Contents [hide]

Whitmore History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Whitmore History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Early Origins of the Whitmore family

The surname Whitmore was first found in Staffordshire where Whitmore is a parish in the union Newcastle-under-Lyme in the hundred of Pirehill and dates back to the Domesday Book 1 where it was listed as Witemore.

The name was derived from the Old English words hwit + mor which collectively mean "white moor or marsh" 2

The parish has remained rather small in population as in 1873 it listed only 367 inhabitants. Whitmore Hall, is still standing today and was held by the Whitmore family until the 16th century when Alice Boghay, a Whitmore heiress married Edward Mainwaring of Biddulph. From then on, it passed to the Cavenagh-Mainwaring family who still hold the hall as a private residence today. It is important to now note the younger Shropshire branch of the family.

"This is a younger branch of an ancient family formerly seated at Whittimere or Whitmore, in the parish of Claverley, where it is traced to the reign of Henry III. " 3

Early History of the Whitmore family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whitmore research. Another 112 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1572, 1593, 1599, 1612, 1620, 1637, 1640, 1648, 1653, 1654, 1659, 1661, 1666, 1677, 1695 and 1699 are included under the topic Early Whitmore History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whitmore Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Whitmore, Whitmer, Whytemere, Whitemore, Whittimere, Whittimore and many more.

Early Notables of the Whitmore family

Distinguished members of the family include

Sir William Whitmore (1572-1648), an English landowner and politician, Sheriff of Shropshire in 1620, he inherited Apley Hall, Shropshire on the death of his father in 1593; Sir Thomas Whitmore, 1st B...
Sir George Whitmore (d. 1654), was Lord Mayor of London, the third son of William Whitmore (d. 8 Aug. 1593), a London merchant. 4

Whitmore Ranking

In the United States, the name Whitmore is the 2,027^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Whitmore family to Ireland

Some of the Whitmore family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whitmore migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Whitmore Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Robert Whitmore, aged 22, who landed in Jamestown, Va in 1624 aboard the ship "Dutie" 6
John Whitmore, who landed in Connecticut in 1630 6
Thomas Whitmore, who arrived in Virginia in 1636 6
Mary Whitmore, who arrived in Virginia in 1637 6
Robert Whitmore, who settled in Virginia in 1654
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Whitmore Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Whitmore, who arrived in Virginia in 1714 6
Jacob Whitmore, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1760 6
Christian Whitmore, who landed in Frederick County, Maryland in 1767 6

Whitmore Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Charles Whitmore, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1822 6

Whitmore migration to Australia +

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

Whitmore Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Whitmore, (b. 1805), aged 12, English fisherman who was convicted in Surrey, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Batavia" in October 1817, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1871 7
Benjamin Whitmore, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Lysander" in 1839 8
Ann Whitmore, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Lysander" in 1839 8
Samuel Whitmore, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Lysander" in 1839 8
Mary Whitmore, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Lysander" in 1839 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Whitmore 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:

Whitmore Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Charles Whitmore, British settler, as the 2nd Detachment of New Zealand Corps of Royal New Zealand Fencibles travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Minerva" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 8th October 1847 9
Sarah Ann Whitmore, aged 19, a servant, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Stately" in 1851
Miss Sarah Ann Whitmore, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Stately" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 1st June 1851 10
Miss Rose Whitmore, (b. 1858), aged 2 months, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Mystery" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 29th March 1859 9
Mrs. Ann Whitmore, (b. 1828), aged 30, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Mystery" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 29th March 1859 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Whitmore 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. 11

Whitmore Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Alec Whitmore who settled in St. Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1634

Contemporary Notables of the name Whitmore (post 1700) +

George Whitmore (1931-2020), American mountain climber and conservationist, member of the first team to summit El Capitan in 1958
William G. Whitmore, American politician, Member of University of Nebraska Board of Regents, 1904-17 12
Seth Whitmore (b. 1909), American politician, Candidate for Governor of Michigan, 1940; Candidate for Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1940; Candidate for U.S. Representative from Michigan 6th District, 1948 12
Samuel Whitmore, American politician, Delegate to Iowa State Constitutional Convention from Jefferson County, 1844 12
Ruth M. Whitmore, American politician, Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives from Ingham County 1st District, 1940 12
Lou Whitmore, American politician, Mayor of Norfolk, Nebraska, 1984 12
Richard II Whitmore, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas, 2008 12
Joni Whitmore, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Alaska at-large, 1994 12
John H. Whitmore, American politician, Candidate for Connecticut State Senate 5th District, 1867 12
John F. Whitmore, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Madison, Wisconsin, 1958-79 12
... (Another 28 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Whitmore family +

HMS Royal Oak

Eric Whitmore (d. 1939), British Able Seaman with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 13

RMS Lusitania

Mr. George Whitmore, English Fireman from England, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 14

Citations +

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)
Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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 30th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/batavia
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) LYSANDER 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Lysander.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 7) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/