Show ContentsPembartown History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancestry of the name Pembartown dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in the township of Pemberton which was in Wigan in the county of Lancashire. This surname was originally derived from Old Welsh and Old English terms which denoted that the original bearers of the Pembartown surname lived by the barley farm near a hill.

Early Origins of the Pembartown family

The surname Pembartown was first found in Lancashire at Pemberton, a township, in the parish and union of Wigan, hundred of West Derby. Adam de Pemberton, who held lands here, was living in the reign of Richard I. In the 34th of Edward I., another Adam de Pemberton brought an action of trespass against Thurstan de Northlegh and Matilda his wife, for cutting down his woods at Pemberton under pretext of taking estovers. 1 Another early branch of the family was found at Aislaby in Durham. "There was anciently a chapel dedicated to St. Thomas the Martyr, which was founded by William de Aslakby (now Aislaby) and Agnes his wife, in 1313; and the place was for several generations the residence of the family of Pemberton, whose mansion has been converted into an inn and several other tenements." 1

Early History of the Pembartown family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pembartown research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1560, 1595, 1611, 1624, 1694, 1697 and 1771 are included under the topic Early Pembartown History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pembartown Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Pembartown have been found, including Pemberton, Pembertone, Pembartone, Pambarton and others.

Early Notables of the Pembartown family

Distinguished members of the family include Robert Pember (died 1560), an English classical scholar, he was a reader in Greek at Trinity College, Cambridge and taught Roger Ascham Greek. Henry Pemberton (1694-1771), was an English physician and writer from London. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society and edited some of Sir...
Another 52 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pembartown Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Pembartown family

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Pembartown, or a variant listed above: Alice and John Pemberton, who came to Salem, Mass in 1630; James Pemberton, his wife and two children settled in Barbados in 1630; Phineas Pemberton settled with his wife Phoebe in Maryland in 1682.



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.


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