Sweetser History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Sweetser comes from a name for a person who was referred to as swete, which is an Old English word used to describe a sweet or gentle person. 1 Another source claims the name was "probably an Anglo-Saxon personal name, having reference to character." 2

Early Origins of the Sweetser family

The surname Sweetser was first found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 where the name was found as both a forename and a surname: Swet le Bone, Norfolk; Adam Swet, Oxfordshire; and Roger Swet, Cambridgeshire. 3

In Somerset, Walter Swete was listed there 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III) 4 and later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Johannes Suete and Johannes Swete as holding lands there at that time. 3

Early History of the Sweetser family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sweetser research. Another 265 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1578, 1583, 1660, 1672, 1685, 1700, 1708, 1712, 1752, 1770, 1774, 1777, 1781 and 1821 are included under the topic Early Sweetser History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sweetser Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Sweetser include Sweit, Sweet, Swete, Sweete, Sweett and others.

Early Notables of the Sweetser family

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

Migration of the Sweetser family to Ireland

Some of the Sweetser family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sweetser migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Sweetser or a variant listed above:

Sweetser Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Seth Sweetser, who landed in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1638 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Sweetser (post 1700) +

Theodore H. Sweetser, American politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Massachusetts, 1860; Democratic Candidate for Governor of Massachusetts, 1866
Susan W. Sweetser, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Vermont at-large, 1996
Lewis H. Sweetser, American Republican politician, Lieutenant Governor of Idaho, 1909-13
E. LeRoy Sweetser, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Massachusetts, 1928
Charles Sweetser (1808-1864), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from Ohio 10th District, 1849-53
Alvah Sweetser, American politician, Village President of Port Huron, Michigan, 1854

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. 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)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
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)