Wedgewoould History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Wedgewoould is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Wedgwood, a township in Staffordshire. The place-name Wedgwood is derived from the Old English elements wæthe, whcih means marsh or fen, and wuda, which means wood. The place-name taken as a whole means "place at the marshy wood." The township no longer exists.

Early Origins of the Wedgewoould family

The surname Wedgewoould was first found in Staffordshire at Wedgwood, a township, in the parish of Wolstanton, union of Wolstanton and Burslem, N. division of the hundred of Pirehill. "This township, which comprises 431 acres of arable land, is supposed to have been originally the residence of the Wedgwood family, several of whom have been eminent for their improvements in the earthenware and porcelain manufacture." 1 Josiah Wedgwood founded the village of Eturia, again in Staffordshire. "The classical name of this place was given to it by its late celebrated founder, Josiah Wedgwood, who established here the well-known Wedgwood-ware potteries, in 1769, and called the village after the seat of the ancient fictile art in Italy, Etruria, where a colony of Phœnician potters settled about 1000 years before the birth of Christ." 1 Wedgwood "erected an entire village for his workmen and dependants, and a mansion on a neighbouring eminence for his own residence." 1

Early History of the Wedgewoould family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wedgewoould research. Another 248 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1470, 1576, 1588, 1612, 1637, 1730 and 1795 are included under the topic Early Wedgewoould History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wedgewoould Spelling Variations

Sound 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 Wedgewoould family name include Wedgewoode, Wedgewood, Wedgewode, Wegewode, Wegewood and many more.

Early Notables of the Wedgewoould family

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

Migration of the Wedgewoould family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, 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 Wedgewoould surname or a spelling variation of the name include: John Wedgewood who settled in Annapolis Maryland in 1723.

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.