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Thornburgh History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Thornburgh History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancient roots of the Thornburgh family name are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Thornburgh comes from when the family lived in Thornborough found in the counties of Buckinghamshire and North Yorkshire. Thornburgh is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. During the Middle Ages, as society became more complex, individuals needed a way to be distinguishable from others. Toponymic surnames were developed as a result of this need. Various features in the landscape or area were used to distinguish people from one another. In this case the surname was originally derived from the Old English thorn broc which means that the original bearers of the surname Thornburgh were named due to their close proximity to the stream by the thorns. 1

Early Origins of the Thornburgh family

The surname Thornburgh was first found in Cumberland where they held a family seat at Selsheyd (now known as Selside.) This chapelry, in the parish, union, and ward of Kendal is now in the county of Westmorland. "The chapel, dedicated to St. Thomas, was erected in lieu of a more ancient edifice, about 1720, by the inhabitants, on a site given by William Thornburgh, Esq.; and was rebuilt on an enlarged scale in 1837, at an expense of about £600." 2

The first records of the family were found in nearby Yorkshire where Robert de Thorneberg was recorded in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1208 and Hugh de Thornburgh was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1327. 3 Later in Yorkshire, we found Ricardus de Thornbargh recorded in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 4

"The name of Thornber was represented by Thornbur in Gloucestershire in the 13th century. " 5

Early History of the Thornburgh family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Thornburgh research. Another 96 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1313, 1391, 1394, 1401, 1404, 1414, 1416, 1419, 1541, 1551, 1563, 1588, 1593, 1603, 1617 and 1641 are included under the topic Early Thornburgh History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thornburgh Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Thornburgh has appeared include Thornborough, Thornbury, ThornBerry, Thornborrowe, Thornbery, Thornburgh and many more.

Early Notables of the Thornburgh family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

William Thornburgh was Member of Parliament for Westmorland in 1391, 1394, 1401 and 1414. Roland Thornburgh was Member of Parliament for Westmorland in 1401, 1404, 1416 and 1419. Edward Thornborough (...

Thornburgh migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Thornburgh arrived in North America very early:

Thornburgh Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Miss M O Thornburgh, aged 22, who immigrated to the United States, in 1896
Mrs T Thornburgh, aged 48, who settled in America, in 1896
Ella R. Thornburgh, aged 48, who landed in America, in 1896
Frederick Thornburgh, aged 19, who settled in America, in 1896
Mary O. Thornburgh, aged 23, who landed in America, in 1897
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Thornburgh Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Robert Montgomery Thornburgh, aged 35, who landed in America, in 1908
Thomas Tipton Thornburgh, aged 11, who immigrated to America, in 1908
Edwine Thornburgh, aged 19, who immigrated to the United States, in 1909

Thornburgh migration to Australia +

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

Thornburgh Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Henry Thornburgh, English convict who was convicted in Saint Mary, Newington, London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 28th July 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6

Thornburgh 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

Thornburgh Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

George Thornburgh, who settled in Barbados with his servants in 1680

Contemporary Notables of the name Thornburgh (post 1700) +

Jasper H. Thornburgh (1862-1938), American Republican politician, Postmaster at Boonville, Indiana, 1897-1901; Delegate to Republican National Convention from Indiana, 1908 (alternate), 1916 8
Ron Thornburgh, American Republican politician, Secretary of State of Kansas, 1995- 8
Warren Thornburgh, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1952 8
Richard Lewis Thornburgh (b. 1932), American Republicanpolitician, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, 1969-75; Governor of Pennsylvania, 1979-87; U.S. Attorney General, 1988-91; Candidate for U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, 1991 8
Jacob Montgomery Thornburgh (1837-1890), American Republican politician, U.S. Representative from Tennessee 2nd District, 1873-79 8
Charles A. Thornburgh, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio, 1932 8
David B. Thornburgh (b. 1958), American President and CEO of the Committee of Seventy
Major Thomas Tipton Thornburgh, American commander of forces at the Battle of Milk Creek in 1879
Warren Thornburgh, American politician, Alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1952
Richard Lewis Thornburgh (b. 1932), American politician, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, 1969-75, Governor of Pennsylvania, 1979-87, U.S. Attorney General, 1988-91
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Thornburgh 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: Spectemur agendo
Motto Translation: Let us be judged by our acts

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 23rd March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, August 18) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html