Raynor family History
The Origin of the Name: by Dr Stuart P Howell
Raynor (Rayner) is a distinguished name of Teutonic origin. The Anglo-Saxon Regenhere d. 617 A.D. He was son of Raedwalk, King of East Anglia, an ancient division of England which comprises the modern day Norfolk and Suffolk Counties.
Rainer (Rayner, Raynor) is derived from the old Germanic name, "Raginhari," meaning "counsel or mighty Army" and was undoubtedly introduced into England from France in the eleventh century. Indeed, the earliest written records of the personal name in England appear in the Doomsday Book of 1086 and testify to the French influence in the formation of many English surnames.
In the Middle Ages, before the development of the hereditary surname system, it became convenient to identify people with the same first name by referring to their father's personal name. Thus patronymic surnames form one of the largest of the surname groups in England and indeed in all of Europe.
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Early instances of the surname in England include Ricardus Filius Rainer who is on the written record in Hampshire in the year 1148 (Liber Wintoniensis) and William Rayner who lived in Lancashire in 1229 (Transcripts of Charters relating to the Gilbertine houses). The prefix "Filius" in the first example means "son of" and emphasizes the patronymic origins of the surname.
Among the first instances of the surname in England were those of Rayner Le Blake in County Norfolk during the year 1273, Reyner, son of Reyner Fleming, a Yorkshire man in the 13th year of Edward II’s reign, and Thomas Rayner, also of Yorkshire (1379).
Variants of this surname include Raynor, Rainer, Ranner, Reiner, Reyner, and Renner and all are to be found in the East Anglican and Nottinghamshire areas with the "or" ending peculiar to the latter. The name tended to be concentrated in those counties on the East coast of England, from Yorkshire south through Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and East Kent – and was also fairly common in the Isle of Wight which had close racial links with Kent; both were settled by the same people during the post-Roman period.
Early residents of the Counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, York, Nottingham, Huntingdon, and London, as well as various parts of Wales, bearing this name were, for the most part, of the landed and educated classes.
The Raynor family was well established in England by the 15th and 16th centuries. One of the principal branches of the family was at East Drayton in Nottingham County. Many of the present-day Raynor families in America originated in Suffolk County, England
The Coat of ArmsSeveral Rayner – Raynor heraldic shields are described in standard books on the subject. The Coat of Arms of the branch of the Raynor family at East Drayton, in Nottingham County, England was "ermine on a chief indented azure, two etoiles d'or". Another branch of the family has "ermine on a chief azure, two etoiles d'or. Crest, on a mount vert, a leopard passant d'or." Azure is blue, d'or is gold, vert is green, "etoiles" are six-pointed stars. This Coat of Arms was granted to the family in 1588. The Arms are the same as those of the Nottingham branch.
Documentation for the Raynor Coat of Arms design can be found in BURKE'S GENERAL ARMORY: Ermine on a chief indented azure two etoiles d'or (an ermine field with a blue chief, i. e., the upper third blue, with an indented line of partition bearing two gold stars). Above the shield and helmet is the Crest: "On a mount vert a leopard passant d'or" (a golden leopard walking on a green mount). Ermine is a fur which has long been associated with royalty and nobility. The chief signifies Dominion, the etoiles honour and achievement. A motto was not recorded with the Raynor Coat of Arms.
Coming to America: by Dr. Stuart P Howell
The first Raynors to come to America were Thurston Raynor, his wife, Elizabeth, their five children, and Thurston’s ten year old nephew, Edward Raynor. Residents of Elmsett, in the County of Suffolk, they left Ipswich, England in April 1634 aboard the ship, Elizabeth, and arrived in Boston three months later. They settled first in Watertown, Massachusetts, and in 1636, along with some other Watertown families, they went to Wethersfield, Connecticut, where Thurston Raynor was listed among the first settlers. In 1641, Thurston Raynor and his family and several other families from Wethersfield moved on to settle Rippowams, the area now known as Stamford, Connecticut. Three years later, in 1644, Thurston Raynor once again uprooted his family and joined with twenty-two other Rippowams families in following their religious leader, Rev. Denton, to Long Island where they settled Hempstead, in the western part of the Island.
Sometime between 1646 and 1649, Thurston Raynor and his family left Hempstead and moved east, to the young village of Southampton on the south shore of Long Island. Edward Raynor, Thurston’s nephew, who accompanied Thurston and his family on the voyage to America in 1634, and remained with them in Watertown, Wethersfield, Rippowams, and Hempstead, stayed behind in Hempstead when Thurston, his wife and children moved on to Southampton. In Southampton, Thurston Raynor was a large landholder and became prominent in the affairs of the village. He died there in1667.
Coming to Long Island: by Gerald V.S. Raynor
move from Stamford to the future Hempstead occurred in the spring of 1644. A patent given by the New Netherlands Governor Kieft gave to Robert FORDHAM, John STRICKLAND, John OGDEN, John CARMAN, John LAURENCE and Jonas WOOD, a sizable strip of land across Long Island. Heretofore the English had been considered to be the enemies and were not welcome.
Even though an agreement with the Dutch was made as to the amount of territory, and future payments to the Dutch, the actual land had to be purchased from the several Indian Tribes occupying it.
Thurston RAYNOR and his family remained in the new colony only a couple of years before moving a hundred miles east to the equally new Southampton Colony. Edward, now approaching his majority, stayed.
The seven years of British occupation during the Revolution does not seem to have affected the Thurston, Suffolk County branch of the RAYNORS. Hempstead and all western Long Island was completely dominated by the English. It was the bread basket of the New York occupation area and the patriots were forced to supply food, clothing, household supplies, firewood and livestock as well as a labor force and a billeting of the soldiers in their homes.
Families were split in their loyalties and after the war was finally over, many residents had to leave. The RAYNOR family was no exception, which is one reason we have lost track of some lines. Just recently I received correspondence that traced one line to Canada and I am sure there are more. Also, after the war soldiers were often paid off with land grants up-state and in adjoining western states.
The Colonist-Indians relationship was not cordial but usually peaceful. There was a large Indian population. Since there were no maps or accurate surveys, the boundaries established were often in litigation. It was many years before the, now English, New York courts finally approved the various deeds.
Problems sometimes arose because a colonist’s cattle would wander into an Indian cornfield or Indian hunting grounds would be invaded. Since Indians worked for colonists, labor and pay disputes arose. Of course, the importation of rum which the Indians sought disrupted the peace at times. In a generation or so the Indian population was drastically reduced by the white mans diseases.
The land the colonists were being granted by the Dutch was roughly 10 miles wide, centered around Hempstead Harbor on Long Island Sounds south shore. It extended southward about 12 miles to the Atlantic Ocean. Today it is the Towns of Hempstead and North Hempstead in Nassau County though for about 250 years it was part of Queens County.
The long Hempstead Harbor extends about four miles into the north shore perimeter. There were lots of grassy marshes where salt hay grew for summer pasturing and to be cut for winter forage. The uplands extended on both sides and a mile or so further south. This was a good farming and hunting area as well as a source of construction and fire wood.
Just to the south, extending east and west for over 20 miles and 3 to 4 miles wide, lay the great plains. This was a treeless area of high grasses, low shrubs, berries, flowers and a home to plentiful small game. Until the discovery a couple of hundred years later of our great western plains, the Hempstead plains were one of the wonders of the colonies and drew many visitors. This land was set aside as common grounds to be used for pasture or other uses that would not destroy its uniqueness. For nearly 250 years it was protected from private or commercial settlement.
Further south was more farmland and woodland. But this had a light sandy soil close to the water table. Many creeks drained it into the great south bay. Many coves and inlets divided the shore into marshy areas. In the bay itself were dozens of small islands. A barrier reef protected the bay from the Atlantic Ocean.
This grant included just about everything a colonist could need or enjoy: farming, hunting, fishing, mill sites, water and level surface transportation for people and supplies and a cheap labor supply when needed.
The Proprietors who invested in the purchase decided to divide ownership into 100 shares. Fifty shares would be distributed to themselves and each would get another one to be sold to a new family or given to a son who wished to stay and settle, in order to quickly increase the population. The Charter required 100 families in five years. Thurston no doubt, participated in this and then like some others, sold out, took his profit and moved on.
Unfortunately, Book I of the Hempstead Town records was destroyed long ago. The list of the early Proprietors and their activities is lost. However, from various other sources a Mr. George D. A. COMBES (1889-1941) a ninth generation Long Islander, living in Rockville Center was able to reconstruct a list of the first 50 Proprietors. A list of the next 50 was easier to develop because records were available to supply clues for its formation. Edward RAYNOR is number 65. On the list of transactions concerning property dealings, a "Raynor Neck" is mentioned. This may have referred to an earlier Thurston holding as it does not appear that Edward would have had ownership on that scale so early even though Mr. COMBES also lists Edward as Proprietor number 3, again, probably Thurston who then sold and moved.
From Town records we know that Edward was a herdsman. Very early, he was one of a group who were authorized to build a fence all across the southern end of the neck on the west side of Hempstead Harbor. This was to establish a common pasture on the grassy lowlands. Several gates were included and owners of live stock would bring their animals to a gate in early morning, and reclaim them at sundown. "Ear marks" identified the ownership of the animals. In 1657 Edward was responsible for six gates at which time he also owned seven animals.
The next year Edward had twelve acres of meadow land allotted to him and also ten acres on the east side of the harbor. The following year Edward was one of two herdsmen assigned to manage the east herd. Whether this was a herd on the great plain or still on the east side of the harbor is not clear. On a rate list of 1665 he is listed as worth 80 pounds. There is a mention in 1672 that Edward RAYNOR sold to Robert JACKSON, five acres of land bounded on the south by the sea with no further details.
There was a system of land division as new areas were opened up by the Proprietors. The area would be surveyed then divided into several quite large parcels. On a large parcel two or more men might become owners, they then would divide it as they saw fit among themselves. For this reason a man might have small acreage's in several places. These he could keep, sell or trade if he wished to consolidate his own holdings. The five acres, mentioned above, may have been such a parcel.
First mention of south woods, the early name for the area that became Raynor South, was the allotment to Samuel(2) of 25 acres there in 1692. This was probably along the bank and swamp that lay to the east of what is now Roosevelt (Greenwich Point) and extending. southward toward Freeport (Raynortown). The brook leads into an inlet of Great South Bay at about this point. The Meadowbrook State Parkway to Jones Beach follows this route today.
The RAYNOR holdings gradually spread southward down the neck or peninsula, about two miles and even as late as 1873 maps show many family homes all over the area now called Roosevelt and Freeport.
Not all RAYNORS were farmers. Some chose to go to sea, others became fisherman or baymen. The local mill was RAYNOR owned. Maybe Thurston even built the first one. He had been responsible for the one in Stamford. Some left for the business world in New York or became tradesman at home and town leaders.
As new lands opened up, others left for western New York State, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia etc. One man even moved his large family out to Suffolk County and settled in Moriches in the heart of Thurston's territory. A few found their way to Connecticut and even Canada.
Raynor South became Raynortown. The area retained its identity for nearly 200 years until the name Freeport was chosen. Villagers nearer the city and the city itself started charging a fee to bring in commodities to their wharves, so the local folks saw a chance to entice the business to their own docks and did succeed.
Raynortown was also fortunate in that, as time went by, the main east-west route on the south shore of the Island ran right through the town - its main street. This 125 mile roadway connected Brooklyn on the west end of Long Island with the eastern end passing through all of the many small villages on the way. Water transportation however, was more practical in the early days.
Freeport is no longer a little country village. Events of the past few decades have changed it into a heavily populated area. There is one continuous commercial area up to and far east of the village and its boundaries are indiscernible from its neighbors. It is no longer the Garden of Eden of the early RAYNORS.
