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Shenton History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Shenton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Shenton family

The surname Shenton was first found in Staffordshire at Shenstone, a parish, in the union of Lichfield, S. division of the hundred of Offlow. 1 2

This parish dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was recorded as Seneste. 3 By the 11th century, the parish was known as Scenstan and literally meant "beautiful stone," from the Old English words "scene" + "stan." 4

Another source has a slightly different Anglicization of the 11th century entry and explores the reason for the name: "Scenstan = the Bright Stone or Rock (Castle) [Old English scéone, bright, fair + stán, stone, rock, stone or rock castle] Shenstone is on a hill. In the parish 'was formerly a castle or fortification, the site of which is still called Castle- Field.' " 5

Early English rolls provide us a glimpse of the spelling variations used through Medieval times. Today we typically need to look beyond the spellings of these entries and concentrate on a phonetic appreciation of the names. Richard de Scheneston was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275; Geoffrey de Shenstone was found in the Assize Rolls for Staffordshire in 1348; and William Shenston was recorded in the Feet of Fines for Warwickshire, 1426-1427. 6

Early History of the Shenton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shenton research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1275 and 1792 are included under the topic Early Shenton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shenton Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Shenstone, Shenton, Shenston, Shentin, Shensten and others.

Early Notables of the Shenton family

More information is included under the topic Early Shenton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shenton migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Shenton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Nathan Shenton, who arrived in Philadelphia sometime between 1709 and 1710
Nathan Shenton, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1709-1710 7
Hannah Shenton, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1710 7

Shenton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Francis Shenton, who settled in Philadelphia in 1861

Shenton migration to Australia +

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

Shenton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Shenton, English convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Camden" on 21st September 1832, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. Thomas Shenton, English convict who was convicted in Leicester, Leicestershire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Equestrian" on 25th January 1844, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 9

Shenton 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

Shenton Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Samuel Shenton, who settled in Barbados in 1678
Jane Shenton, who settled in Barbados in 1678
Grace Shenton, who settled in Barbados in 1678
Samuell Shenton, who settled in Barbados in 1680

Contemporary Notables of the name Shenton (post 1700) +

William Kernot Shenton (1836-1877), English sculptor who exhibited medallion portraits at the Royal Academy from 1857 to 1871, brother of Henry Shenton
Henry Chawner Shenton (1825-1846), English sculptor who studied in the schools of the Royal Academy and at Rome, son of Henry Shenton
Henry Chawner Shenton (1803-1866), English engraver, born at Winchester
Keith Shenton Harris (1947-2015), English ventriloquist, best known for his television show The Keith Harris Show (1982-1990)
Douglas Shenton Annand (1903-1976), Australian graphic designer and artist

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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 2nd December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/camden
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 4th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/equestrian
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies