Show ContentsBarweck History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Barweck family

The surname Barweck was first found in Northumberland, from very ancient times where they took their name from the county of Berwick to the north. In the Domesday Book, a "berewica generally means an outlying portion of a manor." 1

John de Berwic was rector of Renfrew in 1295, and in the year following Geoffry of Berewick, burgess of Roxburgh, rendered homage to King Edward I of England. "Magister Johannes de Beruyc witnessed the gift of half of Litel Gouen to the Hospital of Polmade (Polmadie) in 1320. Patrick de Berwic received a payment from the Exchequer in 1328. William de Berwyic was burgess of Aberdeen in 1317 and Robert de Berewick burgess there in 1333." 2

Further to the south, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed Sampson de Berwyk and Philip de Berwyke in Wiltshire. 3

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Johannes de Berwyk as holding lands there at that time.

John Barwick (fl. 1340), was an early English theologian who took his name from Berwick, where he appears to have been born or brought up. "From Berwick he seems to have removed to the Franciscan schools at Oxford, at which university he became a doctor of theology." 4

Early History of the Barweck family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Barweck research. Another 97 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1411, 1423, 1445, 1550, 1592, 1612, 1616, 1619, 1621, 1631, 1635, 1655, 1664, 1676 and 1705 are included under the topic Early Barweck History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Barweck Spelling Variations

Although the name, Barweck, appeared in many references, from time to time, the surname was shown with the spellings Barwick, Barwicke and others.

Early Notables of the Barweck family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was Sir Thomas Barwick of Inholmes; and John Barwick (1612-1664) was an English Royalist churchman and Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral. "His parents probably belonged to that yeoman class which is so numerous in the north, for they are described as 'honest people who had a small estate.' John was the third of five sons, and he and his brother Peter were selected by their parents as the two who were to be ' bred scholars.' After having spent a little time unsatisfactorily at two or three small grammar schools in the...
Another 101 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Barweck Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Barweck family

Gradually becoming disenchanted with life in Ireland many of these uprooted families sailed aboard the armada of sailing ships known as the "White Sails" which plied the stormy Atlantic. These overcrowded ships often arrived with only 60 to 70% of their original passenger list, many dying of cholera, typhoid, dysentery or small pox. In North America, some of the first immigrants who could be considered kinsmen of the Barweck family name Barweck, or who bore a variation of the surname were Lawrence Barwick who settled in Virginia in 1645; Thomas Barwick who settled in Dominica in 1774; Thomas Barwick settled in Virginia in 1622; Thomas Barwick settled in New Jersey in 1677..



  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print


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