Ditchfield History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Family Crest Image (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

The name Ditchfield is part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is a product of when the family lived in Ditchfield, a hamlet in the county of Lacashire. The local name is derived from the Old English word dic which means ditch and feld, which literally means a field that had been cleared of trees. Therefore the surname Ditchfield denotes someone who lived by the field and the ditch.

Early Origins of the Ditchfield family

The surname Ditchfield was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Important Dates for the Ditchfield family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ditchfield research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1695, 1733, 1735 and 1798 are included under the topic Early Ditchfield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ditchfield 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. Ditchfield has been spelled many different ways, including Dichfield, Dickfield, Ditchfield and others.

Early Notables of the Ditchfield family (pre 1700)

Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ditchfield Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ditchfield 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 Ditchfields to arrive in North America:

Ditchfield Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Joe Ditchfield, who settled in St. Christopher in 1635
Jo Ditchfield, aged 22, who arrived in St Christopher in 1635 ^[1]
Thomas Ditchfield, who landed in Maryland in 1673 ^[1]

Ditchfield Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

James Ditchfield, aged 30, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Vennonia" from London, England ^[2]
Horace Leonard Ditchfield, aged 24, originally from Ilford, England, who arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Mauretania" from Southampton, England ^[3]
Mary Jane Ditchfield, aged 55, originally from Smethwick, England, who arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Olympic" from Southampton, England ^[4]
Florence Ditchfield, aged 17, originally from Smethwick, England, who arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Olympic" from Southampton, England ^[5]
Peter Ditchfield, aged 66, originally from New Bedford, who arrived in New York in 1921 aboard the ship "Albania" from Liverpool, England ^[6]
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Ditchfield (post 1700)

Rev. Peter Hempson Ditchfield FSA (1854-1930), English Anglican priest and author, best known for co-edited three Berkshire volumes of the Victoria County History
John Edwin Watts- Ditchfield (1861-1923), English Anglican priest and distinguished author, Bishop of Chelmsford (1914–1923)
James H. "Jimmy" Ditchfield (1865-1933), English footballer who played for Burslem Port Vale from 1886 and 1896
Andy Ditchfield, English founder of English rock band DeeExpus
William Ditchfield (1903-1991), New Zealand cricketer who played one first-class match for Otago in the 1933 season

Citations

^ 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 York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J674-93K : 6 December 2014), James Ditchfield, 26 Apr 1919; citing departure port London, arrival port New York, ship name Vennonia, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
^ "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J6ZW-LJH : 6 December 2014), Horace Leonard Ditchfield, 25 Sep 1920; citing departure port Southampton, arrival port New York, ship name Mauretania, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
^ "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J6XN-M57 : 6 December 2014), Mary Jane Ditchfield, 24 Nov 1920; citing departure port Southampton, arrival port New York, ship name Olympic, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
^ "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J6XN-MTL : 6 December 2014), Florence Ditchfield, 24 Nov 1920; citing departure port Southampton, arrival port New York, ship name Olympic, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
^ "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J6L8-TTY : 6 December 2014), Peter Ditchfield, 17 Sep 1921; citing departure port Liverpool, arrival port New York, ship name Albania, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).