The Covell family of Cambridgeshire
The Covell family appear in my maternal ancestry, reaching back to my 7x (and 8x) Great Grandparents, William Covell, who first appears in records in 1746 when he married Elizabeth Harlow in the village of Witchford, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom.
Covell family of Witchford
William and Elizabeth would become parents seven times, seemingly with only their firstborn son William Covell and second daughter Mary Covell dying in infancy, which was quite a feat for the early 1700s. Their three daughters survive, and their two sons appear to continue the Covell name in Witchford.
A Double Ancestry
The Covell family play two ancestral roles in my family tree, thanks to marriages into my Boulter family and into my Dewey family. In turn these two families also both marry into the Moden family, and the Boulter family eventually marries into the Dewey family too. This creates a somewhat tangle of fenland families, and all taking place within the space of about 10 miles.
When the two Covell connections appeared in my tree, it gave me the double relation status of William Covell and Elizabeth Harlow.
When descending the Boulter family tree via son William Covell, then William and Elizabeth are my 7x Great Grandparents. However, when descending my Dewey family tree via his older sister Elizabeth Covell, then William Covell and Elizabeth Harlow are my 8x Great Grandparents.
Variants of the Covell surname
During my research, I have seen several variants of the Covell surname within the parish of Witchford alone. These include:
- Covall
- Covel
- Covell
- Covelle
- Covil
- Covill
- Coville
Covell family connections
I have identified a few ancestral families connected to the Covell family: