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Show ContentsChesterfield History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

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The ancestry of the name Chesterfield dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in Chesterfield, Derbyshire a market town which received its charter in the year 1204 from King John. "This place, from its Saxon name Ceaster, appears to have been a Roman station; its Roman name is said to have been Lutudarum; and there is reason to suppose that in Roman times it was an emporium of the mining districts of Derbyshire. At the period of the Norman survey it was called Cestrefeld, and was only a bailiwick to Newbold, the latter being now a small hamlet in the parish; but within a century from the Conquest, it seems to have risen into such importance as to have obtained from King John, who conferred it upon William de Briwere, a charter of incorporation, with the privilege of two markets and a fair. " 1

Early Origins of the Chesterfield family

The surname Chesterfield was first found in Derbyshire, at Chesterfield, a parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Scarsdale.

"The ancient and distinguished Chesterfield family of the Heathcotes, who have received more than one baronetcy, have held property in that locality since the reign of Edward IV." 2

As a surname, the name is rare as the only entry in various rolls was that of Robertus de Chesterfield and Agnes de Chasturfeld who both appeared in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 3

Early History of the Chesterfield family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chesterfield research. Another 207 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1172, 1340, 1379, 1428, 1431, 1449, 1451, 1452 and 1500 are included under the topic Early Chesterfield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chesterfield Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Chesterfield have been found, including Chesterfield, Chasturfeld, Cestrefeld and others.

Early Notables of the Chesterfield family

Notables of the family at this time include

  • Thomas Chesterfield (d. 1451 or 1452), Canon of Lichfield and author of a chronicle of the bishops of Coventry and Lichfield...

United States Chesterfield migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Chesterfield, or a variant listed above:

Chesterfield Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Henry Chesterfield who arrived in New York in 1854
  • Henry Chesterfield, aged 19, who arrived in New York in 1854 4
Chesterfield Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Mr. Charles Chesterfield, (b. 1872), aged 28, American labourer travelling aboard the ship "St Paul" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 31st 1900 en route to New York, USA 5
  • Mr. Nicholas Chesterfield, (b. 1879), aged 26, Cornish miner travelling aboard the ship "Corona" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 19th November 1905 en route to Morenci, Arizona, USA 5

Australia Chesterfield migration to Australia +

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

Chesterfield Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Nicholas Chesterfield, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Constance" in 1848 6
  • Mr. John Chesterfield, (b. 1847), aged 23, Cornish settler departing from Plymouth on 19th October 1869 aboard the ship "Lady Jocelyn" arriving in Hobsons Bay, Port Phillip, Victoria, Australia on 1st February 1870 7
  • Mrs. Mary Chesterfield, (b. 1850), aged 20, Cornish settler departing from Plymouth on 19th October 1869 aboard the ship "Lady Jocelyn" arriving in Hobsons Bay, Port Phillip, Victoria, Australia on 1st February 1870 7
  • Mr. James Chesterfield, (b. 1869), aged 1, Cornish settler departing from Plymouth on 19th October 1869 aboard the ship "Lady Jocelyn" arriving in Hobsons Bay, Port Phillip, Victoria, Australia on 1st February 1870 7

New Zealand Chesterfield 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:

Chesterfield Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. William Chesterfield, (b. 1836), aged 23, Cornish farm labourer departing on 28th August 1859 aboard the ship "Roman Emperor" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 27th January 1860 8
  • Mr. William Chesterfield, (b. 1836), aged 23, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Roman Emperor" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 26th January 1860 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Chesterfield (post 1700) +

  • Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield (1694-1773), English statesman/orator/wit
  • Arthur Chesterfield, British banker
  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  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)
  5. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
  6. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CONSTANCE - 1848. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1848Constance.htm
  7. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_victoria.pdf
  8. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to Lyttelton 1858-84 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/new_zealand_assisted.pdf
  9. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
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