Show ContentsWheelar History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Wheelar family

The surname Wheelar was first found in Yorkshire where Willelmus de Whelehous was recorded in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. [1] [2] [3]

"This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of the wheel-house,' from residence thereby, the place where wheels were made or stored." [1]

Another source explains the name is "from residence near or employment at a wheelhouse, often, no doubt, near a dammed-up stream where the cutler ground his knives on a wheel driven by water. The name is especially a West Riding [Yorkshire] one." [2]

Early History of the Wheelar family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wheelar research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1617, 1702, 1740, 1747, 1795, 1826, 1846, 1849, 1850, 1851, 1884, 1891, 1904 and 1909 are included under the topic Early Wheelar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wheelar Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Wheelhouse, Weelhouse, Weelhous, Wheelhous, Wheelas, Wheelar and many more.

Early Notables of the Wheelar family

Distinguished members of the family include Claudius Galen Wheelhouse (1826-1909), English surgeon, born at Snaith in Yorkshire on 29 Dec. 1826, was second son of James Wheelhouse, surgeon. He entered the Leeds school of medicine in October 1846, and was admitted M.R.C.S. England on 25 March 1849, and a licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries in 1850. He then went to the Mediterranean on a yachting cruise as surgeon to Lord Lincoln, afterwards fifth duke of Newcastle and secretary of state for war. He took with him one of the first photographic cameras which left England, and obtained many good photographs...
Another 134 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wheelar Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wheelar family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Richard Wheelhouse, who came to Virginia in 1695; John Wheelhouse, a bonded passenger, who arrived in America in 1745; as well as David Wheelhouse, who arrived in Norfolk, VA in 1774 with his wife and their three children..



The Wheelar 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: Avito Jure
Motto Translation: By ancestral right.


  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print


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