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![Show Contents]() Metfork History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The Metfork name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in Mitford, Northumberland where the name is "descended from Matthew, brother of John, who is said to have held the castle of Mitford soon after the Conquest. The ancestors of the present family appear to have been for many ages resident at Mitford, though the castle was not in their possession till it was granted with the manor by Charles II to Robert Litford, Esq." 1 Early Origins of the Metfork familyThe surname Metfork was first found in Northumberland at Mitford, a village and parish in the union of Morpeth. The earliest record of the place name was found in 1196 when it was listed as Midford. The place name literally meant "ford where two streams join." 2 "The manor in the time of the Saxons belonged to the family of Mitford, and at the Conquest was part of the possessions of John, Lord of Mitford, whose only daughter, Sybil, was married by the Conqueror to Sir Richard Bertram, son of the lord of Dignam, in Normandy." 3 Nearby is Mitford Castle which dates from the end of the 11th century. The Norman motte and bailey castle stands above the River Wansbeck and was the first of three seats for the main line of the Mitford family. It's in ruins today but Mitford Old Manor House built in the 1600s remains nearby. Mitford Hall is a Georgian mansion house built in 1828 by the Mitford family. Early History of the Metfork familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Metfork research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1389, 1390, 1395, 1407, 1612, 1659 and 1674 are included under the topic Early Metfork History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Metfork Spelling VariationsOnly recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Metfork has undergone many spelling variations, including Mitford, Medford, Midford and others. Early Notables of the Metfork familyAnother 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Metfork Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Metfork familyTo escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Metfork were among those contributors: William Mitford settled in Boston in 1767; Thomas Medford, who settled in Mississippi in 1820; as well as E. and T. Medford, who both settled in Baltimore in 1822..
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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