Stowe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:

England

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The Stowe name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in one of the many English places called Stow. However, in Worcestershire, the Old English word stow, which means place, or more specifically, holy place, was retained as part of the common vocabulary of Old English. 1

Experts theorize that in this county, the surname Stowe alludes to residence by a monastery or church. Thus, the surname Stowe belongs to both the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads, and the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees.

Early Origins of the Stowe family

The surname Stowe was first found in Cambridgeshire. Although the name has long existed as both a place and personal name in various counties, including Cambridgeshire, Essex, Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Shropshire, and Suffolk.

Stow Fair was a medieval fair inaugurated in 1233 and held on the 23rd of June each year at a place now called Stow Green Hill in Lincolnshire. The fair continued through the centuries until 1954. Stowe or Stow is also a small village and civil parish in Shropshire, England.

One branch of the family was found at Bedingham in Norfolk. "The church [of Bedingham] consists of a nave, chancel, and aisles, with a chapel at the east end of each aisle, and a circular tower the upper part of which is octagonal; the font is curiously sculptured, and in the chancel are some handsome monuments to the Stow family." 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had the following early entries: Baldwin de Stow, Cambridgeshire; Warin de Stowe, Cambridgeshire; Fulk de Stow, Lincolnshire; and Oda de Stow, Lincolnshire. Over 100 years later, Ricardus de Stowe was listed in the Yorkshires Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 3

Cheshire was an early family seat of the family and it is here that records predate the Cambridgeshire entries. The Saxon Wlnobus de Sloue was listed here c. 975 and the Pipe Rolls of 1190 list Osbert de Stowa. 4

Farther to the north in Scotland, "there is a parish of this name in Midlothian. Johan de Stowe, persone of the church of Gleinkerny in the Meirnes, rendered homage [to King Edward I of England in] 1296. Adam Stowe was one of an inquest in Dundee, 1321. " 5

Interestingly, Stow is a parish, in the union of Gainsborough, wapentake of Well, parts of Lindsey in Lincolnshire. "This place is generally supposed to have been the Sidnacester of the Romans, and the seat of a Saxon bishopric from about 678 to 959. The ancient Watlingstreet passes near. A nunnery was founded by Godiva, wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, who also, with her husband, greatly augmented the revenue of Stow church, which had been built and endowed for secular priests by Eadnorth, Bishop of Dorchester." 2

The Stout variant is most interesting in that the name and its variants were initially found at opposite ends of ancient England. To the north, Osbert Stute, Stutte was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Yorkshire in 1190-1191 while Hanry atte Stoute was found in Devon in 1330 where "Henry lived at Stout Farm in Yarcombe." 4

Other early rolls listed William Stutte, Stute, le Estut, Stut in the Assize Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1219 and later in the Assize Rolls for Worcestershire in 1221. William Estoute was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1327. 4

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed two from the family: Willelmus Stoute; and Johannes Stoute as both holding lands there at that time. 3

Early History of the Stowe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Stowe research. Another 182 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1190, 1315, 1525, 1544, 1588, 1601, 1602, 1605, 1793, 1816, 1864, 1891, 1907 and 1953 are included under the topic Early Stowe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Stowe Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Stowe has undergone many spelling variations, including Stow, Stowe, Stoue and others.

Early Notables of the Stowe family

Distinguished members of the family include John Stow (c. 1525-1605), English chronicler and antiquarian who has left us some of the most valuable accounts of life in London and England in the 16th century. He was born about 1525 in the parish of St. Michael, Cornhill, London, of which his father and grandfather were parishioners. "He describes himself in his youth as fetching milk 'hot from the kine' from a farm in the Minories. In early life he followed the trade of a tailor, which was doubtless his father's occupation. In 1544 a false charge, which is not defined, was brought...
Another 145 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Stowe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Stowe Ranking

In the United States, the name Stowe is the 3,118^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 6

Stowe migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Stowe were among those contributors:

Stowe Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Stowe, who arrived in Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1634 7
James Stowe, who landed in Maryland in 1662 7
Judith Stowe, who arrived in Virginia in 1668

Stowe Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Stowe, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1847 7
Agnes Stowe, who immigrated to the United States, in 1892
Agnes Stowe, aged 40, who landed in America, in 1892
Agnes Stowe, aged 45, who immigrated to America from London, in 1892
Ann Stowe, aged 22, who settled in America from Liverpool, in 1892
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Stowe Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Alice Stowe, aged 48, who landed in America, in 1905
Elizabeth Stowe, aged 7, who immigrated to the United States from Leeds, in 1907
Arnold Stowe, aged 32, who landed in America from Brighton, England, in 1910
Amos Stowe, aged 31, who immigrated to the United States from Ewing, England, in 1910
Ethel Stowe, aged 33, who landed in America from Brighton, England, in 1910
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Stowe migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Stowe Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Edward Stowe, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1776

Stowe Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Emma L. Stowe, aged 50, who settled in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1906

Stowe migration to Australia +

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

Stowe Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Elizabeth Stowe, British Convict who was convicted in Pontefract, Yorkshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl Cornwallis" in August 1800, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. William Stowe, British Convict who was convicted in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Frederick Stowe, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Lady Lilford" in 1839 10
James George Stowe, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Cromwell" in 1849 11

Stowe 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:

Stowe Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

H. Stowe, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Anazi" in 1879

Contemporary Notables of the name Stowe (post 1700) +

William Arthur "Bill" Stowe (1940-2016), American two-time gold medalist rower at the 1964 Summer Olympics and the 1967 Pan American Games
William McFerrin Stowe (1913-1988), American bishop of the Methodist and United Methodist Churches
William Stowe (b. 1940), American two-time gold medalist rower
Tyronne Stowe (b. 1965), American retired National Football League linebacker
Reid Stowe (b. 1952), American artist and sailor
Otto Stowe (b. 1949), American former National Football League wide receiver, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008
Madeleine Stowe (b. 1958), American Gold Globe nominated actress
Leland Stowe (1899-1994), Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist
Irving Stowe (1915-1974), American lawyer, activist and co-founder of Greenpeace
Dorothy Stowe (1920-2010), American-born, Canadian social activist, environmentalist, co-founder of Greenpeace
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)