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The distinguished surname Ventures is derived from the Middle English word "aventurous," meaning "the venturous." 1
Another source "suggests La Ventrouse in the arrondissement of Montagne, Normandy, as the home of the family." 2
Following the Norman theme, we found Ralph Ventras, or Vintras, Normandy 1180-95 in the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae. 3
The surname Ventures was first found in Huntingdonshire where William A Ventur was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1279. Years later, William le Ventre was found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327. Francis Ventreys was listed in the Feet of Fines for Huntingdonshire in 1600. 1
Some records point to Cambridgeshire, where the family was first referenced in the 13th century when they held a family seat at Wittlesford.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ventures research. Another 110 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1586, 1603, 1610, 1614, 1642, 1645, 1650, 1653, 1654, 1661, 1674, 1681, 1688, 1689 and 1691 are included under the topic Early Ventures History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Ventures has appeared include Ventris, Ventres, Venters, Ventrus, Ventras, Venture, Ventures, Ventrice, Ventriss, Fentress, Fentris and many more.
Distinguished members of the family include Sir Peyton Ventris (1645-1691), English judge and politician. He was the "eldest surviving son of Edward Ventris, barrister-at-law, of Gray's Inn and Granhams, Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire (a scion of a Bedfordshire family of some antiquity), by Mary, daughter of John Breuse of Wenham Hall, Suffolk, was born at Wenham Hall in November 1645. He was admitted on 3 Feb. 1653-1654 a member of the Middle Temple, where he was called to the bar on 2 June 1661. Failing to secure a practice, he devoted himself to...
Another 92 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ventures Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Ventures arrived in North America very early: Robert Fentrice, who settled in Virginia in 1642; Michael Fentriss, who arrived in Virginia in 1724; as did Benjamin Ventris in 1749; and John Ventris, who immigrated to Maryland in 1756..