In ancient Scotland, the first people to use Readford as a surname were the Strathclyde-Britons. It was a name someone who lived in Midlothian. However, the Readford family name comes from any of several place names in England called Redford, from Old English re-ad meaning "red" and ford, meaning "a place where a river can be crossed."
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Early Origins of the Readford family
The surname Readford was first found in Midlothian, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Scotland to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.
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Early History of the Readford family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Readford research. Another 115 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1404, 1535, 1547, 1611, 1612 and 1688 are included under the topic Early Readford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Readford Spelling Variations
The origin of rules governing the spelling of names and even words is a very recent innovation. Before that, words and names were spelled according to sound, and, therefore, often appeared under several different spelling variations in a single document. Readford has been spelled Redford, Redfurd, Rudford, Reidford and others.
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Early Notables of the Readford family
Notable amongst the family at this time was Sir Henry Redford (died 1404), English politician, Speaker of the House of Commons, who came of a family long settled in Lindsey, Lincolnshire; and John Redford (died 1547), a... Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Readford Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Readford family
The persecution faced in their homeland left many Scots with little to do but sail for the colonies of North America. There they found land, freedom, opportunity, and nations in the making. They fought for their freedom in the American War of Independence, or traveled north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. In both cases, they made enormous contributions to the formation of those great nations. Among them: John Redford settled in Bermuda in 1635; James, John and Thomas Redford all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1870.
Scotland
England
