Show ContentsOllerton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Ollerton family

The surname Ollerton was first found in one of numerous places named Allerton throughout England. The strongest and perhaps the oldest grouping of place names is found in Yorkshire where: Allerton is a former village in Bradford; Allerton Bywater is a semi-rural village and civil parish in the south-east of City of Leeds; Allerton Mauleverer is a village in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire; Northallerton is an market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire; Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire; Moor Allerton is an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire; and finally Allertonshire or Allerton was an ancient wapentake and liberty in the North Riding.

Allerton is also a suburb of Liverpool and Chapel Allerton is a village and civil parish, south of Cheddar in Somerset. The place names literally mean "farmstead or village where alder-tress grow," from the old English words "alor" + "tun." 1

Many of the locals were listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Alretune, except for the Somerset local which was listed as Alwarditone. 2 Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Allerton, held by Earl Gospatrick from the King who was recorded in the Domesday Book.

Allerton Castle, also known as Allerton Park, is a restored Gothic or Victorian Gothic house in Allerton Mauleverer in North Yorkshire. It originally was held by the Mauleverer family from the time of the Norman Conquest until the 17th century when it was passed through the wife's name to Richard Arundell.

Early History of the Ollerton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ollerton research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1193, 1312, 1416, 1549, 1585, 1620, 1627, 1639, 1659, 1674 and 1702 are included under the topic Early Ollerton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ollerton Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, Norman French and other languages became incorporated into English throughout the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Ollerton include Allerton, Alerton, Allertown, Alltone, Allton, Alliton, Alleton and many more.

Early Notables of the Ollerton family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Isaac Allerton (c.1585-1659), one of the original Pilgrim fathers who went on the Mayflower to settle the Plymouth Colony in 1620, ancestor to Presidents of the United States Zachary Taylor and Franklin D. Roosevelt; and his son...
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ollerton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ollerton family

In England at this time, the uncertainty of the political and religious environment of the time caused many families to board ships for distant British colonies in the hopes of finding land and opportunity, and escaping persecution. The voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, though, and many arrived in North America sick, starved, and destitute. Those who did make it, however, were greeted with greater opportunities and freedoms that they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Early immigration records have shown some of the first Ollertons to arrive on North American shores: Isaac Allerton, his wife Mary (Norris) Allerton and their children Bartholomew, Remember, and Mary all arrived in Plymouth aboard the Mayflower in 1620..


Contemporary Notables of the name Ollerton (post 1700) +

  • Preston Ollerton (1894-1969), American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Arizona, 1940 3


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, March 16) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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