Greenwich History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Greenwich family

The surname Greenwich was first found in Kent where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Greenwich, Bishop Odo, half brother of Duke William of Normandy, and the Earl of Kent who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. Greenwich became the site of the Royal Palace in the 15th and 16th centuries. Both King Henry VIII and Elizabeth 1st were born there.

Early History of the Greenwich family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Greenwich research. Another 55 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Greenwich History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Greenwich Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Greenwich, Grenwich, Greenish, Grenidge, Grinadge, Grinidge, Grenadge, Greenidge, Greenhedge, Greenherst and many more.

Early Notables of the Greenwich family

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

Greenwich 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:

Greenwich Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. James Greenwich, (b. 1851), aged 23, Welsh labourer from Pembrokeshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Tweed" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 4th September 1874 2

Greenwich migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 3

Greenwich Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Jo Greenwich, aged 21, who arrived in Barbados in 1635 4
Ja Greenwich, aged 21, who arrived in Barbados in 1635 4
Mr. John Greenwich, (b. 1614), aged 21, British settler travelling from London, England aboard the ship "Alexander" arriving in Barbados in 1635 5

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
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)
Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 28th September 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm