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Mountford History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Mountford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Mountford

What does the name Mountford mean?

Mountford is an ancient Norman name that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Mountford family lived in Warwickshire. The name, however, is a reference to the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, one of two places Montfort-sur-Lisle near Argentan in the Normandy district, or Montfort near Pont-Audemer, also in Normandy. 1

Early Origins of the Mountford family

The surname Mountford was first found in Warwickshire where the family claims descent from "Hugh de Montfort, son of Thurstan de Basternbergh, a Norman accompanied the Conqueror in 1066, and obtained for his services more than one hundred lordships in Kent, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk." 2

Nicknamed "Hugh with a Beard," he was son of Thurstan de Bastenburgh. His descendant Peter de Montford was one of the most zealous amongst the turbulent barons of the era and after the Battle of Lewes was one of the nine nominated to rule the kingdom, but he later fell at the conflict of Eversham. The direct male line became extinct with his great-grandson, Peter de Montfort who died in 1367 leaving a illegitimate son, Sir John Montfort to carry on the family. 3

Other early notables include: Simon IV de Montfort, Seigneur de Montfort-l'Amaury, 5th Earl of Leicester (1165-1218), a French nobleman who took part in the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) and died at the siege of Toulouse in 1218. His youngest son, Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester (c. 1208-1265), led the barons' rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263-1264, and subsequently became de facto ruler of England. He and his eldest son Sir Henry de Montfort were killed on 4 August 1265 at the Battle of Evesham. 4

Early History of the Mountford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mountford research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1282, 1283, 1285, 1294, 1664 and 1692 are included under the topic Early Mountford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mountford Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Montfort, Montford, Mountford, Mountfort and others.

Early Notables of the Mountford family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William de Montfort (also Mountfort), an English medieval Canon law jurist, Chancellor of the University of Oxford (1282-1283), Dean of St Paul's...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Mountford Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mountford migration to the United States +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Mountford or a variant listed above:

Mountford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

George and Thomas Mountford, who settled in Virginia in 1652
George Mountford, who landed in Virginia in 1652 5
Jane Mountford, who arrived in Virginia in 1657 5

Mountford migration to Australia +

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

Mountford Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Elizabeth Mountford, British Convict who was convicted in Shropshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Experiment" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
George Mountford, Welsh convict from Pembroke, who was transported aboard the "Adamant" on March 16, 1821, settling in New South Wales, Australia 7
George James Mountford, English convict from London, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on October 22nd, 1824, settling in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. Joshua Mountford, British Convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Dunvegan Castle" on 13th March 1830, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. Thomas Mountford, (b. 1822), aged 18, English coal miner who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 15 years for assault and robbery, transported aboard the "Duncan" on 10th December 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1878 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mountford 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:

Mountford Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Walter Mountford, British settler who arrived in Port Chalmers, Otago, New Zealand aboard the "Star of Tasmania" in 1863
Samuel Mountford, aged 30, a potter, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "Dallam Tower" in 1875
Emma Mountford, aged 28, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "Dallam Tower" in 1875
Annie E. Mountford, aged 7, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "Dallam Tower" in 1875
Edmund Mountford, aged 2, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "Dallam Tower" in 1875

Mountford 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. 11

Mountford Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Richard Mountford, who settled in Barbados in 1685

Contemporary Notables of the name Mountford (post 1700) +

Peter Mountford (b. 1976), American novelist and writer of short stories and non-fiction
Charles Pearcy Mountford (1890-1976), Australian anthropologist and photographer
Cecil "Ces" Mountford MBE (1919-2009), New Zealand rugby league footballer and coach
Margaret Mountford (b. 1951), British lawyer, businesswoman and television personality
Richard Mountford Deeley (1855-1944), British engineer, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Midland Railway
Sir. Mountford Tosswill "Toss" Woollaston (1910-1998), New Zealand painter

Historic Events for the Mountford family +

HMS Royal Oak

Harry Cyril Leonard Mountford (d. 1939), British Boy Bugler with the Royal Marine aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 12

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)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Adamant voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1821 with 144 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adamant/1821
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1824 with 9 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1824
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dunvegan-castle
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duncan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html