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Berwick History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Berwick History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Early Origins of the Berwick family

The surname Berwick was first found in Berwickshire in Scotland and Northumberland in England, where "this surname is derived from the famous Border town of the same name. Rather curiously the surname is not uncommon at the present day in Fife. 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]. " 1

Further to the south in England, John de Berewyk (d. 1312), was an English judge, who "was entrusted with the charge of the vacant abbey of St. Edmund, 1278-1279, and of the see of Lincoln during the interval which elapsed between the death of Benedict, otherwise Richard, de Gravesend, 1279, and the appointment of his successor in the episcopate, Oliver Sutton, 1280-1281." 2

In Wiltshire, there were two early listings in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273: Sampson de Berwyk; and Philip de Berwyke. 3

Moving further north again, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Johannes de Berwyk as holding lands there at that time. 3

Early History of the Berwick family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Berwick research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1263, 1278, 1279, 1280, 1281, 1284, 1290, 1292, 1294, 1295, 1305, 1309, 1312, 1476, 1615, 1628, 1629 and 1728 are included under the topic Early Berwick History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Berwick Spelling Variations

The name, Berwick, occurred in many references, and from time to time, it was spelt Berwick, Bewick, Berwicke, Bewicke and others.

Early Notables of the Berwick family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was John de Berewyk (d. 1312), English judge who "was entrusted with the charge of the vacant abbey of St. Edmund, 1278-1279, and of the see of Lincoln during the interval which elapsed between the death of Benedict, otherwise Richard, de Gravesend, 1279, and the appointment of his successor in the episcopate, Oliver Sutton, 1280-1281. He acted as one of the asessors of the thirtieth for the counties south of the Trent in 1263, and in Michaelmas 1284 is mentioned as treasurer to Queen Eleanor. In 1294 he was one of her...
Another 124 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Berwick Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Berwick Ranking

In the United States, the name Berwick is the 14,121^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Berwick migration to the United States +

The New World beckoned settlers from the Scottish-English borders. They sailed aboard the armada of sailing ships known as the "White Sails" which plied the stormy Atlantic. Some called them, less romantically, the "coffin ships." Among the early settlers bearing the Berwick surname who came to North America were:

Berwick Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Berwick, who landed in Maryland in 1639 5
Daniel Berwick, who arrived in Annapoligi, Maryland in 1652 5
John Berwick, who landed in Virginia in 1664 5

Berwick Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Antho Berwick, who landed in Virginia in 1704 5

Berwick Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Berwick, who landed in Louisiana in 1805 5
James Berwick who settled in New Orleans in 1821
Max Berwick, aged 28, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1848 5

Berwick Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Joseph Berwick, aged 28, who immigrated to the United States from Newcastle on Tyme, in 1904
Elizabeth Berwick, aged 56, who immigrated to America from Walker-on-Tyne, in 1906
Agnes Berwick, aged 22, who immigrated to America from Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1907
Clara Berwick, aged 48, who settled in America from Southampton, England, in 1908
Frederick L. Berwick, aged 27, who immigrated to the United States from London, England, in 1909
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Berwick migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Berwick Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Robert Berwick, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Robert Berwick, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1774
George Berwick, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1774
Mrs. Berwick, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1774
Ann Berwick, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1774

Berwick migration to Australia +

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

Berwick Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Berwick, English convict who was convicted in Durham, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Champion" on 24th May 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. George Berwick, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Camden" on 21st September 1832, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Thomas Berwick, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1848 8
Thomas Berwick (1825-1891), English convict who arrived in Western Australia aboard the ship "Hougoumont", the last convict ship in 1868

Contemporary Notables of the name Berwick (post 1700) +

Irvin Berwick (b. 1914), American film director, producer and screenwriter
Edward Berwick (1750-1877), Irish lawyer and educationalist, who served as President of Queen's College Galway (1850-1877) 9
Dennison Berwick (b. 1956), English-born, Canadian author and travel writer
James Fitzjames Berwick (1670-1734), French marshal
Sir Berwick Hungerford Lechmere (d. 2001), British 6th baronet

Historic Events for the Berwick family +

HMAS Sydney II

Mr. George Ross Berwick (1919-1941), Australian Wireman from Traralgon, Victoria, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 10

Citations +

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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"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)
Convict Records of Australia. Retreived 18th January 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/champion
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 2nd December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/camden
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) BOLTON 1848. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1848Bolton.htm
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 17 June. 2019
HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp