Show ContentsHenshaw History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Henshaw name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in Henshaw in Northumberland, or in the settlement of Henshaw in Prestbury, which is in the county of Cheshire. [1]

Of the two, the Northumberland township is the oldest dating back to the 12th century when it was known as Hedeneshalch. [2]

Early Origins of the Henshaw family

The surname Henshaw was first found in Northumberland at Henshaw, a township, in the parish and union of Haltwhistle, W. division of Tindale ward. [3] The first record of the family was actually found in Cumberland (Cumbria) where Peter de Henschal was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1332. Later, Richard de Henneshagh was found in Cheshire in 1365. [4]

Henshaw Hall in the parish of Siddington in Cheshire East dates back to at least 1674. This two storey hall was once held by the Henshaw family, but is now a farmhouse.

Early History of the Henshaw family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Henshaw research. Another 70 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1608, 1614, 1618, 1621, 1624, 1628, 1631, 1635, 1639, 1663, 1673, 1679 and 1700 are included under the topic Early Henshaw History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Henshaw Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Henshaw has undergone many spelling variations, including Henshaw, Henshall, Henshawe and others.

Early Notables of the Henshaw family

Notables of the family at this time include

  • Nathaniel Henshaw (1628-c.1673) Original Fellow, Royal Society in May 5th, 1663. He was the younger son of Benjamin Henshaw, 'one of the captains of the city of London,' who died 4 Dec. 1631. [5]
  • Joseph Henshaw (1608-1679), was Bishop of Peterborough from 1663 until his death. He was the son of Thomas Henshaw, solicitor-general of Ireland. His grandfather, William Henshaw of Worth in Sussex, w...
  • Thomas Henshaw (1618-1700) was an English lawyer, courtier, diplomat, scientific writer and alchemist who used the pen-name "Halophilus." He was the son of Benjamin Henshaw, and brother of Nathaniel H...

Henshaw Ranking

In the United States, the name Henshaw is the 5,543rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [6]


United States Henshaw migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Henshaw were among those contributors:

Henshaw Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Joshua Henshaw, who landed in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1652 [7]
  • Benj Henshaw, who landed in Virginia in 1662 [7]
Henshaw Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Charles Henshaw, who settled in Maryland in 1742
  • Benjamin and John Henshaw, who settled in Boston in 1768
Henshaw Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Vivian Henshaw, who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in 1831 [7]
  • John and Joseph Henshaw, who settled in Philadelphia in 1840
  • Mrs. Henshaw, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 [7]

Canada Henshaw migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Henshaw Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • John Henshaw, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Henshaw Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Michael Henshaw, aged 27 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Greenock" departing 19th June 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 29th July 1847 but he died on board [8]

Australia Henshaw migration to Australia +

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

Henshaw Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. James Henshaw, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" in May 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [9]
  • Mr. Michael Henshaw, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for life, transported aboard the "Fame" on 9th October 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [10]
  • Mr. Owen Henshaw, British Convict who was convicted in Liverpool, Merseyside, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [11]
  • Mr. John Henshaw, English convict who was convicted in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 13th July 1822, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [12]
  • Mr. Henry Henshaw, British convict who was convicted in Lancaster, England for life, transported aboard the "Asia" on 19th November 1827, settling in New South Wales, Australia [13]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Henshaw 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:

Henshaw Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mis Mary Henshaw, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sir Edward Paget" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 25th May 1853 [14]

Contemporary Notables of the name Henshaw (post 1700) +

  • Simon Henshaw (d. 2020), American diplomat, United States Ambassador to Guinea from 2019 until his death
  • Henry Wetherbee Henshaw (1850-1930), American ornithologist
  • David Henshaw (1791-1852), 14th United States Secretary of the Navy
  • William Thornton Henshaw (1868-1949), American politician, Mayor of Martinsburg, West Virginia, 1896-1902; Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates from Berkeley County, 1901-02 [15]
  • Marion Lee Henshaw (1845-1929), American politician, Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates from Berkeley County, 1883 [15]
  • John Snodgrass Henshaw (1869-1957), American politician, Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates from Berkeley County, 1897-98 [15]
  • Howard A. Henshaw (b. 1864), American Republican politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Suffield, 1919-20 [15]
  • Horace Henshaw, American politician, Supervisor of Paris Township, Michigan, 1868-69 [15]
  • Harry Preston Henshaw (1886-1961), American Democratic Party politician, Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates from Berkeley County, 1917-18; Member of West Virginia State Senate 15th District, 1921-31 [15]
  • Edgar Craven Henshaw (1859-1924), American Republican politician, Postmaster at Martinsburg, West Virginia, 1910-14 [15]
  • ... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

HMS Hood
  • Mr. Ronald Henshaw (b. 1923), English Boy 1st Class serving for the Royal Navy from Prestwich, Lancashire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking [16]
  • Mr. Owen W Henshaw (b. 1917), English Stoker 1st Class serving for the Royal Navy from Westhampnett, Sussex, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking [16]
RMS Lusitania
  • Mrs. Mabel Iris Henshaw, Canadian 2nd Class passenger from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking [17]
  • Miss Mary Constance Henshaw, Canadian 2nd Class passenger from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking [17]


  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  5. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  6. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  7. 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)
  8. Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 79)
  9. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 1st March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
  10. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
  11. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
  12. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
  13. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1827
  14. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  15. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  16. H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
  17. Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/


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