Wheeldon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 brought much change to the island nation, including many immigrants with new names. Among these immigrants were the ancestors of the Wheeldon family, who lived in Lancashire, at the manor of Wheelton. Other records show "Great and Little Weldon are parishes in co. Northampton" 1 and "Weldon, [having] two parishes in the Diocese of Peterborough, Norfolk." 2
Early Origins of the Wheeldon family
The surname Wheeldon was first found in Lancashire at Wheelton, a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley which dates back to c. 1160 when it was listed as Weltona. The place name literally means "farmstead with a water-wheel," from the Old English "hweol" + "tun." 3
The earliest record of the name was fond during the reign of Henry III, or perhaps earlier, where Henry de Quelton granted Sir Adam de Hocton, for the annual rent of one barbed arrow, or four marks, at Michaelmas, all his lands in the town of "Quelton." 4
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed: Geoffrey de Weldone, Huntingdonshire; Lucas de Weldon, Lincolnshire; and Hugh de Weledon, Lincolnshire. 2
"The Whieldons or Wheeldons of Staffordshire are mostly gathered together in the district of Stoke-on-Trent. Francis Wheeldon, gent., was an opulent farmer of Hounhill, Hanbury, in the latter half of last century. " 5
Early History of the Wheeldon family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wheeldon research. Another 134 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1596, 1600, 1787 and 1839 are included under the topic Early Wheeldon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Wheeldon Spelling Variations
A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Whieldon, Wheeldon, Wheelton, Whielton, Weelton, Weeldon, Wieldon, Weildon, Weilton, Wheildon, Whilldon, Whildon, Whilden and many more.
Early Notables of the Wheeldon family
More information is included under the topic Early Wheeldon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Wheeldon migration to the United States +
Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Wheeldon or a variant listed above:
Wheeldon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Thomas Wheeldon, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 6
Wheeldon migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Wheeldon Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Mr. Thomas Wheeldon, British convict who was convicted in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Bussorah Merchant" on 1st October 1829, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
- Mr. John Wheeldon, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Duncan" on 10th December 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Wheeldon 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:
Wheeldon Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
- Annie Wheeldon, aged 23, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ballochmyle" in 1874
Contemporary Notables of the name Wheeldon (post 1700) +
- David Wheeldon (b. 1989), English cricketer from Staffordshire
- Daniel Maurice Wheeldon (b. 1989), English cricketer from Nottingham
- Scott Wheeldon, English rugby league player
- Christopher Wheeldon (b. 1973), English Olivier Award winning international choreographer of contemporary ballet
- Philip William Wheeldon OBE (1913-1999), British fourth Bishop of Whitby and subsequently twice Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman
- Simon Wheeldon (b. 1966), former Canadian NHL ice hockey player for the New York Rangers and Winnipeg Jets
- John Murray Wheeldon (1929-2006), Australian federal politician and briefly a minister
The Wheeldon Motto +
The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Motto: Virtus praestantior auro
Motto Translation: Virtue is more excellent than gold.
Citations +
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
- 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 10th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bussorah-merchant
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duncan