Contents [hide]

Charters History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Ireland United States Canada Australia West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Charters History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The name Charters was originally from Chartres in the department of Eure-et-Loire, France. 1

Early Origins of the Charters family

The surname Charters was first found in Devon, where Richard de Chartray is generally considered to be the progenitor of the family. He was listed as holding lands there temp. Henry III-Edward I. Later, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed Alan de Chartres, Huntingdonshire; and John de Chartres, Lincolnshire. 2

The movement to Scotland where the name is best known is very interesting. " 'The Sirname of Carnatto, which we English Charters, is very ancient with us.' In the reign of William the Lion, Walter de Carnoto gifted the church of Trauerflet (Trailflat) and the church of Dungrey or Drumereyoch to the Abbey of Kelso. In 1266 we have a charter confirming this gift which supplies us with the names of four generations: Robert called of Carnoto, knight, son and heir of Thomas de Carnoto, son and heir of Thomas de Carnoto, son and heir of Walcher de Carnoto. " 1

Early History of the Charters family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Charters research. Another 224 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1166, 1249, 1296, 1361, 1467, 1479, 1523, 1527, 1565, 1593, 1597, 1599, 1620, 1621, 1625, 1628, 1639, 1641, 1675, 1700, 1711, 1732 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Charters History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Charters Spelling Variations

The many spelling variations in Medieval Scottish names result from the fact that scribes in that era spelled words according to sound. Translation too, was an undeveloped science, and many names were altered into complete obscurity. Over the years Charters has been spelled Charteris, Charters, Charter, Charteres, Chartteris, Chartters and many more.

Early Notables of the Charters family

Notable among the family at this time was Henry Charteris the Elder (d. 1599), Scottish printer; and his son, Henry Charteris the Younger (1565-1628), a Scottish minister and Principal of Edinburgh University from 1599 to 1620; and his son, Lawrence Charteris (1625-1700), Scottish minister. 3Francis Charteris (1675-1732), was a colonel, notorious criminal, son of John and second son of Sir John Charteris of Amisfield. "On the death of his uncle without male issue he became male representative of the family of Amisfield, but the estate passed to his cousin Elizabeth, sole heiress of his uncle. Her son, Thomas Hogg, assumed the...
Another 202 words (14 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Charters Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Charters family to Ireland

Some of the Charters family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 69 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Charters migration to the United States +

To escape the uncertainties and discrimination faced in Scotland, many decided to head out for North America. Once they arrived, many Scots fought with relish in the American War of Independence; some went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Many ancestors of these Scots have recovered their lost national heritage in the 20th century through Clan organizations and Scottish historical societies. Among the settlers to North America were:

Charters Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Charters, who landed in New York in 1817 4
Samuel Charters, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1841

Charters migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Charters Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Edward Charters, aged 25, a smith, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Lady Campbell" in 1833
Susanna Charters, aged 24, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Lady Campbell" in 1833

Charters migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Charters Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mary Charters, aged 53, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Confiance" 5

Charters migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 6

Charters Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

Lawrence Charters, who settled in St. Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1716

Contemporary Notables of the name Charters (post 1700) +

Spencer Charters (1875-1943), American film actor who appeared in over 220 films
Samuel Barclay Charters (b. 1929), American music historian and writer
Ann Charters (b. 1936), American professor of English
Stephen Charters, American politician, Mayor of Ansonia, Connecticut, 1904-11 7
James B. Charters, American politician, Mayor of Dixon, Illinois, 1862 7
Mrs. Sarah Charters M.B.E., British Consultant Nurse for University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire on 8th June 2018, for services to Vulnerable Adults 8
Samuel Charters (1863-1943), Ontario newspaper publisher and politician
Keith Charters (b. 1965), British author and publisher
John Charters, New Zealand 1938 British Empire Games bronze medalist rower
James Christian Charters (b. 1988), British musician, DJ and rapper
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Charters family +

RMS Titanic

Mr. David Charters (d. 1912), aged 28, Irish Third Class passenger from Ballinalee, Longford who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 9

Citations +

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)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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)
South Australian Register Wednesday 13th September 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Confiance 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/confiance1854.shtml
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html