Holdsworthe History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsHoldsworthe is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the historic county of Yorkshire, where they held a manor at Holdsworth. Actually, "there are two Holdsworths in the West Riding [of Yorkshire]." 1 The family is "from either Holdsworth in Eckington or Holdsworth in Ovenden." 2 Today we cannot locate the place in Eckington, but Holdsworth House is in Ovenden, just outside of Halifax. Holdsworth House was built c. 1598, but was not held by the family. Early Origins of the Holdsworthe familyThe surname Holdsworthe was first found in Yorkshire where John de Haldeworth, was the first listed of the family in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. The family had many name changes "from Haldeworth or Haldsworth in the 13th century, to Holdsworth or Houldsworth in the 19th [century]." 3 As one might suspect the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 including some of the early spellings: Johannes Haldeworthe, of Leathley; Ricardus de Haldeworthe, of Southowrara; and Johannes de Haleworth, sittor. All held land there at that time. 3 "Holsworthy, [Devon has a] market which is one of great antiquity ; and the chief fair was recorded in the time of Edward I. as having belonged to the ancestors of William Martyn from time immemorial." 4 Early History of the Holdsworthe familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Holdsworthe research. Another 123 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1374, 1495, 1558, 1583, 1590, 1593, 1595, 1596, 1602, 1613, 1649, 1684 and 1746 are included under the topic Early Holdsworthe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Holdsworthe Spelling VariationsSound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Holdsworthe family name include Holdsworth, Holesworth, Houlsworth, Holdworth, Houldworth and many more. Early Notables of the Holdsworthe familyDistinguished members of the family include Richard Holdsworth (1590-1649), English theologian, the youngest son of the Reverend Richard Holdsworth, vicar of Newcastle-on-Tyne, where he was born in 1590. "His father died in 1596, leaving his child to the care of a son-in-law, the Rev. William Pearson or Pierson, who was curate and lecturer in the parish church of Newcastle." 5
Daniel Halsworth or Holdsworth (1558?-1595?)... Migration of the Holdsworthe familyFor political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Holdsworthe surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Seth Holdsworth, who settled in Barbados in 1675, and Scholas Houldsworth, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1856.
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