Wittwer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Wittwer arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Wittwer family lived in any of various places called Whitwell, in Dorset, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, and the North Riding of Yorkshire.These place names are derived from the Old English hwi-t, meaning "white," and well meaning a "spring," or "stream."

Early Origins of the Wittwer family

The surname Wittwer was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

Early History of the Wittwer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wittwer research. Another 156 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1100, 1238, 1296, 1719, 1749, 1788 and 1797 are included under the topic Early Wittwer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wittwer Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Witwall, Witwell, Whitwell, Whitwel, Whitewell and others.

Early Notables of the Wittwer family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was John Griffin Whitwell (1719-1797), birth name of Field Marshal John Griffin Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, 1st Baron Braybrooke. He assumed the name Griffin through his mother Anne...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wittwer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wittwer migration to the United States +

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Wittwer or a variant listed above:

Wittwer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Friedrich Wittwer, who landed in Kentucky in 1887 1

Citations +

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)