Contents [hide]

Walford History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Canada Australia West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Walford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Anglo-Saxon name Walford comes from when the family resided in one of the settlements called Walford in Dorset, Herefordshire, or Shropshire, or in Walford Hall in Warwickshire. 1

"The Somerset Walford occurs as Weala-ford in a charter dated A.D. 682 while the Herefordshire place is Walforde in Domesday Book, and the Shropshire township Waleford and Waliforde in Domesday Book." 2

Another source notes the Herefordshire and Worcestershire place names were recorded as Walorecford in the Domesday Book of 1086. 3

As far as the etymology of the place names are concerned, one source claims the place names mean "Briton ford," 4 while another claims the place names mean "the Welshmen’s Ford [Old English Weála, genit. pl. of Weal(h, a Welshman + ford]". 2

Early Origins of the Walford family

The surname Walford was first found in Warwickshire where William de Waleford listed in the Assize Rolls of 1221. Over in Gloucestershire, Henry de Walford was listed there in 1279 and in Somerset, Gilbert Walford was listed there in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327. 5

Ricardus de Walleford was listed in the Charter Rolls for Shropshire (Salop), 1316-1317. 2

Early History of the Walford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Walford research. Another 138 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1572, 1663, 1672, 1752, 1756, 1777, 1778, 1787, 1797, 1823, 1833, 1855 and 1897 are included under the topic Early Walford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Walford Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Walford include Walford, Wallford and others.

Early Notables of the Walford family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Thomas Walford (1752-1833) was an English antiquary. Born on 14 September 1752, he was the only son of Thomas Walford (d. 1756) of Whitley, near Birdbrook in Essex. He was an officer in the Essex mili...
Edward Walford (1823-1897), compiler, born on 3 Feb. 1823, at Hatfield Place, near Chelmsford, was the eldest son of William Walford (d. 1855) of Hatfield Peverell, rector of St. Runwald's, Colchester...

Walford migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Walford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Walford, who landed in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1628 6
Thomas and Jeremiah Walford who settled in Charles Town Massachusetts in 1630
Jeremiah Walford, who arrived in New Hampshire in 1630 6
John Walford, who settled in Virginia in 1638
Elizabeth Walford, who landed in Maryland in 1668 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Walford Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Joseph R Walford, aged 21, who arrived in New York in 1812 6
Harry N. Walford, aged 32, who arrived in America, in 1896

Walford Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Mrs. Frank Walford, aged 35, who arrived in America, in 1905
Guy Walford, aged 27, who arrived in America from Bromborough, England, in 1908
Harriet Walford, aged 37, who arrived in America from Altingham, England, in 1910
Ellen Walford, aged 65, who arrived in America from Wednesbury, England, in 1910
Ernest Walford, aged 27, who arrived in America from London, England, in 1912
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Walford migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Walford Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

John Norman Walford, aged 23, destined for Toronto, Canada, in 1913

Walford migration to Australia +

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

Walford Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Ann Walford, (Wallford), (b. 1785), aged 25, English convict who was convicted in Worcester, Worcestershire, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Canada" in March 1810, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, she died in 1853 7
Edmund Walford, English convict from Somerset, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on May 17, 1823, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 8
Celia Walford, aged 25, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Ostrich" 9
Selina Walford, aged 19, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Telegraph"

Walford 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. 10

Walford Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Muse Walford, who settled in Barbados with his wife, four children, and servants, in 1678

Contemporary Notables of the name Walford (post 1700) +

Dr. Roy Lee Walford (1924-2004), American Professor of Pathology UCLA School of Medicine
Thomas Walford (1752-1833), English antiquary, born on 14 Sept. 1752, the only son of Thomas Walford (d. 1756) of Whitley, near Birdbrook in Essex 11
Edward Walford (1823-1897), English compiler, born on 3 Feb. 1823, at Hatfield Place, near Chelmsford, the eldest son of William Walford (d. 1855) of Hatfield Peverell, rector of St. Runwald's, Colchester
Cornelius Walford (1827-1885), English insurance writer, born in Curtain Road, London, on 2 April 1827, was the eldest of five sons of Cornelius Walford (d. 1883) of Park House Farm, near Coggeshall, Essex 11
Diana Marion Walford CBE (b. 1944), English academic, former Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford
John Erskine Scott Walford (1899-1961), English cricketer who played from 1923 to 1930
Steve Walford (b. 1958), English footballer
Garth Neville Walford VC (1883-1915), English army captain who received the Victoria Cross for bravery during WWI
Lawrence Walford (b. 1972), British television director
Gerald A. "Gerry" Walford, Canadian former ice hockey player, and college ice hockey head coach at Ohio State
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Walford Motto +

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: Nosce teipsum
Motto Translation: Know thyself.

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Albion voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1823 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1823
South Australian Register Saturday 22nd July 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Ostrich 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/ostrich1854.shtml
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 Jan. 2019