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Douthwaite is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Douthwaite family once lived in either Dowthwaite, in Cumberland or Dowthwaite Hall in the North Riding of Yorkshire. 1 2
The name literally means "a piece of ground cleared of wood, from the Anglo-Saxon thweotan, to cut." 3 4
The surname Douthwaite was first found in the Subsidy Rolls of Cumberland where John de Doventhuayt was recorded in 1332. Much later in Yorkshire, John Dowthwayt was recorded there at Whitby in 1540. 1 The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included an entry for Robertas de Dowthwayt. 5
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Douthwaite research. Another 116 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1572, 1662, 1667, 1714 and 1733 are included under the topic Early Douthwaite History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Douthwaite family name include Douthwaite, Douthert, Douthet, Douthat, Douthit, Douthirt, Douthwrait, Dowthwaite, Dowthert, Dowthet, Dowthirt and many more.
Notables of the family at this time include
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 Douthwaite surname or a spelling variation of the name include: