Dews History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Dews is one of the many new names that came to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Dews family lived in Devon. This family was originally from Douai, near Lille, Normandy, and it is from this location that their surname derives.

Early Origins of the Dews family

The surname Dews was first found in Devon where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Dews family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dews research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dews History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dews Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Dewey, Dewy, Dewye and others.

Early Notables of the Dews family (pre 1700)

More information is included under the topic Early Dews Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dews Ranking

In the United States, the name Dews is the 7,160^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [1]

Dews migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Dews or a variant listed above were:

Dews Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Bennomee Dews, who landed in Maryland in 1666 [2]
Richard Dews, who arrived in Virginia in 1686 [2]

Dews 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:

Dews Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Arthur Dews, aged 23, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Assaye" in 1874 [3]
Hannah Dews, aged 27, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Assaye" in 1874 [3]

Contemporary Notables of the name Dews (post 1700) +

Robert Walter "Bobby" Dews Jr. (1939-2015), American Minor League Baseball infielder and a coach in Major League Baseball

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html