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The Anglo-Saxon name Featon comes from when the family resided in Fitton Hall, in Cambridgeshire. 1 The place-name shows the mark of the Danish influence on England before the Middle Ages. Fitton is derived from the Old Norse word fit, which means field, and the Old English word tun, for farm or fort. It literally means "fort among the fields," and was probably the site of a Danish army camp sometime in the 9th to 10th centuries. 2
The surname Featon was first found in at Rufford, Lancashire which was an early homestead of the family. "A moiety of this manor appears to have been granted in the reign of Henry I., by Richard Bussel, the second Baron of Penwortham, to Richard Fitun or Fitton. John Fitton, his great-grandson, was also lord of half of Rufford; and the grandson of the latter, by a charter without date, gave the moiety of the town to his daughter Matilda, or Maud. This Matilda married Sir William Hesketh; and by the marriage of Sir William's grandson with the heiress of Edmund Fitton, lord of half Rufford, he became sole lord of the manor, which has since been vested in his descendants. " 3
"Fitton is an ancient Lancashire name now mostly characteristic of the district of Bury. The Fittons were lords of Great Harwood in the 12th and 13th centuries; and in fact in that early period the name occurred in various forms in the extensive parish of Whalley, such as, Fittun, Fitun, Fitton, Fyton, Phiton, Phitun, etc.: Roger Fitton of Martholm, Harwood, gave a bell to Stanlaw Abbey, apparently in the 16th century (W. W. and A.). The Cheshire Fittons are referred to under that county." 4
Early feudal rolls provided the king of the time a method of cataloguing holdings for taxation, but today they provide a glimpse into the wide surname spellings in use at that time. Richard ffyton was listed in Lancashire in 1188; Richard Fitun was found in the Pipe Rolls for Warwickshire in 1195; and Alan de Fittun was listed in Cheshire c. 1213. 1
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Featon research. Another 212 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1370, 1527, 1548, 1572, 1578, 1579, 1580, 1595, 1600, 1603, 1606, 1607, 1614, 1619, 1630, 1643, 1678, 1687, 1690 and 1698 are included under the topic Early Featon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Featon has been recorded under many different variations, including Fitton, Fiton, Fytton, Fyton and others.
Distinguished members of the family include Sir Edward Fitton, 1st Baronet (1572-1619); and Sir Edward Fitton (1603-1643), 2nd Baronet, of Gawsworth Hall Cheshire, who died without issue. He had seven sisters but the nearest male was his father. His estates were contested for years, but in the end they were lost from the family.
Mary Fitton (fl. 1600), was Maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth, and alleged to be 'the dark lady' mentioned in Shakespeare's sonnets. She was the fourth child and second daughter of Sir Edward Fitton the younger [see above], by his wife, Alice, daughter of Sir John Holcroft. She...
Another 145 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Featon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Another 95 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Featon or a variant listed above: