Pillsbury History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Pillsbury name is a habitational name derived from Spelsbury, from the Old English byname Speol which means "watchful" and the Old English word "burh" which means "town" or "fortress."

Early Origins of the Pillsbury family

The surname Pillsbury was first found in Oxfordshire at Spelsbury, a village and civil parish in the union of Chipping-Norton, hundred of Chadlington. 1 Conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Spelsbury, held by Urso from the Bishop of Winchester, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. William de Spellesbury was listed in Eynsham in 1180 and Phillip de Spillesbury was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327. 2

Early History of the Pillsbury family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pillsbury research. Another 54 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1593, 1599, 1621, 1633, 1638, 1668 and 1801 are included under the topic Early Pillsbury History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pillsbury Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Spilsbury, Spelsbury, Pilsbury, Pelsbury and others.

Early Notables of the Pillsbury family

Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pillsbury Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pillsbury Ranking

In the United States, the name Pillsbury is the 12,162^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Pillsbury migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Pillsbury Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Pillsbury, who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1641 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Pillsbury (post 1700) +

Charles Alfred Pillsbury (1842-1899), American co-founder of C.A. Pillsbury and Company with his uncle John Sargent Pillsbury in 1872
John Sargent Pillsbury (1827-1901), American politician, 8th Governor of Minnesota from 1876 to 1882, co-founder of the Pillsbury Company with his nephew Charles Alfred Pillsbury in 1872
Parker Pillsbury (1809-1898), American minister and advocate for abolition and women's rights
Harry Nelson Pillsbury (1872-1906), American chess-master who by the age of 22 had won the strongest tournaments of the time
Brigadier-General Henry Church Pillsbury (1881-1955), American Commanding Officer Thayer General Hospital, Nasville (1943-1945) 5
Walter Bowers Pillsbury (1872-1960), American psychologist, 19th President of the American Psychological Association (1910-1911)
Arthur Clarence Pillsbury (1870-1946), American photographer, best known for landscapes of Yosemite National Park and his photos of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
E. S. Pillsbury, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1892 6
Charles S. Pillsbury, American Republican politician, Candidate for University of Illinois trustee, 1936, 1944 6
Charles A. Pillsbury, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Connecticut 3rd District, 2002 6
... (Another 22 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2014, March 26) Henry Pillsbury. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Pillsbury/Henry_Church/USA.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html