Samms History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Samms family

The surname Samms was first found in Essex where the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Kelveden Hatch held by a steward of Westminster Abbey who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

William de Sahan (died 1304), was an English judge, who may have been the son of Robert de Saham, but his father's name seems to have been Ralph. It is generally thought that he was a native of Saham Toney, Norfolk. 1

Early History of the Samms family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Samms research. Another 116 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1510, 1600, 1636 and 1679 are included under the topic Early Samms History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Samms Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Sames, Sams, Sammes, Samms, Sam, Same, Samme and others.

Early Notables of the Samms family

Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Samms Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Samms Ranking

In Newfoundland, Canada, the name Samms is the 598^th most popular surname with an estimated 76 people with that name. 2

Samms migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Samms name or one of its variants:

Samms Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Samms, aged 42, who landed in Georgia in 1732 3

Samms Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Louisa Samms, aged 38, originally from Jamaica, who arrived in New York in 1907 aboard the ship "Orinoco" from Jamaica 4
Hubert Samms, aged 32, originally from Kingston, Jamaica, W.I., who arrived in New York in 1907 aboard the ship "Orinoco" from Jamaica 4
Gerald Samms, aged 27, originally from Kingston, Jamaica, who arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Munamar" from Antilla, Cuba 4
James E. Samms, aged 22, originally from Oriente, Cuba, who arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Siboney" from Havana, Cuba 4
H. W. Samms, aged 23, who arrived in New York in 1921 from San Francisco via Honolulu 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Samms (post 1700) +

Emma Samms (b. 1960), stage name of Emma Elizabeth Wylie Samuelson MBE, British three-time Soap Opera Digest Award nominated actress and television host, best known for her role as Holly Sutton on the American daytime soap opera General Hospital
Roy Stuart Samms Jr. (b. 1915), American Republican politician, Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates from Kanawha County; Defeated, 1940; Elected 1942 5

Historic Events for the Samms family +

SS Caribou

Mr. William Robert Samms (b. 1903), Newfoundland crew member from Codroy, Newfoundland and Labrador was travelling aboard the railway ferry "SS Caribou" when it was struck by a German submarine torpedo on 14th October 1942, the most significant sinking in Canadian waters at that time, he died in the sinking

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
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)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html