Wolverston History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Wolverston came to England with the ancestors of the Wolverston family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Wolverston family lived in Suffolk, at Wolverston. The surname Wolverston was originally derived from the Old English elements wulf, meaning wolf, and tun, meaning settlement or enclosure. The name was originally Wulkton, and gradually evolved into its current form.

Early Origins of the Wolverston family

The surname Wolverston was first found in Suffolk where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Woolverstone. At the time of the taking of the Domesday Book, 1 a survey initiated by Duke William of Normandy in the year 1086 A.D. after his conquest of England in 1066, Woolverstone was held by a Norman Noble, Robert Gernon, and as was the Norman custom, the second son adopted the name of the manor or village for his surname. At the survey Woolverstone was a village, with a church, 12 beasts, 30 pigs, 100 sheep and 36 goats. The Church was rebuilt by Sir Gilbert Scott in the 19th century.

Early History of the Wolverston family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wolverston research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1492, 1525, 1570, 1582 and 1592 are included under the topic Early Wolverston History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wolverston Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries. For that reason, spelling variations are common among many Anglo-Norman names. The shape of the English language was frequently changed with the introduction of elements of Norman French, Latin, and other European languages; even the spelling of literate people's names were subsequently modified. Wolverston has been recorded under many different variations, including Wolferstan, Wolferstone, Wolverstone, Wolverston, Wolversdon, Wolversden, Wolversdan, Wolferston, Woolferstone, Woolverston and many more.

Early Notables of the Wolverston family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Mary Wolverston, better known as Lady Killigrew (c. 1525-1582), a Suffolk woman who was accused of piracy during the reign of Queen Elizabeth...

Wolverston migration to the United States +

To escape the uncertainty of the political and religious uncertainty found in England, many English families boarded ships at great expense to sail for the colonies held by Britain. The passages were expensive, though, and the boats were unsafe, overcrowded, and ridden with disease. Those who were hardy and lucky enough to make the passage intact were rewarded with land, opportunity, and social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families went on to be important contributors to the young nations of Canada and the United States where they settled. Wolverstons were some of the first of the immigrants to arrive in North America:

Wolverston Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Walter Wolverston, who arrived in Maryland in 1680 2

Wolverston 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. 3

Wolverston Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Benjamin Wolverston and Elizabeth Wolverstone who settled in Barbados with their servants in 1679

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies