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Torre History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Torre History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Italy
Spain
Scotland

Early Origins of the Torre family

The surname Torre was first found in Devon where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The family name was first referenced in the 12th century when they held estates in that shire. They were of the great Norman family of Martin de Tours from Tour near Bayeux. 1

The Sire de Tour conquered Cameys in Wales and became the Lord Marcher of South Wales. His sons either took the name FitzMartin or Tour, sometimes Tower. He built the Benedictine Abbey of St. Dogmael's and, of course, his great Castle at Newport, where the ruins still exist.

The family was granted vast estates in Devon, Somerset, and Dorset. Torre Abbey is today a historic building and art gallery in Torquay, Devon. It was founded in 1196 as a monastery for Premonstratensian canons.

Later, some of the family went north to Syndale in the West Riding of Yorkshire as evidenced by the following: "The township comprises by computation 1300 acres, and is chiefly the property of James Whitwell Torre, Esq., whose seat, Snydale Hall, is a handsome residence." 2

Another source notes: "probably the family of Torr came originally from the adjacent county of Warwickshire. The ancient and honourable family of Torre or De Turre, that resided for many generations at Westwood, near Haxey, Lincolnshire, came in the reign of Henry IV. from Warwickshire. " 3

Much further to the north in Scotland, "there were old lands named Torr which formed part of the barony of Ballinbreich, Fife, in 1517. Matthew de Torre de Inuerdouet witnessed a transaction between Serlo de Lascelis and the prior of St. Andrews, 1288. Thomas de la Tour of Ayrshire rendered homage in 1296. His seal bears a castle with 3 towers. " 4

Early History of the Torre family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Torre research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1182, 1242, 1357, 1545, 1649 and 1699 are included under the topic Early Torre History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Torre Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Tour, Tor, Torr, Torre, Thor, Thore, Thour and others.

Early Notables of the Torre family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

James Torre (1649-1699), English antiquary and genealogist, the son of Gregory Torre by his wife Anne...

Torre Ranking

In the United States, the name Torre is the 9,384^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5 However, in France, the name Torre is ranked the 3,820^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 6

Torre migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Torre Settlers in United States in the 16th Century

Antonio Torre, who arrived in Peru in 1563
Bautista Torre, who arrived in New Spain in 1577

Torre Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Charles Della Torre, who arrived in South Carolina in 1806
Anthony Della Torre, who settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1809
Anthony Della Torre, who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in 1809 7
Hernando DeLa Torre, who landed in America in 1812 7
Diego DeLa Torre, who landed in America in 1813 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Torre 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. 8

Torre Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Francisco DeLa Torre, who arrived in Dominican Republic in 1875 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Torre (post 1700) +

Dara Grace Torre (b. 1967), American international swimmer
Joseph Paul Torre (b. 1940), former American professional baseball player and manager
Felix Garcia-de la Torre, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Puerto Rico, 1940 9
William J. Torre (b. 1957), American Republican politician, Mayor of Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, 1996-2003 10
Laura Elias De La Torre, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Arizona, 2004 11
Hector De La Torre, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 2000, 2008 11
Edward de la Torre, American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Veracruz, 1884 11
Peter della Torre, American Democratic Party politician, Presidential Elector for California, 1856; U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, 1857-60 12
Manuel de la Torre (1921-2016), Spanish golf teacher, first member of the PGA to be awarded their Teacher of the Year Award in 1986
Raphael "Raffi" Torre (b. 1981), Canadian professional ice hockey forward
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html

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