Contents [hide]

Capper History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Capper History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Capper is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Capper family lived in Lincolnshire. They were descended from Le Cappere of Ayncourt, in the bailiwick of Caux, Normandy. 1

Alternatively, the name could have been derived from an occupation as in 'the capper,' a maker or dealer in caps probably made of woollen cloth, though felt was used. 2 3

In the Feet of Fines the following was noted: "in the York Pageant amongst other crafts marched the 'cap-makers'; in the Chester Pageant the 'Cappers, Wyerdrawers, and Pynners'; in the Norwich Pageant the 'cappers, hatters'. "

Early Origins of the Capper family

The surname Capper was first found in Lincolnshire where they were granted lands by William the Conqueror, their liege Lord, for their assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. They were descended from Le Cappere of Ayncourt, in the bailiwick of Caux, and became Tenants in Chief in Lincolnshire, Northampton, and Cheshire. They assumed the name of Ballivia Domini Gaufridi de Capella.

The Hundredorum Rolls of 11273 listed: Symon le Cappere, Oxfordshire; John le Capiere, Oxfordshire; and Thomas le Capiere, Oxfordshire. 2

Early History of the Capper family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Capper research. Another 120 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Capper History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Capper Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Cappe, Capper, Cappar, Capps, Caps, Caper and others.

Early Notables of the Capper family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Capper of Lincolnshire

Capper migration to the United States +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Capper or a variant listed above:

Capper Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Capper, who landed in America in 1811 4
William and E. P. Capper, who settled in New York State in 1823
Abraham H. Capper, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1851
Henry Capper, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1856
Charles Capper, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1872 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Capper migration to Australia +

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

Capper Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Capper, (b. 1797), aged 33, English weaver who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 14 years for fraud, transported aboard the "Florentia" on 11th August 1830, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. James Capper, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Aurora" on 18th June 1835, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
William Samuel Capper a seaman, who arrived in Kangaroo Island aboard the ship "Lady Mary Pelham" in 1836 7
Miss Mary Ann Capper who was convicted in Knutsford (Nether Knutsford), Cheshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Cadet" on 4th September 1847, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Francis Capper, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Salacia" in 1850 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Capper migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Capper Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Edward Henry Capper, aged 33, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ocean Mail" in 1875
Emma S. Capper, aged 28, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ocean Mail" in 1875
Susannah Capper, aged 10, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ocean Mail" in 1875
Charles Edward Capper, aged 9, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ocean Mail" in 1875
Julia Eve Capper, aged 7, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ocean Mail" in 1875
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Capper migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 10

Capper Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Richard Capper who settled in Jamaica in 1661

Contemporary Notables of the name Capper (post 1700) +

Keith Capper, American politician, Independent Candidate for U.S. Senator from Alaska, 1958 11
Arthur Capper (1865-1951), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Kansas, 1908, 1936; Governor of Kansas, 1915-19; U.S. Senator from Kansas, 1919-49 11
James Capper (1743-1825), English meteorologist, born 15 Dec. 1743 and educated at Harrow School, younger brother of Francis Capper 12
Francis Capper (1735-1818), English divine, born 24 Aug. 1735, son of Francis Capper, a London barrister, educated at Westminster School, and proceeded thence to Christ Church, Oxford (1753) 12
David Capper (1932-1933), Northern Irish journalist and correspondent
Sir William Derrick Capper, Chief Constable, West Midlands
Edmund Michael Hubert Capper, Anglican Clergyman, Assistant Bishop of Gibraltar and Chaplain of St. George's Church, Malaga, Spain
Warwick Capper (b. 1963), former Australian rules footballer

Historic Events for the Capper family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. Cyril Capper, British Stoker 1st Class, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 13

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. 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 11th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/florentia
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/aurora
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) LADY MARY PELHAM 1836. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1836LadyMaryPelham.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cadet/
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SALACIA 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Salacia.gif
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 31 Oct. 2019
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html