Guild of One-Name Studies
One-name studies, Genealogy
Study: Clowes
Variants: Clewes, Clews, Clows
Category: 1 - A study where research using core genealogical datasets and transcriptions is in its early stages.
Guild hosted website: clowes.one-name.net
Contact: Ms Gloria Carbaugh
My interest in the Clowes surname in general comes from a close family line, but the idea of conducting a one-name study was born when I attempted to document the "common knowledge" with regard to past research on my line. Because my own Clowes line came from England to America prior to 1700, removed to Canada following the Revolutionary War, and eventually returned to America in the mid 1800s, I will begin with those locations and add others as the study progresses.
The registered variants are Clows, Clewes and Clews. This may change as the study progresses.
The Clowes surname is believed to have first appeared in the early medieval period, likely in Cheshire and may have been used to describe a family that lived in or near a hollow or clough.
A few of the notable persons bearing the Clowes surname:
Having originated in England, the Clowes surname is has remained most numerous there. Between 1841 and 1911, there was a fairly steady increase in the number of Clowes individuals in the England and Wales census, while the number of those listed as Clows declined. For the United States and Canada, the trend was similar although on a much smaller scale. The number of Clows listed in all three countries appears to decline or stay roughly the same.
Clowes England & Wales U.S. Canada 1851: 968 86 19 1871: 1290 174 25 1881: 1642 190 44 1901: 2316 284 36 1911: 2654 391 57
Clows England & Wales U.S. Canada 1851: 61 50 13 1871: 53 53 22 1881: 63 27 13 1901: 22 53 41 1911: 20 43 24
In 2002, it was estimated that there were 3486 Clowes individuals living in England, with no data for Clows. Overall, the study looks to be quite small.
Based on the 1881 census for England and Wales, the most populous counties were:
Staffordshire was also the densest county with the name appearing roughly once for every 2000 people. With the exception of Warwickshire (106), all other counties had few than 100.
All Clowes and Clows births, marriages and deaths from the GRO have been entered by Margaret Southgate well into the 1950s and perhaps later. I thank her for making those available. More datasets will be added as time allows.
Data currently available may be found here: Clowes Datastores
A Clowes One-Name Study website will be added in the near future with the goal of reconstructing family trees. A number of trees have been started, again by Margaret Southgate.