Girten History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Girten family

The surname Girten was first found in Yorkshire where John, Mariota del Garth was listed there in 1297 and again in the Subsidy Rolls of Cumberland in 1332. The name is derived from the Middle English "garth" and literally means "One in charge of enclosed ground, a garden or paddock." 1

"In Yorkshire Garth has occasionally become Gath." 2 The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed: Beatrice del Garthe in Howdenshire and Willelmus del Garth.

Gyrth (d. 1066), was Earl of East Anglia, fourth son of Earl Godwine. He "shared his father's banishment in 1052, and took refuge with him in Flanders. He also shared the restoration of his father and brothers in the following year. In 1057 he succeeded Ælfgar in the earldom of East Anglia, having perhaps received 'some smaller government at an earlier time' It seems that when he was appointed over the whole or part of East Anglia the king told him that he would give him something more (Vita Eadwardi, p. 410), and he did at some later time receive the earldom of Oxfordshire also." 3

Early History of the Girten family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Girten research. Another 146 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1096, 1455, 1487, 1510, 1600, 1661, 1676, 1679, 1684, 1687, 1691, 1693 and 1719 are included under the topic Early Girten History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Girten Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Girten include Garth, Garthe, Girth, Gyrth, Gyrthe, Gart, Gartt and others.

Early Notables of the Girten family

Distinguished members of the family include Sir Samuel Garth FRS (1661-1719), an English physician and poet. He was the "eldest son of William Garth of Bowland Forest in the West Riding of Yorkshire, was born in 1661, and sent to school at Ingleton, at the foot of...
Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Girten Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Girten migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Girten were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Girten Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Peter Girten, who landed in Illinois in 1870 4

Citations +

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)
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)