Savery History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancient surname Savery came from the given name Savaric, an Old German name formed from the elements sav, with an uncertain meaning, and ric, which meant powerful. The name came to England with the Bretons who accompanied Duke William of Normandy when he invaded and conquered England in 1066. The Bretons came from Brittany, a French province located on a peninsula on the northwest coast of France. Formerly known as Armorica, a possession of the Roman Empire, this land consists of a plateau with a deeply indented coast and is broken by hills in the west. However, the region was renamed Britannia Minor by the Romans, following the emigration of six thousand Britons across the English Channel, an event which took place at the behest of the Roman Commander in Britain.

Early Origins of the Savery family

The surname Savery was first found in Devon where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Savery family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Savery research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1614, 1643, 1650, 1698 and 1715 are included under the topic Early Savery History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Savery Spelling Variations

Since the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules, Breton surnames have many spelling variations. Latin and French, which were the official court languages, were also influential on the spelling of surnames. The spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules. Therefore, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England after the Norman Conquest, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. The name has been spelled Savory, Savery, Savary and others.

Early Notables of the Savery family

Notable of this family during the Middle Ages was

Thomas Savery (c.1650-1715), an English military engineer and inventor who developed the Savery Steam Engine, patented in 16981...

Savery migration to the United States +

Early immigration records have shown some of the first of the name Savery to arrive on North American shores were:

Savery Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Anthony Savery, who settled in Plymouth Massachusetts in 1630
Thomas Savery, who arrived in New England in 1634 aboard the ship "Mary & John", bound for Plymouth 2
William Savery, who arrived in New England in 1634 aboard the ship "Mary & John", bound for Plymouth 2
Nicholas Savery, who arrived in Maryland in 1671 2
Mary Savery and her husband settled in Maryland in 1684

Savery migration to Australia +

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

Savery Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Isaac Savery, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Baring" in December 1818, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Savery (post 1700) +

Gilbert M. Savery (1917-2018), American Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who worked for Lincoln Journal Star from 1941 to 1985
William Savery (1721-1787), American cabinetmaker
Jill Savery, American synchronized swimmer
Peleg B. Savery, American politician, Member of Pennsylvania State Senate 2nd District, 1849-51, 1853 4
John E. Savery, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Cayuga County 1st District, 1888-89 4
James R. Savery, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Massachusetts, 1916, 1920 4
Henry Savery (1791-1842), Australian (English born), convict transported to Port Arthur, Tasmania, generally considered Australia's first novelist
Sir Samuel Servington Savery, Conservative member of parliament for Holderness, East Yorkshire

The Savery Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Aut vita libera aut mois gloriosa
Motto Translation: A life of freedom, or a death of glory.

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baring
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html