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![Show Contents]() Midfithey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The name Midfithey has a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. The name comes from when a family lived in Mitford, Northumberland where the name is "descended from Matthew, brother of John, who is said to have held the castle of Mitford soon after the Conquest. The ancestors of the present family appear to have been for many ages resident at Mitford, though the castle was not in their possession till it was granted with the manor by Charles II to Robert Litford, Esq." 1 Early Origins of the Midfithey familyThe surname Midfithey was first found in Northumberland at Mitford, a village and parish in the union of Morpeth. The earliest record of the place name was found in 1196 when it was listed as Midford. The place name literally meant "ford where two streams join." 2 "The manor in the time of the Saxons belonged to the family of Mitford, and at the Conquest was part of the possessions of John, Lord of Mitford, whose only daughter, Sybil, was married by the Conqueror to Sir Richard Bertram, son of the lord of Dignam, in Normandy." 3 Nearby is Mitford Castle which dates from the end of the 11th century. The Norman motte and bailey castle stands above the River Wansbeck and was the first of three seats for the main line of the Mitford family. It's in ruins today but Mitford Old Manor House built in the 1600s remains nearby. Mitford Hall is a Georgian mansion house built in 1828 by the Mitford family. Early History of the Midfithey familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Midfithey research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1389, 1390, 1395, 1407, 1612, 1659 and 1674 are included under the topic Early Midfithey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Midfithey Spelling VariationsSpelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Midfithey have been found, including Mitford, Medford, Midford and others. Early Notables of the Midfithey familyAnother 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Midfithey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Midfithey familyFamilies began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Midfithey, or a variant listed above: William Mitford settled in Boston in 1767; Thomas Medford, who settled in Mississippi in 1820; as well as E. and T. Medford, who both settled in Baltimore in 1822..
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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