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Purchase History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Purchase History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Norman Conquest of 1066 added many new names to the island of Britain. Purchase is a name for a messenger or herald. Purchase is a classic example of an English polygenetic surname, which is a surname that was developed in a number of different locations and adopted by various families independently.

Early Origins of the Purchase family

The surname Purchase was first found in Kent where they held a family seat from very early times, descended from a Norman noble "Perahgoz" meaning "bear-Goth"and were granted lands in Kent by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Purchase family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Purchase research. Another 233 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1100, 1190, 1497, 1498, 1575, 1626 and 1658 are included under the topic Early Purchase History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Purchase Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years the English language had no fixed system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations occurred commonly in Anglo Norman surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Purchase were recorded, including Purchase, Purchas, Purchass, Purches, Purchis, Purkiss, Purkess, Purkis, Purkeys, Purkys, Purkes and many more.

Early Notables of the Purchase family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir William Purchas, Lord Mayor of London (1497 to 1498); and Samuel Purchas (1575?-1626), was an English cleric and travel writer. His "Purchas his Pilgrimage" was...
Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Purchase Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Purchase Ranking

In Newfoundland, Canada, the name Purchase is the 414^th most popular surname with an estimated 113 people with that name. 1

Purchase migration to the United States +

The unstable environment in England at this time caused numerous families to board ships and leave in search of opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad in places like Ireland, Australia, and particularly the New World. The voyage was extremely difficult, however, and only taken at great expense. The cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels caused many to arrive diseased and starving, not to mention destitute from the enormous cost. Still opportunity in the emerging nations of Canada and the United States was far greater than at home and many went on to make important contributions to the cultures of their adopted countries. An examination of many early immigration records reveals that people bearing the name Purchase arrived in North America very early:

Purchase Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Purchase, who settled in Salem in 1630 with his wife Sarah
Aquila Purchase, who settled in Boston in 1633 with his wife Anne
Oliver Purchase, who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1635 2
Henry Purchase, who arrived in Virginia in 1652 2
Nicholas Purchase, who landed in Maryland in 1675-1680 2

Purchase Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Purchase from Hampshire in 1812
Joshua Purchase of Joe Batts Arm in 1817

Purchase migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Purchase Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Thomas Purchase from Bristol, who became a fisherman of Bream Head, Newfoundland in 1810 3

Purchase migration to Australia +

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

Purchase Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Susan Purchase, English convict from Southampton, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on December 14, 1835, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 4
George Purchase, English convict from Dorset, who was transported aboard the "Agincourt" on July 6, 1844, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 5
Joseph Purchase, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Forfarshire" in 1848 6
H. Purchase, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Harry Lorrequer" in 1849 7
John Purchase, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Sir Edward Parry" in 1849 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Purchase 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:

Purchase Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

George Purchase, aged 40, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Eveline" in 1865 9
Wilhelmina Purchase, aged 40, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Eveline" in 1865 9
Margaret Purchase, aged 14, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Eveline" in 1865 9
Sarah Purchase, aged 12, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Eveline" in 1865 9
George Purchase, aged 9, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Eveline" in 1865 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Purchase migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 10

Purchase Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Daniel Purchase, who settled in Jamaica in 1684

Contemporary Notables of the name Purchase (post 1700) +

Kenneth Purchase, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1956
Ralph Purchase (1916-2000), American Olympic gold medalist rower at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Richard Purchase (1757-1837), English cricketer for the Hambledon Club who started playing when he was 16 in 1773
Barry Purchase (b. 1965), English cricketer, right-handed batsman who played for Cornwall in 2007
Henry George Purchase (1873-1945), English barrister and Liberal politician, Assistant Director to the Ministry of Food in 1918, Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chairman of the National Insurance Joint Committee in 1919
Zachary Jake Nicholas "Zac" Purchase MBE (b. 1986), English Olympic gold and silver Olympic medalist rower
Kenneth "Ken" Purchase (1939-2016), British Labour Co-operative politician, Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton North East (1992-2010)
Bruce Purchase (1938-2008), New Zealand actor, known for I, Claudius (1976), Rumpole of the Bailey (1978) and Blake's 7 (1978)

The Purchase Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Semper paratus
Motto Translation: Always prepared.

Citations +

The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
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)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1835 with 132 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1835
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 24) Agincourt voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1844 with 226 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/agincourt/1844
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) FORFARSHIRE 1848. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1848Forfarshire.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) HARRY LORREQUER 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849HarryLorrequer.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The SIR EDWARD PARRY 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849SirEdwardParry.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 4th November 2011). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies