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Pomfret History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Pomfret History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

Early Origins of the Pomfret family

The surname Pomfret was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire at Pontefract, a borough, markettown, and parish, in the Upper division of the wapentake of Osgoldcross. "This place, which appears to have risen from the ruins of Legeolium, a Roman station in the vicinity, now Castleford, was by the Saxons called Kirkby, and after the Conquest obtained the name of Pontfrete, according to some, from Pontfrete in Normandy, whence sprang the Lacys, lords of Pontefract." 1

Early History of the Pomfret family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pomfret research. Another 132 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1150, 1190, 1357, 1423, 1488, 1650, 1667, 1695, 1702, 1721 and 1722 are included under the topic Early Pomfret History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pomfret Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Pomphray, Pomfrey, Pomfrett, Pomfret, Pomfray and others.

Early Notables of the Pomfret family

Notable among the family at this time was

Samuel Pomfret (1650-1722), English divine, born at Coventry; John Pomfret (1667-1702), an English poet and clergyman, appointed rector of Maulden in Bedfordshire in 1695. Born in Luton, Bedfordshire...
Earl of Pomfret (alias Pontefract) was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain created in 1721 for Thomas Fermor, 2nd Baron Leominster. The title bears no relationship top the surname

Pomfret migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Pomfret Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Pomfret, who landed in New England in 1665 2

Pomfret Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Joseph W Pomfret, aged 16, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1844 2

Pomfret Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Virgil Pomfret, aged 21, who immigrated to America from Canterbury, in 1904
Alfred Edward Pomfret, aged 20, who landed in America from Blackburn, England, in 1907
Francis Pomfret, aged 23, who settled in America from Leigh, England, in 1907
James Pomfret, aged 0, who landed in America from Leigh, England, in 1907
Mary Pomfret, aged 60, who immigrated to the United States from England, in 1908
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Pomfret migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Pomfret Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Edward Pomfret, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749

Pomfret migration to Australia +

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

Pomfret Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss. Ellen Pomfret, British Convict who was convicted in Birmingham, West Midlands, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 9th March 1847, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3

Pomfret 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:

Pomfret Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Pomfret, aged 55, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Seringapatam" in 1856

Contemporary Notables of the name Pomfret (post 1700) +

Scott D. Pomfret, American securities lawyer based in Boston, Massachusetts
John Pomfret, American journalist and writer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin; he was formerly The Washington Post’s bureau chief in Beijing and Los Angeles, and author of Chinese Lessons
John Edwin Pomfret (1898-1981), American academic, the twentieth president of the College of William & Mary, Virginia (1942 to 1951)
John Pomfret, American journalist and writer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Scott D. Pomfret, contemporary American securities lawyer based in Boston, Massachusetts
William Pomfret Pomfret (1823-1902), English banker and Conservative politician from Ashford, Kent, Member of Parliament for Ashford (1885–1892)
Ernest Pomfret (1941-2001), British middle-distance runner in the men's 3000 metres steeplechase at the 1964 Summer Olympics
William Pomfret Pomfret (1823-1902), English banker and Conservative politician from Ashford, Kent, Member of Parliament for Ashford (1885–1892)

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, 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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th February 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1847