Show ContentsRushton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Rushton family

The surname Rushton was first found in Northamptonshire at Rushton, a small village and civil parish that dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Risetone. The reference lists that it comprised three very small settlements: Barford, which had only seven inhabitants; Glendon, home of Glendon Hall and had fourteen inhabitants; and finally Rushton St. Peter, which included Rushton Hall and Rushton All Saints with a population of forty-five.

Rushton Hall has gone through many changes since the first record but today is a luxury hotel. This was the ancestral home of the Tresham family from 1438. The place name Rushton is generally believed to mean "farmstead where rushes grow" from the Old English words rysc + tun. 1

Rushton is also a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West. However, this village is rather recent as the first recorded population statistic was in the 1881 census. Finally Rushton Spencer is located in Staffordshire an early possession of the Spencer family.

"The Risctún of a charter, a.d. 854, by Æþelwulf, king of the West Saxons, refers to Ruishton, Somerset." 2

There are two listings of Risetone in the Domesday Book of 1086. 3 The first on record was Robert de Riston who was listed in the Assize Rolls for Northumberland in 1203. John Russheton was listed in the Feet of Fines for Warwickshire in 1433-1434. 4

Early History of the Rushton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rushton research. Another 142 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1602, 1662, 1668, 1697, 1700 and 1751 are included under the topic Early Rushton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rushton Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Rushton, Ruxton and others.

Early Notables of the Rushton family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

  • Rushton of Lancashire

Rushton Ranking

In the United States, the name Rushton is the 8,353rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5 However, in the United Kingdom, the name Rushton is ranked the 863rd most popular surname with an estimated 7,885 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Rushton family to Ireland

Some of the Rushton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 86 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Rushton migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Rushton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • William Rushton, who arrived in Virginia in 1665 7
  • Ellen Rushton and her husband who settled in Maryland in 1699
Rushton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • John Rushton, who landed in South Carolina in 1775 7
Rushton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Edward Rushton, who arrived in America in 1805 7
  • James, John, Joseph, and William Rushton all, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1840 and 1860

Rushton migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Rushton Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Mr. Jeremiah Rushton U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 8

Rushton migration to Australia +

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

Rushton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Thomas Rushton, (b. 1744), aged 59, British convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for 14 years for forgery, transported aboard the "Calcutta" in February 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1822 9
  • Mr. William Rushton, (Wright) who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Dick" on 2nd October 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
  • Mr. Richard Rushton, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Camden" on 21st September 1832, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 11
  • Mr. John Rushton, (b. 1822), aged 20, English farmer who was convicted in Preston, Lancashire, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Duchess of Northumberland" on 1st October 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1906 12
  • Mr. Thomas Rushton, English convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl Grey" on 4th October 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 13
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Rushton (post 1700) +

  • Joe Rushton (1907-1964), American jazz saxophonist
  • Jared Michael Rushton (b. 1974), American musician and former two-time Saturn Award nominated actor
  • William A H Rushton (1901-1980), American professor of Physiology at Trinity College, Cambridge
  • Marion Rushton, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Democratic National Committee from Alabama, 1939-47 14
  • M. W. Rushton, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Alabama, 1908 14
  • Jody Rushton, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas, 2012 14
  • Jacqueline Rushton, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1980 14
  • Herbert J. Rushton (1877-1947), American Republican politician, Delta County Prosecuting Attorney, 1915-16; Member of Michigan State Senate 30th District, 1927-32 14
  • Frederick C. Rushton, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts, 2007; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 2008 14
  • Emily S. Rushton, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Utah, 2008 14
  • ... (Another 20 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Empress of Ireland
  • Mr. Joseph Albert Rushton (d. 1914), British Assistant Steward from United Kingdom who worked aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 15
HMS Prince of Wales
  • Mr. Rushton, British Able Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 16
RMS Lusitania
  • Mr. George Rushton, English First Waiter from England, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 17


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  3. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  6. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  7. 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)
  8. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  9. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/calcutta
  10. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Dick
  11. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 2nd December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/camden
  12. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duchess-of-northumberland
  13. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-gray
  14. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 18) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  15. Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
  16. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
  17. Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 7) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/


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