First found in Cumberland where they held a family seat anciently after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Virtue or a variant listed above: Miles Vardey settled in Philadelphia Pa. in 1816; Mrs. Vardy, her husband and two children, settled in Boston Mass. in 1765; Elizabeth Vardy settled in Virginia in 1653.

For more information on the last name Virtue, the PDF Surname History is available for purchase as well as other products.