Hammerton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Hammerton

What does the name Hammerton mean?

The Anglo-Saxon name Hammerton comes from the family having resided in Hamerton or Hammerton. Hamerton is found in Cambridgeshire, and Hammerton, Green Hammerton, and Kirk Hammerton are in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The place-names are of the same derivation, though. They are derived from the Old English words hamer, which meant hammer, and tun, which meant farm. The place-name as a whole indicated a "farm where there is a smithy." Green Hammerton indicated the presence of a village green in that place; a place where the village would gather for social events. Kirk Hammerton indicated the presence of a church; kirkja is an Old Scandinavian word for church.

Early Origins of the Hammerton family

The surname Hammerton was first found in Yorkshire where the family is "one of the most ancient families in the North of England, descended from Richard de Hameron, who lived in the twenty-sixth of Henry II., anno 1170." 1 During the reign of Edward III, the family acquired Hellifield in Yorkshire where they still reside today. 2 "A chantry was founded [in the parish of Slaidburn in the West Riding of Yorkshire] in 1332, by Stephen de Hamerton, in the chapel of St. Mary then existing on his manor of Hamerton, for a secular chaplain to celebrate mass for the repose of the souls of himself, his father, and his mother." 3

Early History of the Hammerton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hammerton research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1629 and 1647 are included under the topic Early Hammerton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hammerton Spelling Variations

Hammerton 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: Hamerton, Hammerton and others.

Early Notables of the Hammerton family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Stephen Hammerton (fl. 1629-1647), English child actor in English Renaissance theatre, one of the young performers who specialized in female roles in the period before women appeared on the stage

Hammerton 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 Hammertons to arrive on North American shores:

Hammerton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Edmund Hammerton, who landed in Virginia in 1717 4

Hammerton migration to Australia +

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

Hammerton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Thomas Hammerton, English convict from Northampton, who was transported aboard the "Agincourt" on July 6, 1844, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 5

Hammerton 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:

Hammerton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Holden Hammerton, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cashmere" in 1854 6
Eliza Hammerton, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cashmere" in 1854 6
Eliza Jane Hammerton, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cashmere" in 1854 6
Isabella Hammerton, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cashmere" in 1854 6
Robert Hammerton, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cashmere" in 1854 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Hammerton (post 1700) +

Mark Hammerton, English founder of the Mark Hammerton Group Ltd, a British based travel organizer and travel publisher in 1999
John Daniel Hammerton (1900-1978), English footballer
Mr. David Henry Hammerton B.E.M., British recipient of Medallist of the British Empire Medal 29th December 2018 for services to Police and Military Families and to the community in Northern Ireland 7
Sir John Alexander Hammerton (1871-1949), Scottish author, "the most successful creator of large-scale works of reference that Britain has known"
Ernest Alfred "Ernie" Hammerton (1927-1991), Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1940s and 1950s
Horace Hammerton Harned Jr. (1920-2017), American politician, Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives (1960-1964)
Admiral Hammerton Killick (d. 1902), of the Haitian Navy who who scuttled his own ship, by igniting the magazine, and went down with the ship, instead of surrendering to German forces, in 1902, at Gonaïves, Haiti, eponym of Killick, Haiti

The Hammerton 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: Fixus adversa sperno
Motto Translation: I firmly despise adversity.

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.
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)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 24) Agincourt voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1844 with 226 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/agincourt/1844
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 5th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists