Pretious History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Anglo-Saxon name Pretious comes from when the family resided in Prestwick, Northumberland, or in Prestwich, in Cheshire. Prestwich is now part of Greater Manchester. The place names Prestwick and Prestwich have an identical etymology; they are derived from the Old English words preost, which meant priest, and wic, which meant farm. The place names taken as a whole mean "priest's farm."

Early Origins of the Pretious family

The surname Pretious was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the census rolls taken by the ancient Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Pretious family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pretious research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1250 is included under the topic Early Pretious History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pretious Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Pretious has been recorded under many different variations, including Prestwick, Preswick, Preswicke, Prestwich and others.

Early Notables of the Pretious family

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

Migration of the Pretious family to Ireland

Some of the Pretious family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pretious migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Pretious or a variant listed above:

Pretious Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Pretious, who arrived in Maryland in 1673 1

Pretious 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:

Pretious Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William H. Pretious, aged 10, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arethusa" in 1879

Contemporary Notables of the name Pretious (post 1700) +

Thomas Pretious Heslop (1823-1885), British physician, born in the West Indies in 1823 where his father being a Scottish officer of artillery, and his mother an Irish lady named Owen 2

The Pretious Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: In te domine speravi
Motto Translation: In thee, O Lord, I have placed my hope.

Citations +

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)
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020