Show ContentsSmallman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Smallman family

The surname Smallman was first found in Herefordshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Smallman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Smallman research. Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1565, 1600, 1615, 1621, 1626, 1633, 1640 and 1643 are included under the topic Early Smallman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Smallman Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Smallman, Smaleman and others.

Early Notables of the Smallman family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was

  • Francis Smallman (1565-1633), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Leominster in 1621 and for Wenlock in 1626


United States Smallman migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Smallman Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Edward Smallman who settled in New England in 1635
Smallman Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • John Smallman who landed in America in 1762

New Zealand Smallman 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:

Smallman Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Edwin Smallman, aged 24, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rooparell" in 1874
  • Robert Smallman, aged 17, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rooparell" in 1874

West Indies Smallman 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. [1]
Smallman Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Edward Smallman, aged 21, who landed in St Christopher in 1635 [2]
  • Mr. Richard Smallman, (b. 1614), aged 21, British settler traveling aboard the ship "Paul of London" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 [3]

Contemporary Notables of the name Smallman (post 1700) +

  • Andrew William "Andy" Smallman (b. 1963), American founder and director of Puget Sound Community School in Seattle, Washington
  • Philip J. Smallman, American politician, Candidate for Justice of New York Supreme Court 2nd District, 2004 [4]
  • Mr. Reuben Smallman, English coal mining engineer working in Baddesley coal mine in Warwickshire on 2nd May 1882, he was awarded the Albert Medal for lifesaving
  • Francis Joseph Bruce "Frank" Smallman (1869-1941), English professional footballer
  • Greg Smallman, Australian classical guitar luthier, best-known for providing the Smallman guitar to classical guitarist John Williams
  • Barry Granger Smallman, British Diplomatic Service, British High Commissioner of Bangladesh


  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  2. 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)
  3. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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