Origins Available: English,
Welsh
The Edwardes surname is derived from the old English word "Eadweard" which means "prosperity guard."
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X) Prior to the
Norman Conquest of
England, Edward was a common personal name; its popularity probably due to the fact that Edward the Confessor (1003-1066) had been the Patron Saint of
England before Saint George.
Early Origins of the Edwardes family
The surname Edwardes was first found in
Wiltshire where Edward of Salisbury, also known as Edward the Sheriff (of Wiltshire) held land at the time of the
Domesday Survey. He was an ancestor of Earls of Salisbury. The name appeared as Eaduuardus, Eduuardus, Eduuard in the
Domesday Book. Kirby's Quest of
Somerset listed William Edward in
Somerset, 1 Edward III (during the first year's reign of King Edward III.)
[2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print. The
Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list: Adam Edward; Willelmus Edward, taylour; and Ricardus Edward.
[3]CITATION[CLOSE]
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Early History of the Edwardes family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Edwardes research.
Another 220 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1206, 1219, 1279, 1283, 1597, 1582, 1658, 1615, 1637, 1711, 1801, 1471, 1678 and are included under the topic Early Edwardes History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Edwardes Spelling Variations
Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore,
spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Edwardes family name include Edwards, Edward, Edwardes and others.
Early Notables of the Edwardes family (pre 1700)
Distinguished members of the family include Humphrey Edwards (1582-1658), one of the regicides of King Charles I of
England, attended Shrewsbury School in 1615, appointed a gentleman to King Charles I...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Edwardes Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Edwardes family to Ireland
Some of the Edwardes family moved to
Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 134 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Edwardes family to the New World and Oceana
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for
Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Edwardes surname or a spelling variation of the name include:
Edwardes Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Robert Edwardes, who settled in New England in 1635
- Robert Edwardes, aged 22, who arrived in America in 1635 [4]CITATION[CLOSE]
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) - Evan Edwardes, who settled in Barbados in 1660
- David Edwardes, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1698 [4]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Contemporary Notables of the name Edwardes (post 1700)
- Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes (1819-1868), English soldier
- George Edwardes (1852-1915), English theatrical manager
- Sir Michael Owens Edwardes (b. 1930), South African/British business executive