Show ContentsThistlethwaite History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Thistlethwaite family

The surname Thistlethwaite was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, before and after the Norman Conquest in 1066, when that county included the northern part of Lancashire and Cumberland, about the 11th century.

Early History of the Thistlethwaite family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Thistlethwaite research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1133 is included under the topic Early Thistlethwaite History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thistlethwaite Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Thistlethwaite, Thistlethwayte and others.

Early Notables of the Thistlethwaite family

More information is included under the topic Early Thistlethwaite Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


West Indies Thistlethwaite 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. 1
Thistlethwaite Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Peter Thistlethwaite who settled with his servant in Barbados in 1680
  • Peter Thistlethwaite who settled in Barbados in 1680 with his servant

Contemporary Notables of the name Thistlethwaite (post 1700) +

  • Morwen Thistlethwaite, American knot theorist and professor of mathematics for the University of Tennessee in Knoxville
  • Glenn Thistlethwaite (1885-1956), American college football head coach in the mid 20th century
  • John Richmond Thistlethwaite, American editor and publisher
  • William J. Thistlethwaite, American Republican politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Herkimer County, 1929-31 2
  • Anthony Thistlethwaite (b. 1955), British multi-instrumentalist best known as a member of the folk-rock group The Waterboys
  • Frank Thistlethwaite CBE (1915-2003), British Educational Administrator, first Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia, Norwich, England

HMS Repulse
  • Mr. Richard Thistlethwaite, British Able Bodied Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 3


  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  3. HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html


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