Show ContentsGarside History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Anglo-Saxon name Garside comes from the family having resided in the region of Galicia in the province of Orense. It was later adopted in England after the Norman invasion of 1066.The surname Garside is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties.

Early Origins of the Garside family

The surname Garside 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.

Early History of the Garside family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Garside research. Another 63 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Garside History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Garside Spelling Variations

Garside has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Spelling variants included: Garside, Gartside, Garthside and others.

Early Notables of the Garside family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

  • Garside of Garside


United States Garside migration to the United States +

In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Garsides to arrive on North American shores:

Garside Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Garside, aged 38, who arrived in New York in 1812 [1]
  • G Garside, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 [1]
  • Alan, Henry, James, Joseph, Robert Garside, all, who arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1865

Australia Garside migration to Australia +

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

Garside Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Miss Elizabeth Garside who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Burrell" on 31st December 1831, arriving in New South Wales [2]
  • Mr. Samuel Garside, English convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Emperor Alexander"on 6th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [3]
  • Mr. John Garside (Smith), (b. 1810), aged 27, British Miner who was convicted in Chester, England for 7 years forlarceny, transported aboard the "Asia" on 20th July 1837, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1882 at Liverpool Asylum [4]
  • Mr. Isaac Garside, English convict who was convicted in York, Yorkshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Duncan" on 10th December 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [5]
  • Miss. Jane Garside, British Convict who was convicted in Knutsford, Cheshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 9th March 1847, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [6]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Garside 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:

Garside Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. George Garside, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Kingston" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 29th December 1858 [7]
  • B. Garside, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Midlothian" in 1859

Contemporary Notables of the name Garside (post 1700) +

  • Charles Garside Sr. (1898-1964), American lawyer and politician, President of the State University of New York (1951-1952)
  • Benjamin Charles Garside (1863-1933), American machinist and politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who served one term as a People's Party member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1888
  • Bettis Alston "B.A." Garside (1894-1989), American author
  • James Arthur Garside (b. 1885), English footballer who played as a striker for Preston North End, Accrington Stanley, Liverpool, Exeter City and Horwich RMI
  • Charles Brieley Garside (1818-1876), English Catholic divine, born 6 April 1818 at Manchester, only son of Joseph Garside, surgeon and a distinguished ornithologist [8]
  • KatieJane "Katrina Jane" Garside (b. 1968), English vocalist, lyricist, artist and writer
  • William Garside (1872-1951), Scottish footballer who played 37 matches in the Football League (1894-1900)
  • Professor John Garside CBE FREng (b. 1941), British chemical engineer who was the last Vice-Chancellor of UMIST
  • Jeannine Garside (b. 1978), Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2010, two-weight world champion (2005-2006) and 2006
  • Bernhard Herbert Garside OBE (b. 1962), British diplomat, Ambassador to El Salvador from 2015 to 2019
  • ... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

HMS Prince of Wales
  • Mr. Richard Murray Garside, British Pay Lieutenant, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking [9]
RMS Titanic
  • Miss Ethel Garside, aged 34, English Second Class passenger from Liverpool, Merseyside who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and survived the sinking escaping on life boat 12 [10]


  1. 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)
  2. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/burrell
  3. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emperor-alexander
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th February 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1837
  5. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duncan
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th February 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1847
  7. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  8. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020
  9. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
  10. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html


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