Contents [hide]

Staunton History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Staunton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The lineage of the name Staunton begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in the county of Nottinghamshire in an area that was referred to as stanton, which means stony ground. 1

Staunton is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. During the Middle Ages, as society became more complex, individuals needed a way to be distinguishable from others. Toponymic surnames were developed as a result of this need. Various features in the landscape or area were used to distinguish people from one another. In this case the original bearers of the surname Staunton were named due to their close proximity to the stanton.

Early Origins of the Staunton family

The surname Staunton was first found in Nottinghamshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, as Lords of the manor of Staunton. The first Lord was Sir Brian Staunton who was Lord of Staunton during the time of Edward the Confessor in 1047. 2 The family of Staunton of Staunton, in the first-named shire, "can be regularly traced from the time of the Conqueror, and there is no doubt of their having been settled in Nottinghamshire. in the time of Edward the Confessor." 2 "An ancient house, traced to the Conquest" 3

Great East Standen Manor is a manor house on the Isle of Wight that dates to the Norman Conquest; and was once the residence of Princess Cicely (1469-1507). Nearby is Standen House, an English country house but this edifice is more recent and dates back to the 18th century.

Gloucestershire is home to another village named Staunton and this village is almost as old as the former with the first listing found in 972 as Stanton 1 and then later the Domesday Book, 4 mentions a castle there belonging to Roger de Stanton, the foundations of which were cleared away a few years before. 5

Stanton in Northumberland was home to another branch of the family which has fallen. "The ancient manor-house, the seat of the last-named family, has been converted into a house for the reception of the poor; and a chapel which stood a little to the north of it, has altogether disappeared." 5

Hervey de Staunton (died 1327), was an English judge, son of Sir William de Staunton of Staunton, Nottinghamshire. "He seems to have held the living of Soham, Norfolk, as early as 1289: afterwards he held the livings of Thurston and Werbeton, and about 1306, on being ordained priest, received the living of East Derham. In November 1300 there is mention of him as going to the court of Rome. He was a justice itinerant in Cornwall in 1302 and in Durham in 1303." 6

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Alice de Staunton, Lincolnshire; Nicholas de Staunton, Essex; and William de Staunton, Oxfordshire. 7

Early History of the Staunton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Staunton research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1616, 1636, 1639, 1671, 1677, 1681, 1705, 1734, 1785 and 1859 are included under the topic Early Staunton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Staunton Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Staunton has undergone many spelling variations, including Stanton, Staunton and others.

Early Notables of the Staunton family

Distinguished members of the family include

Edmund Staunton (Stanton) (1600-1671), an English clergyman, chosen by Parliament as President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford

Migration of the Staunton family to Ireland

Some of the Staunton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Staunton migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Staunton were among those contributors:

Staunton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Joe Staunton, who settled in Virginia in 1635
Jo Staunton, aged 27, who landed in Virginia in 1635 8
William and Robert Staunton, who settled in Virginia in 1655

Staunton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Staunton, aged 37, who arrived in DeWitt County, Illinois in 1853 8
Anne Staunton, aged 20, who arrived in New York, NY in 1855 8

Staunton migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Staunton Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Margaret Staunton, aged 22, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "Elizabeth" from Galway, Ireland
Mr. William Staunton who was a Seaman aboard the ship "Marchioness of Breadalbane" taking passenger to Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec departing from the port of Sligo, Ireland but died at Grosse Isle on 5th August 1847 in the typhus epidemic 9

Staunton migration to Australia +

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

Staunton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Thomas Staunton, aged 40, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Dirigo" 10

Staunton 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:

Staunton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Staunton a farmer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Romulus" in 1862
E. Staunton, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Viscount Canning" in 1865

Contemporary Notables of the name Staunton (post 1700) +

Kim Staunton, American actress
M. D. Staunton, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Nevada, 1908
E. W. Staunton, American politician, Mayor of Charleston, West Virginia, 1892-94
Sir George Thomas Staunton (1781-1859), 2nd Baronet, an English traveller and Orientalist, only surviving child of Sir George Leonard Staunton, Indian administrator, born at Milford House, near Salisbury
Ben Richard Frank Staunton (b. 1977), English cricketer
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton OBE (b. 1956), English actress
Howard Staunton (1810-1874), English chess master who lends his name to the Staunton chess set
Francis French Staunton (1779-1825), British Lieutenant-Colonel who went to India as a cadet in 1797, and was commissioned an ensign in the Bombay army on 21 Sept. 1798
Sir George Leonard Staunton (1737-1801), 1st Baronet, an English botanist, born at Cargin, co. Galway, son of George Staunton (1700-1780), colonel of militia, of Cargin
Patricia Jane Staunton AO (b. 1946), Australian magistrate and former politician
... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 62)
South Australian Register Thursday 23rd November 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Dirigo 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/dirigo1854.shtml