Ellerton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancestors of the bearers of the Ellerton family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found in Yorkshire where we find Ellerton Abbey in the North Riding, Ellerton Priory in the East Riding and Ellerton upon Swale in the North Riding. Ellerton Abbey was the home of a small priory of Cistercian nuns, thought to have been founded by Warnerius, dapifer to the Earl of Richmond, in the time of Henry II., and Ellerton Priory is home to a church, which in a dilapidated state, is part of the nave of the ancient structure, which joined a priory built by William Fitz-Piers, before 1212, for canons of the Semperingham order. Ellerton upon Swale was the property of the Earl of Tyrconnel, and home to Henry Jenkins, who lived to the extraordinary age of 169 years, born and died there on the 8th of December, 1670. 1

All three places collectively date back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when they were known as Elreton 2 and literally meant "farmstead by the alders." 3

Early Origins of the Ellerton family

The surname Ellerton was first found in Yorkshire where the first record was that of Ralph de Elreton in the Assize Rolls for 1204. Roger de Ethelartone was found in Staffordshire in 1307. 4

(Prior) de Ellerton was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 and later in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379, Agnes de Ellerton; and Johannes de Ellyrton were both listed as holding lands at that time. 5

John de Ellerton, tannour, was a Freeman of York, 28 Edward I (in the twenty-eighth year of King Edward I's reign.)

Early History of the Ellerton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ellerton research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1273, 1770, 1792, 1795, 1799, 1805, 1807, 1814, 1815, 1825, 1828, 1832, 1851 and 1873 are included under the topic Early Ellerton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ellerton 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 Ellerton include Ellerton, Elerton and others.

Early Notables of the Ellerton family

Notables of the family at this time include

Edward Ellerton, founder of scholarships, son of Richard Ellerton of Downholm, Yorkshire, was born in 1770; was educated at Richmond School: matriculated at Oxford as a member of University College; a...
John Lodge Ellerton, was an amateur composer, born in Cheshire, Jan. 11, 1807, was a descendant from an ancient Irish family. In his childhood he showed a remarkable fondness for music, and notwithsta...

Ellerton migration to Australia +

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

Ellerton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Joseph Ellerton, English convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Equestrian" on 30th June 1845, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 6

Ellerton 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. 7

Ellerton Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. James Ellerton, aged 18, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Hopewell" arriving in Barbados on 17th February 1634 8
James Ellerton, who settled in Barbados in 1654

Contemporary Notables of the name Ellerton (post 1700) +

Edward Ellerton (1770-1851), English founder of scholarships, son of Richard Ellerton of Downholm, Yorkshire
John Lodge Ellerton (1801-1873), formerly John Lodge, English composer of classical music, son of Adam Lodge of Liverpool 9
Rev. John Ellerton (1826-1893), English hymn writer and hymnologist
Air Commodore Alban Spencer Ellerton OBE CBE (1894-1978), British Air Force officer, Wing Commander, Air ADC to The King in 1946
Admiral Walter Maurice Ellerton CB (1870-1948), British Royal Navy officer, Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station
Sir Jack Ellerton Becker (1904-1979), Australian entrepreneur, founder of the Adelaide College of Music

The Ellerton 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: Spero infestis, metuo secundis
Motto Translation: I hope in adversity, I fear in prosperity.

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/equestrian
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
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)
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020