Coverdell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancestors of the bearers of the Coverdell family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found in Coverdale, a dale in the far east of the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire. 1

While the lion's share of sources note the Yorkshire origin of the family, two sources disagree. One source says "perhaps from Cuerdale, a township in Lancashire" 2 and another notes "from Cuerdale; a location name in Lancashire (?)" 3

Pursuing this line of thought for a moment we find that Cuerdale is a "township, in the parish, and Lower division of the hundred, of Blackburn, union of Preston, N. division of the county of Lancaster. This place belonged to a family of the same name from the earliest times. About the reign of Richard II. it passed by marriage to the Molyneuxs, and since 1582 it has been the property of the Asshetons, of Downham, who formerly resided at Cuerdale Hall, a fine building of red brick with stone dressings, erected in a beautiful situation by William Assheton, in 1700. " 4

Early Origins of the Coverdell family

The surname Coverdell was first found in Lincolnshire, where Reginald de Coverdall was first listed in the Feet of Fines in 1245. More than fifty years later, Thomas de Coverdale was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1297 and one hundred years later, John Couerdale was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 5 William Coverdale of Neweby, was listed in the Patent Rolls of Yorkshire in 1408. 6

Early History of the Coverdell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coverdell research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1245, 1297, 1379, 1488, 1529, 1535, 1551, 1553, 1568, 1625 and 1809 are included under the topic Early Coverdell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coverdell Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Coverdell include Coverdale, Coverdill, Coverdall, Couerdale and others.

Early Notables of the Coverdell family

Distinguished members of the family include Miles Coverdale (1488-1568), who published his own translation of the Bible in 1535 and was Bishop of Exeter (1551-1553) but lost this position with the accession of Queen Mary. "Whitaker assumes the surname to have been taken from the district of his birth, Cover-dale, in what is...
Another 52 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Coverdell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Coverdell family

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Coverdell or a variant listed above: Thomas Coverdale who arrived in Maryland in 1669.

Contemporary Notables of the name Coverdell (post 1700) +

Paul Douglas Coverdell (1939-2000), American Republican politician, Member of Georgia State Senate, 1971-89; Candidate for U.S. Representative from Georgia, 1977; Georgia Republican State Chair, 1985-87; U.S. Senator from Georgia, 1993-2000 7
Nancy Coverdell (b. 1946), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Georgia, 2004 7

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, May 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html