Show ContentsBurwick History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Burwick family

The surname Burwick was first found in Berwickshire in Scotland and Northumberland in England, where "this surname is derived from the famous Border town of the same name. Rather curiously the surname is not uncommon at the present day in Fife. John de Berwic was rector of Renfrew in 1295, and in the year following Geoffry of Berewick, Burgess of Roxburgh, rendered homage [to King Edward I of England]. " 1

Further to the south in England, John de Berewyk (d. 1312), was an English judge, who "was entrusted with the charge of the vacant abbey of St. Edmund, 1278-1279, and of the see of Lincoln during the interval which elapsed between the death of Benedict, otherwise Richard, de Gravesend, 1279, and the appointment of his successor in the episcopate, Oliver Sutton, 1280-1281." 2

In Wiltshire, there were two early listings in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273: Sampson de Berwyk; and Philip de Berwyke. 3

Moving further north again, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Johannes de Berwyk as holding lands there at that time. 3

Early History of the Burwick family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Burwick research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1263, 1278, 1279, 1280, 1281, 1284, 1290, 1292, 1294, 1295, 1305, 1309, 1312, 1476, 1615, 1628, 1629 and 1728 are included under the topic Early Burwick History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Burwick Spelling Variations

The name Burwick, appeared in many references, and from time to time, the surname was spelt Berwick, Bewick, Berwicke, Bewicke and others.

Early Notables of the Burwick family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was John de Berewyk (d. 1312), English judge who "was entrusted with the charge of the vacant abbey of St. Edmund, 1278-1279, and of the see of Lincoln during the interval which elapsed between the death of Benedict, otherwise Richard, de Gravesend, 1279, and the appointment of his successor in the episcopate, Oliver Sutton, 1280-1281. He acted as one of the asessors of the thirtieth for the counties south of the Trent in 1263, and in Michaelmas 1284 is mentioned as treasurer to Queen Eleanor. In 1294 he was one of her...
Another 124 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Burwick Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Burwick migration to the United States +

The New World beckoned as many of the settlers in Ireland, known as the Scotch/Irish, became disenchanted. They sailed aboard the armada of sailing ships known as the "White Sails" which plied the stormy Atlantic. Some called them, less romantically, the "coffin ships." Amongst the early settlers who could be considered kinsmen of the Burwick family, or who bore a variation of the surname Burwick were

Burwick Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Friedrich Burwick, who landed in New York, NY in 1859 4
  • Fritz Burwick, who arrived in Ohio in 1860 4
  • Karl Burwick, who landed in New York, NY in 1866 4
  • Carl Burwick, who arrived in Ohio in 1866 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Burwick (post 1700) +

  • Kimberly Burwick, American poet, known for her works Horses in the Cathedral (2010), and Has No Kinsmen (2006), finalist for the 2007 Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize


  1. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  2. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)


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