Smithwick History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Early Origins of the Smithwick family
The surname Smithwick was first found in Cheshire at Brereton, with Smethwick, a parish, in the union of Congleton, hundred of Northwich. "The church, a stately structure in the later style of English architecture, with a roof of carved oak, was formerly a chapel of ease to the church at Astbury, but was made parochial, and endowed with the tithes of Brereton cum Smethwick, in the reign of Henry VIII.; it contains monuments of Lord Brereton and the Smethwick family." 1
Smethwick, is a hamlet and manufacturing district, in the parish of Harborne, union of King's-Norton, in Staffordshire. 1 "The Staffordshire Smethwick was Smedewich (d for th, CH as k) in Domesday Book: it "lies on a plain at the foot of the Rowley Hills." 2
Another source has a different spelling for the Domesday Book entry, that of "Smedeuuich" which is not uncommon as entries were a translation for Latin and Middle English. This same source notes that the place name literally means "dwelling or building of the smiths." 3
Early History of the Smithwick family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Smithwick research. Another 83 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1400 is included under the topic Early Smithwick History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Smithwick Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Smethwick, Smithwick, Smithick and others.
Early Notables of the Smithwick family
More information is included under the topic Early Smithwick Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Smithwick Ranking
In the United States, the name Smithwick is the 14,176th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4
Migration of the Smithwick family to Ireland
Some of the Smithwick family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 41 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Smithwick migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Smithwick Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Hugh Smithwick, who settled in Virginia in 1642
Smithwick Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- John Smithwick, who settled in New York State in 1850
- J E Smithwick, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 5
- James C Smithwick, who landed in St Clair County, Illinois in 1856 5
- J P Smithwick, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1874 5
Smithwick migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Smithwick Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Catherine Smithwick, aged 20, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Sea Park"
Smithwick 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.
6Smithwick Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
- William Smithwick, who settled in Barbados in 1679 with his servants
Contemporary Notables of the name Smithwick (post 1700) +
- William F. Smithwick (1882-1945), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Bristol, 1915-16; Defeated, 1916 7
- John Harris Smithwick (1872-1948), American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Florida, 1912; U.S. Representative from Florida 3rd District, 1919-27 7
- John H. Smithwick (1872-1948), American politician, U.S. Representative from Florida
- Hugh Smithwick (1918-1990), American football player and head college football coach for the Portland State Vikings (1959-1961)
- Peter Smithwick (1937-2022), Irish jurist, Chairman of the Smithwick Tribunal, a Tribunal of Inquiry into the events surrounding the killing of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Robert Buchanan of the Royal Ulster Constabulary
- John Smithwick, Irish brew master, founder of Smithwick's in 1710, originally brewed in St. Francis Abbey Brewery in Kilkenny; Ireland's oldest operating brewery
- Jan Smithwick (b. 1952), Australian basketball player at the 1979 World Championship
- Frederick Falkiner Standish Smithwick (1879-1962), Irish rugby international player who won two caps in 1898
- Emma Smithwick, Irish television producer for the BBC, series producer of Hollyoaks (2011-2012)
- Thomas Smithwick Gettys (1912-2003), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from South Carolina 5th District, 1964-74 8
Historic Events for the Smithwick family +
St. Francis Dam
- Mr. Smithwick, American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928
Citations +
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- "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)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html