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Sowerby History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Sowerby History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Early Origins of the Sowerby family

The surname Sowerby was first found in Galloway (Gaelic: Gall-ghaidhealaibh), an area of southwestern Scotland, now part of the Council Area of Dumfries and Galloway, that formerly consisted of the counties of Wigtown (West Galloway) and Kirkcudbright (East Galloway), where they held a family seat from very ancient times, as Lords of the manor of Sorby and the parish, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D. The first record of the name was in the Wigtonshire now called the parish of Sorby. Many of the family moved from here to the parish of Stonehouse, Lanarkshire. Sorbie is a small village in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Sorbie Tower lies in Wigtownshire, about a mile out of the village of Sorbie on the Garlieston Road. The old stone structure is in ruins today but stands close to Sorbie Motte, an earlier Pictish wood fort dating back to the 1100's.

Early History of the Sowerby family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sowerby research. Another 84 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1662 is included under the topic Early Sowerby History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sowerby Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Sorby, Sorbie, Sowerby, Sowerbie, Sowersby, Sorebi, Soreby and many more.

Early Notables of the Sowerby family

Notable among the family at this time was

General James Sowerby of Doncaster

Sowerby migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Sowerby Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Charles Sowerby who settled in Philadelphia in 1843
William Sowerby, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1853 1
John Sowerby, aged 30, who settled in America from Northumberland, in 1893
William Sowerby, aged 32, who immigrated to America, in 1893

Sowerby Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Thomas Herbert Sowerby, aged 40, who landed in America from London, in 1903
Daniel Andrew Sowerby, aged 31, who immigrated to America from Carlisle, England, in 1907
Mary Sowerby, aged 28, who settled in America from Castledouglas, Scotland, in 1908
William Sowerby, aged 28, who landed in America from Penwrith, England, in 1909
Charles Sowerby, aged 42, who immigrated to the United States from London, England, in 1909
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sowerby migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Sowerby Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Thomas Sowerby, aged 53, who settled in Vancouver, Canada, in 1918

Sowerby migration to Australia +

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

Sowerby Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century

Mr. John Sowerby, (Thomlinson, Sewell), English convict who was convicted in Cumbria (Cumberland), England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Barwell" in September 1797, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 2

Sowerby Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

John Sowerby, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on April 1st, 1822, settling in New South Wales, Australia 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Sowerby (post 1700) +

Leo Sowerby (1895-1968), American composer and church musician, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1946
Paul R. Sowerby, American politician, Candidate for Mayor of Farmington Hills, Michigan, 1995 4
Isaac Sowerby, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Alaska territorial House of Representatives 1st District, 1917-22 4
James Sowerby (1757-1822), English naturalist and illustrator, born in London, son of John Sowerby (descendant of an old border family through the Yorkshire branch) and Arabella, his wife
George Brettingham Sowerby the Elder (1788-1854), British naturalist, illustrator, and conchologist, born in Lambeth, second son of James Sowerby
Arthur de Carle Sowerby (1885-1954), British naturalist, explorer, writer, and publisher in China
Frederick Oliver Newgent "Fred" Sowerby Sr. (1948-1976), Track and Field athlete from Antigua and Barbuda at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Mark Crispin Rake Sowerby (b. 1963), the Acting Bishop of Chichester and Bishop of Horsham
Shaun Sowerby (b. 1978), South African rugby union footballer
George Brettingham Sowerby III (1843-1921), British conchologist, publisher, and illustrator
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Sowerby family +

HMS Hood

Mr. Curzon Sowerby (b. 1915), English Writer serving for the Royal Navy from Orpington, Kent, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 5

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Sowerby, British Leading Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 6

Citations +

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 29th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barwell
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1822 with 190 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1822
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html