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Woodhead History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Woodhead History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Woodhead family

The surname Woodhead was first found in West Yorkshire likely at Burley Woodhead, a hamlet now in the City of Bradford. Little is known of the origin of the hamlet other than it probably dates back to about c. 1200 when it was listed as Burcheleia. 1 Today the village Burley in Wharfedale is adjoined by Burley Woodhead. As far as the surname, the first reference was in the year 1316 when Christina Wodhead held estates in that shire. 2 Later, Rogeros de Wodehed was recorded in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 3

Early History of the Woodhead family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Woodhead research. Another 56 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1609, 1624, 1678, 1686 and 1789 are included under the topic Early Woodhead History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Woodhead Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Woodhead, Wodehad, Woodhed and others.

Early Notables of the Woodhead family

Distinguished members of the family include

Abraham Woodhead (c.1609-1678), an English writer on Catholicism, tutor to the young Duke of Buckingham...

Woodhead migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Woodhead Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Martha Woodhead, aged 17, who arrived in New York in 1862 4
Rachel Woodhead, aged 53, who landed in New York in 1862 4
Sarah Woodhead, aged 20, who arrived in New York in 1862 4
William Woodhead, aged 27, who landed in New York in 1862 4
Alfred Woodhead, aged 7, who arrived in New York in 1862 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Woodhead migration to Australia +

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

Woodhead Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Woodhead, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 14 years for coining, transported aboard the "Caledonia" on 5th July 1820, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
William Woodhead, English convict from Staffordshire, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on April 1st, 1822, settling in New South Wales, Australia 6
John Woodhead, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Thomas Harrison" in 1839 7
Sibyl Woodhead, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Thomas Harrison" in 1839 7
Robert Woodhead, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Thomas Harrison" in 1839 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Woodhead 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:

Woodhead Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mrs. Woodhead, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Blundell" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 21st September 1848 8
Amos Woodhead, aged 39, a fitter, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Hurunui" in 1877
Susan Woodhead, aged 32, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Hurunui" in 1877
Amberly Woodhead, aged 8, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Hurunui" in 1877
Mary Woodhead, aged 3, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Hurunui" in 1877
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Woodhead (post 1700) +

James "Red" Woodhead (1851-1881), American Major League Baseball player who played from 1873 through 1879
Cynthia Lee "Sippy" Woodhead (b. 1964), American nine-time gold and four-time silver medalist competitive swimmer, inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (1994)
Daniel Frank Henry "Danny" Woodhead (b. 1985), American NFL football running back for the San Diego Chargers
Sir German Sims Woodhead KBE (1855-1921), English pathologist, President of the Royal Medical Society, the first editor of the Journal of Pathology
Wendy Woodhead, English two-time bronze medalist table tennis player in the late 1930s
Chantel Marie "Channy" Woodhead (b. 1974), former English international football player
Ernest "Ernie" Woodhead (1857-1944), English rugby union footballer
Linda Woodhead MBE MA DD (b. 1964), English Professor at Lancaster University
Joseph Woodhead (1824-1913), English newspaper owner and editor
Dennis Woodhead (1925-1995), English professional footballer from Hillsborough, Sheffield
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Woodhead family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Robert Alfred Woodhead, English Engine Room Artificer from Ingrow, West Yorkshire, England, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 9

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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)
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/caledonia
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1822 with 190 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1822
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) THOMAS HARRISON 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839ThomasHarrison.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html