| {{ad}} |
|
|
|
The name Wittelick is an ancient Anglo-Saxon name that was given to a person who was a person with white hair. Looking back further, we find the name Wittelick was derived from the Old English words whit, meaning white and lock, meaning tress or hair. 1 2
The surname Wittelick was first found in Devon, but much later "the Whitlocks were best represented in the Halstead [Essex] district." 3
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 has only two listings for the family with very early spellings: Emma filius Witlok, Huntingdonshire; and William Witlohc, Oxfordshire. 4
Kirby's Quest also had two early entries for the family in Somerset: William atte Whytelak and Walter Whytelock. Both were "1 Edward III," in other words entered in the first year of King Edward III's reign. 5
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wittelick research. Another 133 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1537, 1564, 1565, 1570, 1584, 1586, 1605, 1608, 1610, 1622, 1624, 1625, 1631, 1632, 1654, 1659, 1675, 1701 and 1709 are included under the topic Early Wittelick History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Wittelick has undergone many spelling variations, including Whitlock, Whitelock, Witlock and others.
Notables of the family at this time include Edmund Whitelocke (1565-1608), English courtier, born in the parish of St. Gabriel, Fenchurch Street, London, on 10 Feb. 1564, the eldest son of Richard Whitelocke, merchant. His youngest brother, Sir James Whitelocke SL (1570-1632), was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1610 and 1622. 7
His son, Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke (1605-1675), was an English lawyer...
Another 69 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wittelick Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Wittelick were among those contributors: Thomas and Ann Whitlock, who settled in Virginia in 1638; William Whitelock settled in Barbados in 1776.