Makepeace History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Makepeace comes from a name for a person who displayed a desire to make peace. A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nickname surnames referred to a characteristic of the first person who used the name. They can describe the bearer's favored style of clothing, appearance, habits, or character.

Early Origins of the Makepeace family

The surname Makepeace was first found in Warwickshire where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Makepeace family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Makepeace research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Makepeace History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Makepeace Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Makepeace include Makepeace, Makepeece and others.

Early Notables of the Makepeace family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

William Makepeace Thackeray, one of the England's greatest Novelists

Makepeace migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Makepeace or a variant listed above:

Makepeace Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Makepeace, who settled in Boston in 1630
Thomas Makepeace, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1635 1
John Makepeace, who landed in Virginia in 1657 1
George Makepeace, who settled in Virginia in 1663
Ann Makepeace, who landed in Maryland in 1672 1
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Makepeace Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Anne Makepeace, who settled in Maryland in 1733
Elizabeth Makepeace, who settled in Virginia in 1770

Makepeace Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Henry Makepeace, who arrived in Arkansas in 1885 1

Makepeace 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:

Makepeace Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Makepeace, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1840

Contemporary Notables of the name Makepeace (post 1700) +

Charles R. Makepeace, American founder of C. R. Makepeace & Company, an architectural firm in Rhode Island, United States in 1889 (now defunct)
Mary Lou Makepeace, American activist and politician
Jonathan "Major" Makepeace (1774-1850), American businessman and politician, Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from Saugus in 1823
Harold T. Makepeace, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 1956; Mayor of Sanford, North Carolina, 1956 2
Joseph William Henry Makepeace (1881-1952), English sportsman who made the England National Teams four times each in cricket and football, one of 12 English double internationals
Hannah Makepeace, Australian housekeeper who inherited Makepeace Island from her employers Charles Nicholas and his wife for her faithful years of service on the island, now owned by Virgin Australia
Troy Makepeace (b. 1979), Australian rules footballer
Lieutenant Reginald Milburn Makepeace MC (1890-1918), British World War I flying ace credited with 17 aerial victories
Christopher "Chris" Makepeace (b. 1964), Canadian film and television actor
John Makepeace (b. 1939), British furniture designer

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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html