid-19th century according to the 1851 Census report of Canada West. ^[3]

United States

The first Creelman to appear on a United States Federal Census was "Wm Creelman" in 1820. The 1830 census reported 4 Creelmans, 2 in Fayette County, Indiana, 1 in Essex, Massachusetts, and 1 in Buncombe County, North Carolina. By 1840, 5 Creelmans officially resided in the U.S., 2 in Monroe, Michigan, 1 in Essex still, 1 in Monroe, New York, and 1 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania.

The 1850 U.S. Federal Census lists 42 Creelmans - 11 in "Monroe" (either Michigan or New York), 9 in Allegheny, 8 in Philadelphia, 7 in Essex, 2 in "Randolph", 1 in Hamilton County, Ohio and 1 in Wayne County, Michigan. 1860 reports 58 Creelmans with concentrations in Allgheny, "Suffolk", Washtenaw County, Michigan, "Pierce", Philadelphia, Monroe, Hamilton, and "Lee".

By 1920 there were 298 Creelmans reported in the federal census with the following concentrations: 29 in Philadelphia, 19 in Hamilton, Ohio, 18 in Middlesex, Massachusetts, 17 in Hartford, Connecticut, 17 in San Diego, 14 in New York, New York including 6 in Queens, 14 in Hennepin County, Minnesota, 9 in Providence, Rhode Island, 7 in Kings County, California, 6 in Monroe, New York, 6 in Mahoning County, Ohio, 6 in Allegheny, 6 in Skagit County, Washington, and 6 in Campbell County, Kentucky.

The 1930 Census shows concentrations of the 373 Creelmans listed in the same locales as well as 20 in Cook County, Illinois, 13 in Hudson County, New Jersey, and 11 in Essex County, New Jersey

People with the surname

• C. Douglas Creelman - American psychologist at the University of Toronto
• Debra-Jean Creelman, former member of indie group Mother Mother
• George Creelman, 1869-1929 - of Grey County, Ontario president of the Ontario Agricultural College from 1904 to 1920. Creelman Hall at the University of Guelph is named after him. His parents were from Nova Scotia.
• Gordon Creelman, Canadian sound recordist - Gordon Creelman at the Internet Movie Database
• Hannah Creelman, of Scarborough, England - runner-up in the final of the Gladiators (UK TV series), 2009.
• James Creelman - late Canadian-born American journalist, grandson of Limavady migrants to Montreal
• James Ashmore Creelman - son of James Creelman, late Hollywood screenwriter
• Jenna-Lee Creelman - Canadian model, born to Belfast immigrants to Brampton, Ontario
• John Jennings Creelman, Liberal Party of Canada candidate for the St. Antoine (electoral district) in the 1926 federal election
• Karl Creelman, of Truro, Nova Scotia was the first Canadian to cycle around the globe, from 1899 to 1901
• Lyle Creelman, of West Vancouver, British Columbia, late Chief Nursing Officer of the World Health Organization and made Officer of the Order of Canada in 1971.
• Patric A. Creelman, born in British Columbia, singer/ actor/dancer in Canada and the USA, in the late 1980s / early 1990s - Patric A. Creelman at the Internet Movie Database
• Creelman Brothers, a pioneer knitting company founded in Georgetown, Grey County, Ontario by brothers Richard Irving and Robertson Creelman
• Samuel Creelman, Stewiacke, Nova Scotia politician
• Sharon Creelman, of Windsor, Ontario - former Canadian international field hockey player and national team head coach
• Timothy Creelman, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- engineer/distance runner/pork roll enthusiast
• William J. Creelman, recipient of a peacetime Medal of Honor in the United States
• William Mackay Creelman (b. Regina Saskatchewan, September 29, 1918 and died in Ottawa, Ontario, 1985) did important naval defence research in degaussing ships beginning in World War II. Following the war, he moved from Halifax to Ottawa where he continued his research, becoming one of Canada and NATO's leading experts in degaussing. His work was honoured in 1993 when a Department of National Defence building at Ferguson's Cove in Halifax was named after him.

Places named after a Creelman

• Creelman, Saskatchewan, named after a CPR surveyor named Creelman who surveyed the area
• Creelman Township, in the Ontario Nickel Belt
• Creelman Drive, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
• Creelman Street, at the campus of Mississippi State University in Starkville
• Creelman Avenue in Vancouver, British Columbia

References

1. Learn about the family history of your surname, Ancestry.com, retrieved 18 November 2010 which cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4 for the surname "Creelman".
2. (Nicholas Flood Davin, The Irishman in Canada, 1877).
3. Ancestry.com