The name Plowsmith is Anglo-Saxon in origin. It was a name given to a person who worked as the ploughwright, a constructor of ploughs. Occupational names frequently were derived from the principal object associated with the activity of the original bearer, such as tools or products. These types of occupational surnames are called metonymic surnames.
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Early Origins of the Plowsmith family
The surname Plowsmith was first found in Cambridgeshire, where they held a family seat from very early times.
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Early History of the Plowsmith family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Plowsmith research. Another 72 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1649, 1662 and 1778 are included under the topic Early Plowsmith History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Plowsmith Spelling Variations
Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Plowsmith include Ploughright, Plowright, Plowrite, Ploughrite, Ploughwright and many more.
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Early Notables of the Plowsmith family
More information is included under the topic Early Plowsmith Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Plowsmith family
Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Plowsmith were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Thomas Ploughwright, who sailed to Barbados in 1664 and Mary Plowright, who came to Maryland in 1726.
England
