Summerfield History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The surname Summerfield originated in "Sommerville, now Sommervieux, near Caen." 1 Literally the place name meant Sumar's or Somer's estate.
"In 1165 Walter de Summerville held a fief from the Earl of Derby, two from the barony of Stafford, and one in York, from De Lacy. His seat was at Whichnor in Staffordshire, held as a member of the Honour of Tutbury, and from him descended Roger de Somerville, who was summoned to parliament as a Baron, and died in 1327." 2
Early Origins of the Summerfield family
The surname Summerfield was first found in Staffordshire, where "the progenitor of the noble family was Walter de Somerville, lord of Wicknor, and of Aston Somerville, in county Gloucester, who came into England with William the Conqueror, and left two sons, who became ancestors respectively of the English and Scottish Somervilles." 3 4
Another source has a slightly different understanding: "the name of the Norman was Sir Gualter de Somerville. He became Lord of Whichnour, county Stafford, and his descendants possessed considerable property, about the close of the 12th century, in the co. Lanark, and in other parts of Scotland; of whom William de Somerville was one of the barons appointed at the marriage of Alexander II. (whose reign commenced in 1214) to exercise in a tournament at the castle of Roxburgh. This William's descendant, James, thirteenth Lord Somerville, augmented his fortune considerably by an arrangement with his kinsman, William Somerville, Esq., of Eadstone, co. Warwick, and of Somerville-Aston, co. Gloucester. " 5
Black notes that "William de Somerville, first of the name in Scotland, came in the train of David I, and received lands in Lanarkshire. There were five Williams in succession, the last dying in 1282. " 6
Both of these scenarios could be true as David I of Scotland (1084-1153) was King of the Scots (1124-1153) and born 20 years after the Conquest. In Scotland, there are numerous early listings of the name in one form or another including: Robert de Sumeruilla who witnessed a charter by Duncan, Earl of Fife, to the nuns of North Berwick in 1177; Ralph de Sumervilla, acolyte, who was promoted to the church of Linton in 1255; and William Somerwele of the Plane, who was a charter witness in Edinburgh in 1492. 6
"The castle of Cowthalley, in the parish [of Carwath, Lanarkshire, Scotland], was, for many years, the baronial residence of the Sommervilles, one of the most opulent and powerful families of the country in the 12th century, and of whom William, the first Baron, was the firm adherent of Robert Bruce, during the disputed succession to the crown." 7
In England, Jacobus de Somerwill was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 in Devon and Robert de Somervile and Roger de Somerville were both listed in Staffordshire during the reign of Edward I. 3
An early branch of the family was found at Barton-Under-Needwood in Staffordshire. "[Barton-Under-Needwood] in Domesday Book called Bertune, gave name to one of the five wards into which the ancient royal forest of Needwood was divided. Edward the Confessor granted it to Henry de Ferrers, from whom it passed to the Somervilles, and afterwards to the earls of Derby, one of whom forfeited the property by rebellion in 1263." 8
Early History of the Summerfield family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Summerfield research. Another 166 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1327, 1370, 1400, 1444, 1456, 1484, 1491, 1492, 1518, 1523, 1549, 1560, 1567, 1569, 1583, 1614, 1632, 1675, 1690, 1742 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Summerfield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Summerfield Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Sommerville, Summervillle, Somerville, Somerfield, Somervale, Somervile, Summerville, Summervale, Sumeril, Somahan and many more.
Early Notables of the Summerfield family
Notable among the family at this time was Thomas Somerville, 1st Lord Somerville (c. 1370-1444); William Somerville, 2nd Lord Somerville (c. 1400-1456); John Somerville, 3rd Lord Somerville (d. 1491); John Somerville, 4th Lord Somerville (c. 1484-1523); Hugh Somerville, 5th Lord Somerville (c. 1484-1549); and James Somerville, 6th Lord Somerville (c. 1518-1569).
John Somerville or Somervile (1560-1583), condemned for treason against the life of Queen Elizabeth, was the head of an ancient Catholic family possessing lands in Warwickshire and Gloucestershire, and having their chief seat at Edstone in the former county. He was eldest son of John Somervile of Edston. "On 19 Dec...
Another 137 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Summerfield Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Summerfield Ranking
In the United States, the name Summerfield is the 13,908th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 9
Migration of the Summerfield family to Ireland
Some of the Summerfield family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 65 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Summerfield migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Summerfield Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- William Summerfield, aged 18, who landed in Massachusetts in 1813 10
- James Summerfield, who landed in New York in 1834 10
Summerfield migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Summerfield Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Mr. William Charles Summerfield, English convict who was convicted in Buckinghamshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Caledonia" in 19th June 1822, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
- Mr. John Summerfield, British Convict who was convicted in Bedford, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 20th July 1837, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
- Mr. James Summerfield, English convict who was convicted in Surrey, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 8th December 1839, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 13
- Patrick Summerfield, English Convict from Liverpool, who was transported aboard the "Aboukir" on December 24, 1851, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 14
Contemporary Notables of the name Summerfield (post 1700) +
- Martin Summerfield (1916-1996), American physicist and rocket scientist
- Arthur Ellsworth Summerfield (1899-1972), U.S. political figure and the 54th Postmaster General of the United States
- Professor Arthur Quentin Summerfield M.B.E., British Professor of Psychology for University of York, was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire on 29th December 2018 for services to Psychology and to People with Hearing Loss 15
- Kevin Summerfield (b. 1959), English football coach and retired player
- Eleanor Summerfield (1921-2001), British actress
- Adam Summerfield (b. 1990), English professional ice hockey goaltender
- Luke John Summerfield (b. 1987), English footballer
- Fletcher Summerfield Stockdale (1823-1890), American politician, Governor of Texas
- John Summerfield Bigby (1832-1898), American Republican politician, Delegate to Georgia State Constitutional Convention, 1867-68; Superior Court Judge in Georgia, 1868-71; U.S. Representative from Georgia 3rd District, 1871-73 16
- Fletcher Summerfield Stockdale (1823-1890), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Texas State Senate, 1857-61; Lieutenant Governor of Texas, 1863-65; Governor of Texas, 1865 17
Citations +
- The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
- Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
- Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- "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)
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/caledonia
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th February 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1837
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
- State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 18) Aboukir voyage to Van Diemen's Land and Norfolk Island. [These convicts appear to have all landed in Van Diemen's Land], Australia in 1851 with 280 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/aboukir/1851
- "Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 17) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html