Contents [hide]

Havens History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Havens History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The history of the Havens family name begins after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived in the county of Derbyshire. However, the family resided in Avenelles in the department of Eure, Normandy before coming to England in the just prior to the major flood of Norman emigration in the 11th century. 1

Early Origins of the Havens family

The surname Havens was first found in Derbyshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the manor of Nether Haddon from early times. They were descended from Sir des Biars who attended Duke William at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. and also bore the name of Avenals. William Avennel was this same Sire who was Lord of Biars in the canton d'Isigny in Normandy.

"It is clear, however, that they owned a great territory in Derbyshire not long after [the Conquest]; for 'Avenel Haddon' (William Avenel in another deed) is one of the witnesses of the foundation charter of Lenton Priory in the time of Henry I. ; and, by a separate charter, bestowed upon it two manors belonging to his own domain of Haddon. In 1169, Robert Avenel witnessed another donation to this Priory, and the foundation charter of Welbeck Abbey. This may have been the same Robert Avenel des Biarz whose name is appended to a charter granted in 1158 at Tinchebray by the Count de Mortaine to the nuns of Mouton ; but the family was exceptionally numerous, and the coat of arms of Avenel of Haddon, Gules six annulets Argent, does not bear the faintest resemblance to that of the Sires de Biarz, chef de la branche mere, who bore De gueules a trois aigles d'argent." 2

Haddon Hall near Bakewell, Derbyshire was the site of the 12th-century marriage between Sir Richard de Vernon and Alice Avenell, daughter of William Avenell II. At that time, the hall passed into the Vernon family. Historically, the hall was originally held by William Peverel, illegitimate son of William the Conqueror in 1087. Later the hall was forfeited to the Crown in 1153 and then passed to a tenant of the Peverils, the Avenell family. 3

The Liber Niger mentions Avenels in Bedfordshire. 4 John de Avenel, jointly with two others, was Sheriff of Gloucester 1187, 1188, 1189: and must have been the father of William de Avenel of the same county, who was a banneret in the time of King John. They bore the six annulets of the house of Haddon. William de Avenel (perhaps the same ?) in the following reign served as knight of the shire for Cambridge, where his name is preserved by Avenel's Manor; and "held Barford-St.-Martin in capite of the King." 2

In Scotland, "on the other side of the Border, the Avenels held one of the most important of the Marcher baronies. Robert Avenel, the first Lord of Eskdale, was for a short time Justiciary of Lothian, and received his lands from David I., whom he probably accompanied to Scotland. He died a monk of Melrose in 1185, having been one of the principal benefactors of the Abbey. His daughter was the paramour of William the Lion, to whom she bore a daughter named Isabel, the wife of Robert Bruce. His son Gervase confirmed his grants to Melrose; but his grandson Robert disputed them, and had a fierce contest with the monks, which was decided in their favour by the King in person in 1235. (Monastic Annals of Teviotdale.) With this Robert the line ended in 1243; and 'his great domain passed to his son-in-law, Henry de Graham, one of the Magnates Scotiae in the parliament held at Scone in 1283.' " 2

Early History of the Havens family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Havens research. Another 63 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1220 is included under the topic Early Havens History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Havens Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Avenells, Avenett, Avenet, Avnett, d'Avenell, Davenel, Davenell, Davenall and many more.

Early Notables of the Havens family

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

Havens Ranking

In the United States, the name Havens is the 2,724^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 5

Havens migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Havens or a variant listed above were:

Havens Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

C Carroll Havens, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 6
Coffee Havens, who landed in New York in 1850 6
Chas. Havens, aged 45, who landed in America, in 1895
Daniel Havens, aged 36, who landed in America, in 1896
Gwen Havens, aged 28, who immigrated to America, in 1896
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Havens Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Eleanor Havens, aged 39, who immigrated to the United States, in 1904
Georg. Havens, aged 20, who immigrated to the United States, in 1905
Alice Havens, aged 20, who settled in America, in 1908
Arthur Havens, who immigrated to the United States, in 1910
Henry Havens, aged 45, who landed in America, in 1913
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Havens migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Havens Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mrs. Eleanor Havens U.E. who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on December 13, 1783 was passenger number 510 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on November 14, 1783 at East River, New York 7
Miss. Sarah Havens U.E. (b. 1770), aged 13 who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on December 13, 1783 was passenger number 605 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on November 14, 1783 at East River, New York 7
Master. George Havens U.E. (b. 1769), aged 14 who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on December 13, 1783 was passenger number 604 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on November 14, 1783 at East River, New York 7
Mr. John Havens U.E. (b. 1765), aged 18 who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on December 13, 1783 was passenger number 603 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on November 14, 1783 at East River, New York 7
Master. William Havens U.E. (b. 1779), aged 4 who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on December 13, 1783 was passenger number 44 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on November 14, 1783 at East River, New York 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Havens migration to Australia +

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

Havens Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Havens, English convict who was convicted in Kent, England for life, transported aboard the "Exmouth" on 3rd March 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Havens (post 1700) +

Richie P Havens (1941-2013), American folk singer and guitarist, best remembered for his iconic opening performance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 9
Dr. Betty Havens OC (d. 2005), Canadian recipient of an honorary degree from the University of Waterloo in 1994, the Commemorative Golden Jubilee Medal of Queen Elizabeth II in 2002, a Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation in 2003 and, in February 2005, the Order of Canada
Palmer Edward Havens (1818-1886), American politician, Member of the New York State Assembly (1862-1863) and 1867, New York State Senator (1864-1865)
Jonathan Nicoll Havens (1757-1799), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (1795-1799)
Harrison E. Havens (1837-1916), American lawyer and politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri (1871-1873) and (1873-1875)
Frank C. Havens (d. 1918), American lawyer and real estate developer of the late 19th to early 20th century
Bob Havens (b. 1930), American big band and jazz trombonist, known for his work on The Lawrence Welk Show from 1960 to 1982
William S Havens Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director of Intelligent Systems Lab in the School of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Liber Niger Scutarii ("Black Book of the Exchequer"), containing reports by county on feudal holdings in England in 1166 (reign of Henry II)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/exmouth
Richie Havens. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) Richie Havens. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richie_Havens