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Opie History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Opie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Opie surname was created from the medieval personal names Oppy, or Obby, which were turn short forms of personal names such as Osborn, Osbert, and Osbald.

Early Origins of the Opie family

The surname Opie was first found in Cornwall where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Penhargard.

"The manor of Lan-car, Lancarfe, or Lancoff, which was held of the honour of Bodmin, or of St. Petroc, was, in the reign of Richard II. in the Whalesborowe family, who then held it under the Bevilles, and retained it for several succeeding generations. In the fifteenth century the barton belonging to this manor, was in the family of Opie, from whom it passed successively to the Crossmans and Bullocks." 1

Early History of the Opie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Opie research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Opie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Opie Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Opie, Opey, Opye, Oppie, Oppye, Oppey, Upey, Uppie and many more.

Early Notables of the Opie family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

the Opie family of St...

Opie migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Opie Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas Opie, who settled in Virginia in 1702
Thomas, Opie Jr., who landed in Virginia in 1702 2

Opie Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Janett Opie, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 2
Mr. William Opie, (b. 1804), aged 48, Cornish merchant departing from Liverpool aboard the ship "Africa" arriving in Wisconsin, USA the United States on 1 July 1852, he died aboard the ship 3
N. Opie, who arrived in San Francisco in 1852
Mr. William Henry Opie, (b. 1870), aged 17, Cornish miner departing from Liverpool aboard the ship "Aurania" arriving in Ohio, USA on 27 June 1887 3
Mr. William Opie, (b. 1868), aged 21, Cornish miner departing from Liverpool aboard the ship "Umbria" arriving in the United States on 3 June 1889 3

Opie migration to Australia +

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

Opie Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Edward Andrew Opie, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "D'Auvergne" in 1839 4
Mary Jame Opie, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "D'Auvergne" in 1839 4
Francis Opie, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "D'Auvergne" in 1839 4
Olivia Opie, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "D'Auvergne" in 1839 4
Martha Ann Opie, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "D'Auvergne" in 1839 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Opie 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:

Opie Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Richard Opie, aged 24, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Accrington" in 1863 5
Elizabeth Opie, aged 25, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Accrington" in 1863 5
Miss Caroline Opie, (b. 1845), aged 17, Cornish dairy woman departing on 21st October 1862 aboard the ship "Chariot of Fame" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 29th January 1863 6
Mrs. Elizabeth Opie, (b. 1838), aged 25, Cornish settler departing on 18th June 1863 aboard the ship "Accrington" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 5th September 1863 6
Mr. John F. Opie, (b. 1863), aged 4 months, Cornish settler departing on 18th June 1863 aboard the ship "Accrington" going to Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 5th September 1863, he died on the 27th July 1863 before arriving 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Opie (post 1700) +

Brigadier-General Evarts Walton Opie (1893-1982), American Commanding Officer 116th Regiment (1940-1942) 7
Catherine Opie (b. 1961), American artist and photographer
Peter Mason Opie (1918-1982), English folklorist and anthologist who together with Iona Margaret Balfour Opie, complied The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (1951) and The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (1959)
Iona Margaret Balfour Opie CBE, FBA (1923-2017), née Archibald, English folklorist and anthologist who together with Peter Mason Opie, complied The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (1951) and The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (1959), Fellow of the British Academy in 1998
Julian Opie (b. 1958), leading contemporary English artist
Alan Opie (b. 1945), English baritone singer
Mr. Roger Gordon Opie M.B.E., British recipient of the Member of the Order of the British Empire on 29th December 2018 for services to Education and to the community in Bristol 8
L. Opie Jeffries (b. 1909), American Republican politician, Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates from Putnam County, 1945-48; Defeated, 1948 9
Opie Read (1852-1939), American journalist and humorist

Citations +

Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. 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)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to New York 1820 - 1891 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_new_york_1820_1891.pdf
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) D'AUVERGNE 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839D'Auvergne.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to Lyttelton 1858-84 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/new_zealand_assisted.pdf
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2014, March 26) Evarts Opie. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Opie/Evarts_Walton/USA.html
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html