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| | England |
The name Witwall was brought to England by the Normans when they conquered the country in 1066. The ancestors of the Witwall family lived in any of various places called Whitwell, in Dorset, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, and the North Riding of Yorkshire.These place names are derived from the Old English hwi-t, meaning "white," and well meaning a "spring," or "stream."
The surname Witwall was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Witwall research. Another 156 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1100, 1238, 1296, 1719, 1749, 1788 and 1797 are included under the topic Early Witwall History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Witwall are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Witwall include Witwall, Witwell, Whitwell, Whitwel, Whitewell and others.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was John Griffin Whitwell (1719-1797), birth name of Field Marshal John Griffin Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, 1st Baron Braybrooke. He assumed the name Griffin through his mother Anne...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Witwall Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Witwall, or a variant listed above: Elizabeth Whitewell, who settled in Virginia in 1653; W. Whitewell settled in San Francisco California in 1864; John Whitwell settled in America in 1675.