Twiford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
When the ancestors of the Twiford family emigrated to England following the Norman Conquest in 1066 they brought their family name with them. They lived in Leicestershire, at Twyford.
Early Origins of the Twiford family
The surname Twiford was first found in Leicestershire where they were Lords of the manor of Twyford, and conjecturally descended from Hugh de Grandmesnil, sometimes spelt Grentemaisnil, from Calvados in the canton of St. Pierre-Sur-Eides in Normandy. The senior line of this family descended to the Earls of Leicester.
Early History of the Twiford family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Twiford research. Another 132 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1378, 1388, 1390, 1560, 1620, 1640, 1657, 1679 and 1729 are included under the topic Early Twiford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Twiford Spelling Variations
The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries. For that reason, spelling variations are common among many Anglo-Norman names. The shape of the English language was frequently changed with the introduction of elements of Norman French, Latin, and other European languages; even the spelling of literate people's names were subsequently modified. Twiford has been recorded under many different variations, including Twiford, Twyford, Tyford, Tyeford, Tieford, Tweeford, Tweford, Twifort, Twyfort, Tweefort, Tweeforth and many more.
Early Notables of the Twiford family
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was
- Robert Twyford, early English politician, Member of Parliament for Derbyshire in 1378. John Twyford was Lord Mayor of London; and Henry Twiford of Kenwick, Shropshire whose daughter was the second wif...
- John Leanerd (fl. 1679), the British playwright and notorious plagiarist wrote "The Rambling Justice; or, the Jealous Husbands, with the Humours of Sir John Twiford in which incidents are mostly borro...
Twiford migration to the United States +
To escape the uncertainty of the political and religious uncertainty found in England, many English families boarded ships at great expense to sail for the colonies held by Britain. The passages were expensive, though, and the boats were unsafe, overcrowded, and ridden with disease. Those who were hardy and lucky enough to make the passage intact were rewarded with land, opportunity, and social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families went on to be important contributors to the young nations of Canada and the United States where they settled. Twifords were some of the first of the immigrants to arrive in North America:
Twiford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Ann Twiford, who landed in Maryland in 1662 1
- Thomas Twiford, who landed in Virginia in 1664 1
- George Twiford, who arrived in Maryland in 1680 1
Twiford 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.
2Twiford Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
- John and Robert Twiford, who settled in Barbados in 1663
Contemporary Notables of the name Twiford (post 1700) +
- Curly Twiford (1896-1956), American owner and trainer of "Jimmy the raven" which was featured in You Can't Take It With You (1938), It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and The Wizard of Oz (1939)
- John Twiford, American actor, best known for his role as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar
- Andrew Twiford, American founder of Chatfield, Minnesota in 1853
- W. H. Twiford, American politician, Member of Minnesota State House of Representatives 16th District, 1867 3
- O. R. Twiford, American Republican politician, Chair of Douglas County Republican Party, 1950 3
- Twiford S. Noble, American politician, Delegate to Maryland State Constitutional Convention, 1864 4
Citations +
- 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, October 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html