Polhill History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Polhill family

The surname Polhill was first found in Cornwall where "in the ancient deeds of the Cornish family, the spellings Polwhele and Polhill are employed indifferently. The Polhills were certainly at Detling, co. Kent, in or before the reign of Edward II. An old spelling of the family was Polley." 1

"Polwhele, the seat of an ancient family of this name, is in this parish. The present representative is the Rev. Richard Polwhele, who now resides at Kenwyn, of whose literary character we have already spoken. The ancestors of this gentleman are said to have settled here prior to the Norman Conquest. Drogo de Polwhele was chamberlain to the empress Maude, early in the twelfth century, perhaps not fifty years after the Conquest. Their ancient castle, William of Worcester described as in ruins, about the middle of the fifteenth century. No vestige of this building remains; and the manor house, until lately repaired, discovered the effects of age, and furnished strong intimations of having passed through better days." 2

Once more into the archives we delved to find Walter de Polhey in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1248; William de Poleye in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 for Berkshire; Elias de Polye, de Polee in the Hundredorum Rolls for Norfolk in 1275; William de Polleye in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1275; William Polleye in early Colchester record for 1346; and John Poley in the Assize Rolls for Essex in 1379. 3

Early History of the Polhill family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Polhill research. Another 139 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1050, 1140, 1555, 1568, 1574, 1586, 1602, 1619, 1622, 1654, 1671, 1674, 1689, 1694, 1707, 1754 and 1805 are included under the topic Early Polhill History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Polhill Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Polhill, Polwhele, Polwel, Polhel, Polhal, Polley and many more.

Early Notables of the Polhill family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Margaret Polley (died 1555), English Protestant martyr from Rochester, Kent; Sir Edmund Poley (1619-1671), Member of Parliament for Bury St Edmunds; and his son, Henry Poley (1654-1707), an English Me...
Edward Polhill (1622-1694), was an English religious writer, son of Edward Polhill (d. 1654), rector of Ellington, Kent. 4

Polhill migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Polhill Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Nathaniel Polhill, who arrived in Georgia in 1733 5

Polhill Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Nathaniel Polhill, who settled in Georgia with his wife Sarah and four children

Polhill 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:

Polhill Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Baker Polhill, (b. 1798), aged 43, British settler, born in Kent travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Oriental" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 27th October 1841 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Polhill (post 1700) +

Maxine Polhill, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1964 7
Harry C. Polhill, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Bristol; Elected 1934; Postmaster at Bristol, Connecticut, 1960-61 7

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html