Nasmith History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

Family Crest Image (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

It was in the Scottish/English Borderlands that the Strathclyde-Briton people first used the ancient name Nasmith. It was a name for someone who lived in the county of Renfrew.

Early Origins of the Nasmith family

The surname Nasmith was first found in Renfrewshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Friù), a historic county of Scotland, today encompassing the Council Areas of Renfrew, East Renfrewshire, and Iverclyde, in the Strathclyde region of southwestern Scotland, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Scotland to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Important Dates for the Nasmith family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Nasmith research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1400 and 1552 are included under the topic Early Nasmith History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Nasmith Spelling Variations

Surnames that evolved in Scotland in the Middle Ages often appear under many spelling variations. These are due to the practice of spelling according to sound in the era before dictionaries had standardized the English language. Nasmith has appeared as Naismith, Naysmith, Naesmyth, Nesmith, Nasmyth and others.

Early Notables of the Nasmith family (pre 1700)

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

Nasmith migration to the United States

The North American colonies beckoned, with their ample land and opportunity as their freedom from the persecution suffered by so many Clan families back home. Many Scots even fought against England in the American War of Independence to gain this freedom. Recently, clan societies have allowed the ancestors of these brave Scottish settlers to rediscover their familial roots. Among them:

Nasmith Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Clara Nasmith, aged 58, originally from Toronto, Canada, who arrived in New York in 1905 aboard the ship "Etruria" from Liverpool, England ^[1]
Samuel Jackson Nasmith, aged 26, originally from London, who arrived in New York in 1906 aboard the ship "Baltic" from Liverpool, England ^[2]
Frank Nasmith, aged 40, originally from Manchester, England, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Nieuw Amsterdam" from Plymouth ^[3]
Henry P. Nasmith, aged 48, originally from Toronto, Canada, who arrived in New York N.Y. in 1921 aboard the ship "Fort Hamilton" from Hamilton, Bermuda ^[4]
Alice Lilly Nasmith, aged 42, originally from Manchester, England, who arrived in New York in 1921 aboard the ship "Cedric" from Queenstown, Ireland ^[5]

Nasmith migration to Australia

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

Nasmith Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

William Nasmith, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Macedon" in 1849 ^[6]

Contemporary Notables of the name Nasmith (post 1700)

Charles Roy Nasmith (b. 1882), American politician, U.S. Vice & Deputy Consul General in Brussels, 1911-17; U.S. Consul in Ghent, 1918-22; Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1926; Porto Alegre, 1927-29; Marseille, 1932; Edinburgh, 1943 ^[7]
David Nasmith (1799-1839), Scottish founder of The City Mission Movement in the UK, the US and in Europe
James Nasmith (1740-1808), English clergyman, academic and antiquary
Rear Admiral David Arthur Dunbar- Nasmith DSC, DL (1921-1997), British Royal Navy officer, Naval Secretary (1967-1970), Flag Officer, Scotland and Northern Ireland (1970–1972)
Admiral Sir Martin Eric Dunbar- Nasmith KCB, KCMG (1883-1965), British Royal Navy officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross
Ted Nasmith, Canadian artist, illustrator and architectural renderer, best known as an illustrator of J. R. R. Tolkien's works-The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion
Joseph Nasmith (1850-1904), British consulting textile engineer, editor of the Textile Recorder

Citations

^ "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JFWN-XY4 : 6 December 2014), Clara Nasmith, 09 Sep 1905; citing departure port Liverpool, arrival port New York, ship name Etruria, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
^ "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JFFD-7T1 : 6 December 2014), Samuel Jackson Nasmith, 09 Mar 1906; citing departure port Liverpool, arrival port New York, ship name Baltic, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
^ "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J64H-KMR : 6 December 2014), Frank Nasmith, 23 Sep 1919; citing departure port Plymouth, arrival port New York, ship name Nieuw Amsterdam, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
^ "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J6JR-G3D : 6 December 2014), Henry P. Nasmith, 19 May 1921; citing departure port Hamilton, Bermuda, arrival port New York N.Y., ship name Fort Hamilton, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
^ "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J6LF-P6D : 6 December 2014), Alice Lilly Nasmith, 04 Mar 1921; citing departure port Queenstown, arrival port New York, ship name Cedric, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
^ State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The MACEDON 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Macedon.htm
^ The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html