As you may have seen on the invitation, Lainey's name is not the only one that is changing! For quite some time I have been musing over the possibility of reverting the spelling of my surname to an earlier one. In this case, from "Hall" to "Haal".
Having proposed, and now moving toward marriage with Lainey, I decided it was time to implement this change, contributing to a rekindled connection with family history, some practical application, and a bit of distinction. I've included, below, bits of the Haal chronology recovered during personal and paid genealogical research in order to share a bit more of who we are, and our history:
Professional historians used such ancient manuscripts as the Domesday Book (compiled in 1086 by William the Conqueror), the Ragman Rolls, the Wace poem, the Honour Roll of the Battel Abbey, The Curia Regis, Pipe Rolls, the Falaise Roll, tax records, baptismals, family genealogies, and local parish and church records to establish that the first record of the name Hall was found in Lincolnshire where they were granted lands after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
Many alternate spellings of the name showed in the manuscripts researched. Our name, Hall, occurred in many references, and from time to time, the records included variables such as Hall, Halle, Haule, Haul, Hal, De Aule, Haal, and many others. Scribes recorded and spelled the name as it sounded. It wasn’t unlikely that a person would be born with one spelling, married with another, and buried with another.
The Normans were commonly believed to be of French origin but, more accurately, they were of Viking origin. The Vikings landed in the Orkneys and Northern Scotland about the year 870 A.D., under their King, Stirgud the Stout. Later, under their Jarl, Thorfinn Rollo, the invaded France about 910 A.D. The French King, Charles the Simple, after Rollo laid siege to Paris, finally conceded defeat and granted northern France to Rollo. Duke William who invaded and defeated England in 1066, was descended from the first Duke Rollo of Normandy. After distribution of the estates of the vanquished Saxons, many nobles were dissatisfied with their lot. They rebelled. Duke William took an army north and wasted the northern counties. Many Norman nobles fled north and were granted lands over the border in 1070 by King Malcom Canmore of Scotland.
The surname Haal emerged as a notable Scottish family name in the county of Lincoln. Upon entering England with the Norman Conquest, the Haals were actually Fitzwilliams, they being settled in Greatford Hall in Lincolnshire, and being directly descended from Earl Fitzwilliam. The younger son of this noble house, Arthur FitzWilliam, was called Haal, to distinguish him from his senior brother. Hence Arthur Haal would be the first on record about the year 1090. The line continued in Lincolnshire, and intermarried with the Crispins, and the Earls of Chester. In Cheshire, the Haals were a cadet branch of the Kinsley Halls of that county. By the year 1340 the name had moved northward at the invitation of Earl David of Huntingdon, later to become King David of Scotland. In Scotland, they were granted lands in Berwickshire, specifically the lands of Grenryg in the barony of Lesmahagow, and in Fulbar in Renfrewshire, and, by grant of King Robert the Bruce, at Stanley at Renfrew. The author and historian George MacDonald Fraser, describes the activities of the Haals for the next three of four centuries as “A large widely dispersed clan, at one time the most powerful in Redesdale, well feared on both sides of the border”. Fraser listed the notorious Haals as Eddie Haal, “the famous thief”, and George of Bordupp, who served with Phillip in the Low Countries. The Haals were considered on both sides to be a clan “to whom no quarter should be given”. By 1600 many branches had developed, Lord Llanover, Sir John Haal, Bishop Haal of Bristol, Bishop Haal of Wearmouth and at the same time, continuing their interest and seats at Skelton Castle, Yorkshire, Greatford Hall in Lincolshire, and Grevell House in Middlesex.
Well, that's a bit about the Haals! Thank you, once more for being a part of our special day!
