Fitter History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Fitter family

The surname Fitter was first found in Warwickshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed. But Saxon surnames survived and the family name was first referenced in the 13th century when they held estates in that shire.

Early History of the Fitter family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fitter research. Another 146 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1195, 1455, 1487, 1628 and 1700 are included under the topic Early Fitter History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fitter Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Fitter family name include Fitter, Fitler, Fiter and others.

Early Notables of the Fitter family

Distinguished members of the family include

Daniel Fitter (1628-1700), an English Catholic clergyman, Vicar-General of the Counties of Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire and Salop

Fitter migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Fitter surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Fitter Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Mr. William Fitter, (c. 1571), who left England and arrived in Maryland in 1634 aboard the ship "Ark and Dove" 1

Fitter Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johan George Fitter, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1750 1

Fitter migration to Australia +

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

Fitter Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Joseph Fitter, Jr., English convict from Warwick, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on February 22, 1834, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 2

Fitter 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:

Fitter Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Edward Fitter, aged 27, a lighterman, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Golden Sea" in 1874
Mary A. Fitter, aged 23, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Golden Sea" in 1874
Walter Fitter, aged 21, a lighterman, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Golden Sea" in 1874
Augustus Fitter, aged 19, a waterman, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Golden Sea" in 1874
Eliza A. Fitter, aged 16, a servant, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Golden Sea" in 1874

Citations +

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)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1834 with 230 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1834