Cloverdale History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancestors of the Cloverdale surname lived among the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. The name comes from when they lived in Coverdale, a dale in the far east of the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire. 1

While the lion's share of sources note the Yorkshire origin of the family, two sources disagree. One source says "perhaps from Cuerdale, a township in Lancashire" 2 and another notes "from Cuerdale; a location name in Lancashire (?)" 3

Pursuing this line of thought for a moment we find that Cuerdale is a "township, in the parish, and Lower division of the hundred, of Blackburn, union of Preston, N. division of the county of Lancaster. This place belonged to a family of the same name from the earliest times. About the reign of Richard II. it passed by marriage to the Molyneuxs, and since 1582 it has been the property of the Asshetons, of Downham, who formerly resided at Cuerdale Hall, a fine building of red brick with stone dressings, erected in a beautiful situation by William Assheton, in 1700. " 4

Early Origins of the Cloverdale family

The surname Cloverdale was first found in Lincolnshire, where Reginald de Coverdall was first listed in the Feet of Fines in 1245. More than fifty years later, Thomas de Coverdale was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1297 and one hundred years later, John Couerdale was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 5 William Coverdale of Neweby, was listed in the Patent Rolls of Yorkshire in 1408. 6

Early History of the Cloverdale family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cloverdale research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1245, 1297, 1379, 1488, 1529, 1535, 1551, 1553, 1568, 1625 and 1809 are included under the topic Early Cloverdale History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cloverdale Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Cloverdale include Coverdale, Coverdill, Coverdall, Couerdale and others.

Early Notables of the Cloverdale family

Distinguished members of the family include Miles Coverdale (1488-1568), who published his own translation of the Bible in 1535 and was Bishop of Exeter (1551-1553) but lost this position with the accession of Queen Mary. "Whitaker assumes the surname to have been taken from the district of his birth, Cover-dale, in what is...
Another 52 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cloverdale Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cloverdale family

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants: Thomas Coverdale who arrived in Maryland in 1669.

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)