Coverdale History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Coverdale is part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is a product of when the family 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 Coverdale family

The surname Coverdale 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 Coverdale family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coverdale 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 Coverdale History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coverdale Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Coverdale has been spelled many different ways, including Coverdale, Coverdill, Coverdall, Couerdale and others.

Early Notables of the Coverdale 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...

Coverdale migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Coverdales to arrive in North America:

Coverdale Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Coverdale, who arrived in Maryland in 1669 7
Hannah Coverdale, who landed in Maryland in 1670-1671 7

Coverdale migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Coverdale Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Coverdale, (b. 1805), aged 29, English baker who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life for house breaking, transported aboard the "Augusta Jessie" on 27 September 1834, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Coverdale (post 1700) +

George Coverdale, American politician, Mayor of Coffeyville, Kansas, 1910, 1917-18 9
William Coverdale (1862-1934), English first-class cricketer
Stephen Peter Coverdale (b. 1954), retired English first-class cricketer
Paul Coverdale (b. 1983), English cricketer
Drew Coverdale (b. 1969), English former footballer who played from 1989 to 1993
Robin "Bob" Coverdale (b. 1928), English professional Rugby League World Cup winning footballer
Walter William "Bill" Coverdale (1912-1972), English cricketer who played for Northamptonshire from 1931 to 1932
Garrison Barkley Coverdale (1905-1988), US Army General, member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame
Ralph Coverdale (1918-1975), British management consultant, founder of The Coverdale Organisation
Kevin Coverdale (1940-1997), Australian rules footballer
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

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)
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 14th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/augusta-jessie
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, May 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html