Wordsworth History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Wordsworth reached England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Wordsworth family lived in Yorkshire, at Wadsuuorde or Wadsworth.

Early Origins of the Wordsworth family

The surname Wordsworth was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire at Wadsuuorde or Wadsworth. This place was recorded in the Domesday Book taken in 1086 as 'King's Land', a Moorland with two churches and scattered houses. An isolated building within the village is said to be the setting for Emily Bronte's 'Wuthering Heights'.

The village was granted by King William, to Roger de Bully, believed to be the ancestor of the Wadsworths, for his assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. 1

Years later, records show Adam de Waddeswrth listed in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in 1275. In the parish church of Silkstone, the name was recorded as Waddysworth (1556), Wardsworth (1656), Wadsworth (1666) and finally as Wordsworth (1668). 2 Longfellow's middle name was Wadsworth.

Early History of the Wordsworth family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wordsworth research. Another 51 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1572, 1594, 1604, 1622, 1623, 1656, 1675, 1730, 1777 and 1817 are included under the topic Early Wordsworth History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wordsworth Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, Norman French and other languages became incorporated into English throughout the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Wordsworth include Wadsworth, Wadworth, Wadesworth, Wordsworth and others.

Early Notables of the Wordsworth family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was James Wadworth (1572?-1623), English divine and Jesuit, elected scholar at Emmanuel College, Cambridge; William Wadsworth (1594-1675), English-born early pioneer of New England, founder of Hartford, Connecticut and the patriarch of numerous and prominent Wadsworth descendants of North America; James Wadsworth (1604-c.1656), an English man who on a sea voyage to Spain (1622) was captured by Moorish pirates and sold...
Another 66 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wordsworth Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wordsworth migration to the United States +

In England at this time, the uncertainty of the political and religious environment of the time caused many families to board ships for distant British colonies in the hopes of finding land and opportunity, and escaping persecution. The voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, though, and many arrived in North America sick, starved, and destitute. Those who did make it, however, were greeted with greater opportunities and freedoms that they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Early immigration records have shown some of the first Wordsworths to arrive on North American shores:

Wordsworth Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Wordsworth, who arrived in Maryland or Virginia in 1657 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Wordsworth (post 1700) +

William Brocklesby Wordsworth (1908-1988), English composer
Dorothy Wordsworth (1771-1855), English writer
Christopher Wordsworth (1807-1885), English bishop and man of letters
Christopher Wordsworth (1774-1846), English divine and scholar
Charles Wordsworth (1806-1892), English Episcopal clergyman
William Wordsworth (1770-1850), one of the most famous English romantic poets
Wordsworth McAndrew (1936-2008), Guyanese folklorist, poet, and creative artist, eponym of the Wordsworth McAndrew Award

Historic Events for the Wordsworth family +

RMS Lusitania

Miss Ruth Mary Wordsworth, English 2nd Class passenger residing in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 4
Mr. Osmund Bartle Wordsworth, English 2nd Class passenger residing in Toronto, Ontario, Canada returning to England to enlist, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking by escaping in an overturned boat 5

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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)
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 7) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/