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Fitzherbert History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Fitzherbert History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Fitzherbert reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Fitzherbert family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Fitzherbert is based on the English, French, and German personal name Herbert, is made up of the elements, heri, which means army, and berht, which means bright. The prefix Fitz indicated that the bearer was the son of someone named Herbert.

Early Origins of the Fitzherbert family

The surname Fitzherbert was first found in Derbyshire where this ancient Norman house was seated at Norbury, by the grant of the Prior of Tutbury in 1125. 1 The family assumed their surname from a Norman knight who appeared in the honor rolls of the Battle of Hastings.

"Herbert Fitz-Herbert is said to have come into England with the Conqueror. His descendants settled at Norbury, co. Derby, in 1125, and are still, I believe, possessors of the estate." 2

Today Norbury is a town in the London Borough of Croydon and the London Borough of Merton, but anciently it was home to the Fitzherberts and the Carew family which they shared from 1385 and 1859.

Saint William Fitzherbert (d. 1154), Archbishop of York and Saint, "is also called sometimes William of Thwayt and most commonly Saint William of York. He was of noble birth, and brought up in luxury, but of his father Herbert very little is certainly known. John of Hexham calls him Herbert of Winchester, and says that he had been treasurer of Henry I.

Many of William's kinsfolk lived in Yorkshire, and his elder brother Herbert held lands there, to which he apparently succeeded about 1140. William himself probably became treasurer and canon of York before 1130, at latest before 1138. " 3

Robert Fitzhubert (fl. 1140) was a "freebooter, and is first mentioned in 1139. His origin is not known, but he is spoken of as a kinsman of William of Ypres, and as one of those Flemish mercenaries who had flocked to England at Stephen's call. On 7 Oct. 1139 he surprised by night the castle of Malmesbury, which the king had seized from the Bishop of Salisbury a few months before, and burnt the village. The royal garrison of the castle fled for refuge to the abbey, but Robert soon pursued them thither, and, entering the chapter-house at the head of his followers, demanded that the fugitives should be handed over. The terrified monks with difficulty induced him to be content with the surrender of their horses." 3

Tissington Hall in Tissington, Derbyshire was garrisoned for Charles I. by its owner, Col. Fitzherbert, in 1643.

"The church [of Tissington] is partly Norman, and partly of later date, with a tower, and contains handsome memorials to the Fitzherbert family." 4

Early History of the Fitzherbert family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fitzherbert research. Another 169 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1263, 1470, 1483, 1534, 1538, 1550, 1552, 1612, 1640, 1778 and 1922 are included under the topic Early Fitzherbert History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fitzherbert Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Fitzherbert are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Fitzherbert include FitzHerbert, Fitz-Herbert, Fitzherbert and others.

Early Notables of the Fitzherbert family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Ralph Fitzherbert (died 1483), Lord of the manor of Norbury, Derbyshire
Sir Anthony Fitzherbert (1470-1538), an English judge, scholar and legal author, best known for his treatise on English law, New Natura Brevium (1534)
Thomas Fitzherbert (1552-1640), an English Jesuit

Fitzherbert migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Fitzherbert, or a variant listed above:

Fitzherbert Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Francis Fitzherbert, who landed in Maryland in 1658 5

Fitzherbert Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Richard Fitzherbert, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1862

Fitzherbert 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:

Fitzherbert Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

W Fitzherbert, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1841 aboard the ship Lady Leigh
Arthur Fitzherbert, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Glenlora" in 1873
Rowean Fitzherbert, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Lorraine" in 1879
Ethel Fitzherbert, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Lorraine" in 1879
Augustus Fitzherbert, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Lorraine" in 1879
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Fitzherbert (post 1700) +

Alleyne Fitzherbert (1753-1839), Baron St. Helens, fifth and youngest son of William Fitzherbert of Tissington in Derbyshire
Sir Richard Ranulph FitzHerbert (b. 1963), 9th Baronet of Tissington
Sir John Richard Frederick FitzHerbert (1913-1989), 8th Baronet of Tissington
Sir William FitzHerbert (1874-1963), Baronet, 7th Baronet of Tissington
Sir Hugo Meynell FitzHerbert (1872-1934), 6th Baronet of Tissington
Sir Richard FitzHerbert (1846-1906), 5th Baronet of Tissington
Sir William FitzHerbert (1808-1896), 4th Baronet of Tissington
Sir Henry FitzHerbert (1783-1858), 3rd Baronet of Tissington
Sir Anthony Perrin FitzHerbert (1779-1798), 2nd Baronet of Tissington
Sir William FitzHerbert (1748-1791), 1st Baronet of Tissington, English lawyer and recorder for Derby, usher to George III and owned a number of plantations for sugar and coffee in Jamaica and Barbados
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Fitzherbert Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Ung je servirai
Motto Translation: One will I serve.

Citations +

Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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)