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Drinkwater History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Drinkwater History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Drinkwater comes from a name for a literally comes from the words drink and water, but there are many interesting theories as to the reason for the nickname. The universal beverage in the Middle Ages was weak ale, perhaps the name was given to a teetotaler; or perhaps to a pauper unable to afford beer. Perhaps the name was given in irony to an innkeeper or a noted tippler. Some have even suggested that the name was given to diabetics who had voracious thirsts.

Early Origins of the Drinkwater family

The surname Drinkwater was first found in Cheshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Drinkwater family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Drinkwater research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Drinkwater History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Drinkwater 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 Drinkwater include Drinkwater, Drinkwatter and others.

Early Notables of the Drinkwater family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Nathaniel Drinkwater, Mayor of Chester

Drinkwater migration to the United States +

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 Drinkwater or a variant listed above:

Drinkwater Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Drinkwater, who settled in Virginia in 1637
Jon Drinkwater, who arrived in Virginia in 1637 1
John Drinkwater, who landed in Virginia in 1653 1
Fra Drinkwater, who arrived in Virginia in 1662 1
Mary Drinkwater, who landed in Virginia in 1666 1
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Drinkwater Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Robert Drinkwater, who arrived in Virginia in 1705 1

Drinkwater Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Henry Drinkwater, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1812 1
F Drinkwater, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 1
Edwin, George, James, John, and William Drinkwater, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1840 and 1870

Drinkwater migration to Australia +

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

Drinkwater Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Drinkwater, (b. 1802), aged 29, English labourer who was convicted in Liverpool, Merseyside, England for 14 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Exmouth" on 3rd March 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 2
Charlotte Drinkwater, aged 24, who arrived in South Australia in 1849 aboard the ship "Marion" 3
Charlotte Drinkwater, aged 24, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Marion" in 1849 3

Drinkwater migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Drinkwater Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Elizabeth Drinkwater, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Anne Dymes" in 1864
John Drinkwater, aged 30, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ballochmyle" in 1874
Mr. Jonathan Drinkwater, (b. 1840), aged 35, English farm labourer from Berkshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Waimate" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 4th December 1875 4
Mrs. Rose Ann Drinkwater, (b. 1842), aged 33, English settler from Berkshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Waimate" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 4th December 1875 4
Miss Sarah Anne Drinkwater, (b. 1859), aged 15, English settler from Berkshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Waimate" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 4th December 1875 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Drinkwater 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. 5

Drinkwater Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Drinkwater who settled in Barbados in 1658 and moved to Virginia in 1660
William Drinkwater, who settled in Barbados in 1664

Contemporary Notables of the name Drinkwater (post 1700) +

Terry Drinkwater (1936-1989), American three-time Emmy Award winning, a George Foster Peabody Award winning television and radio journalist
Sean T. Drinkwater (b. 1972), American musician
Herbert Drinkwater (1936-1997), American politician, mayor of Scottsdale, Arizona (1980-1996)
John Drinkwater (1882-1937), English poet and dramatist, born in Leytonstone, London
John Drinkwater (b. 1957), English musician and sound technologist for the BBC
Daniel Noel "Danny" Drinkwater (b. 1990), English football midfielder
Carol Drinkwater (b. 1948), English actress and author
Reuben Thomas "Ben" Drinkwater (1910-1949), English motor-cycle racer who competed in the Isle of Man TT Races and the Manx Grand Prix
John Drinkwater (1762-1844), English historian
Mr. David Graham Drinkwater M.B.E. (b. 1947), Welsh Station Volunteer for Holyhead Lifeboat Station, was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire on 29th December 2018 for services to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and to charity 6
... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Drinkwater Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Labore omnia florent
Motto Translation: All things flourish with industry.

Citations +

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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/exmouth
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The MARION 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Marion.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
"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