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![Show Contents]() Spaforde History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The name Spaforde is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in the parish of Spofforth in Knaresborough in Yorkshire. Early Origins of the Spaforde familyThe surname Spaforde was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire at Spoffarth, a parish, in the Upper division of the wapentake of Claro. "This place was the residence of the Percy family previously to their settlement at Alnwick, and possessed a formidable castle, their baronial seat, which was demolished by the Yorkists after the battle of Towton, in which the Earl of Northumberland, and his brother Sir Charles Percy, were slain. The remains consist chiefly of the grand hall, which, though a ruin, retains much of its ancient magnificence. The church is a spacious and handsome structure, partly in the Norman and early English styles, and contains a monument with a recumbent figure of a Knight Templar. " 1 Listed as Spoford in the Domesday Book of 1086, by 1218 the parish was known as Spotford. Literally the place name means "ford by a small plot of ground," from the Old English words "spot" + "ford." 2 Early History of the Spaforde familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Spaforde research. Another 49 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1421 and 1448 are included under the topic Early Spaforde History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Spaforde Spelling VariationsSound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Spaforde family name include Spaford, Spafford, Spafforde, Spafforth and others. Early Notables of the Spaforde familyMore information is included under the topic Early Spaforde Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Spaforde familyFor political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Spaforde surname or a spelling variation of the name include : John, Sr. Spafford, who settled in New England in 1643; John Spofford, who settled in Massachusetts in 1638; George Spafford, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1779.
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: Fidelis ad extremum
Motto Translation: Faithful to the extreme.
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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