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Diver History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Diver History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
England
Ireland

Early Origins of the Diver family

The surname Diver was first found in Cambridge where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Boselinus de Dive, a knight of archbishop Lanfranc of Christ Church, Canterbury, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. He was listed as Dives sur Mer, from Calvados in Normandy. This great family held all the lands of Dives near Caen.

Early History of the Diver family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Diver research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1587, 1599, 1603, 1607, 1645, 1647, 1669 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Diver History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Diver Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Dive, Dives, Divas, Diva, Dyve, Dyves, Dyva, Diver and many more.

Early Notables of the Diver family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir Lewis Dyve (1599-1669), an English Member of Parliament and a Royalist adherent during the English Civil War. He was the son of Sir John Dyve of Bromham, Bedfordshire (d. 1607.) Dyve was captured at the siege of Sherborne, and imprisoned in the Tower of London from 1645 to 1647. He escaped, but was...
Another 61 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Diver Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Diver family to Ireland

Some of the Diver family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 99 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Diver migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Diver Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Hugh Diver, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 2

Diver Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Diver, aged 25, who arrived in New Castle or Philadelphia in 1804 2
William Diver, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 2
Patrick Diver, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 2
Sidney Diver, who arrived in New York, NY in 1816 2
Susan Diver, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Diver migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Diver Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Patrick Diver, aged 21, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Perseus" in 1834
Edward Diver, aged 20, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Perseus" in 1834
Neill Diver, aged 26, a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Highlander" in 1834
Edward Diver, aged 28, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Highlander" in 1834
Mary Diver, aged 23, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Highlander" in 1834
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Diver migration to Australia +

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

Diver Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Robert Diver, English convict who was convicted in Norfolk, England for life, transported aboard the "Clyde" on 20th August 1830, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3
Mr. John Diver, English convict who was convicted in Essex, England for life, transported aboard the "Emma Eugenia" on 2nd November 1837, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
Sarah Diver, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Mariner" in 1847 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Diver (post 1700) +

William Diver, American politician, Member of New Jersey State House of Assembly from Salem County, 1893-94 6
William Diver (1921-1995), American founder of the Columbia School of Linguistics
Alfred John Day Diver (1823-1876), English cricketer
Danny Diver (b. 1966), Scottish former football player and manager
Joe Diver, Irish Gaelic footballer
Stuart Diver (b. 1970), Australian ski instructor
Mike Diver, British music journalist

Historic Events for the Diver family +

Victoria steamboat disaster

Alberta Ismena Diver, Canadian passenger who was killed in the Victoria steamboat disaster when the boat capsized in 1881
Bingham Diver, Canadian passenger who was killed in the Victoria steamboat disaster when the boat capsized in 1881
Hiram Diver, Canadian passenger who was killed in the Victoria steamboat disaster when the boat capsized in 1881
Wealthy M. Diver, Canadian passenger who was killed in the Victoria steamboat disaster when the boat capsized in 1881

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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 19th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clyde
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 29th March 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emma-eugenia
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) MARINER 1847. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1847Mariner.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 25) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html