Contents [hide]

Weedon History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Weedon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 added many new elements to an already vibrant culture. Among these were thousands of new names. The Weedon family lived in Buckinghamshire, on Whielden Lane, Amersham. Today Weedon is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district to the north of Aylesbury and south of Hardwick in Buckinghamshire.

Early Origins of the Weedon family

The surname Weedon was first found in Northamptonshire where they held a family seat at two villages called Weedon Beck and Weedon Lois. They held these lands from the Count of Mortain, and were conjecturally descended from Hugh of Grand Mesnil in Normandy. The poet, Dame Edith Sitwell, is buried in the village.

Early rolls give a glimpse of the many spellings in use at the time. Robert de Wedonia was listed in Northamptonshire c. 1160. In Berkshire Ralph de Wedon was listed there in 1207 and the Feet of Fines for Warwickshire included an entry for William Wedon 1396-1397. 1

The root name was found in the Hundredorum Rolls for Dorset in 1273 as William Wede. William le Weed was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296. 1

Another source notes the Hundredorum Rolls include: John de Wedon, Buckinghamshire; and Ralph de Wedone, Bedfordshire. 2 The Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. includes an entry for Nicholas de Wedon, Nottinghamshire, Henry III-Edward I. 3

Early History of the Weedon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Weedon research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1582, 1606, 1608, 1611, 1612, 1734, 1777 and 1793 are included under the topic Early Weedon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Weedon Spelling Variations

Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents. The name has been spelled Weedon, Weeden, Weeton, Weton, Wedon and others.

Early Notables of the Weedon family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

George Weedon (1734-1793), American soldier during the Revolutionary War from Fredericksburg, Colony of Virginia...
Weedon was promoted to brigadier general in 1777...

Weedon migration to the United States +

To escape the political and religious persecution within England at the time, many English families left for the various British colonies abroad. The voyage was extremely difficult, though, and the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving. But for those who made it, the trip was most often worth it. Many of the families who arrived went on to make valuable contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Weedon or a variant listed above:

Weedon Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

James Weedon, who settled in Newport, Rhode Island in 1630 along with William
Ann Weedon, who arrived in Maryland in 1636 4
William Weedon, who arrived in Maryland in 1636 4
George Weedon, who landed in Virginia in 1650 4
James Weedon, who arrived in Maryland in 1665 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Weedon Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Isaac Weedon, who settled in Virginia in 1720
Jane Weedon, who settled in Maryland in 1720
James Weedon, who settled in New England in 1755

Weedon migration to Australia +

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

Weedon Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Thomas Weedon, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Ann" on August 1809, settling in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. William Weedon, (b. 1804), aged 28, English ploughman who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life for theft, transported aboard the "England"on 31st March 1832, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1887 6
Eliza Weedon, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Hooghly" in 1848 7
Henry Weedon, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Hooghly" in 1848 7
James Weedon, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Hooghly" in 1848 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Weedon 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:

Weedon Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Weedon, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Excelsior" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 17th March 1859 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Weedon (post 1700) +

George Weedon (1734-1793), American Brigadier General during the Revolutionary War
Frances Brawner Weedon (1885-1963), American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Arizona, 1952, 1956; Member, Arizona State Parks Board, 1957-63 9
Harold William "Harry" Weedon (1887-1970), English architect
Bert Weedon OBE (b. 1920), English guitarist and composer guitarist
Professor Basil Charles Leicester Weedon CBE, FRS (1923-2003), English organic chemist and university administrator
Mark Weedon (1968-2021), New Zealand rugby union player from Tauranga, New Zealand
Margaret Weedon (1854-1930), British Olympic archer
Lieutenant Weedon Edward Osborne (1892-1918), United States Navy officer and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in World War I

Historic Events for the Weedon family +

Pan Am Flight 103 (Lockerbie)

Kesha Weedon (1968-1988), American Student from Bronx, New York, America, who flew aboard the Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to Detroit, known as the Lockerbie bombing in 1988 and died 10

The Weedon 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: Credo
Motto Translation: I Believe.

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
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)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Ann voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1809 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/ann/1809
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 26th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/england
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) HOOGHLY 1848. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1848Hooghly.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Pan Am Flight 103's victims: A list of those killed 25 years ago | syracuse.com. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/12/pan_am_flight_103s_victims_a_list_of_those_killed_25_years_ago.html