Contents [hide]

Sargent History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Sargent History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Sargent is from the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name was given to a person who was a person who held the official name of Sergeant or Serjant. This occupational surname referred to the individual who was an officer of the law, someone who could summon people to court. The name could also refer to the officer who was a tenant by military service under the rank of a knight.

Early Origins of the Sargent family

The surname Sargent was first found in Buckingham where John le Serjaunt was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. The same rolls list Walter le Serjaunt, John le Serjant, Robert Sergant and Roger le Serjaunt. 1

Some of the family were found in early years in the parish of Endellion, Cornwall. "The manor of Trefrike or Trefreke, belonged at a very early period to the family of Serjeaux; since, so early as 1396 it passed with a co-heiress to the Marneys, and was afterwards in the family of Passelew, the descendants from another co-heiress of Serjeaux." 2

"The manor of Helland, which belonged at a very early period to the family of Sergeaux, passed from them by a co-heiress to Sir John Passele, who possessed it in the year 1427." 2

"The manor of Lanreath, Lanreth, or Lanretho, [in Cornwall] from which the name probably was made to extend to the whole district, belonged in the middle of the thirteenth century to the family of Serjeaux, by one of whose co-heiresses it was carried in marriage to the Pashleys." 2

Early History of the Sargent family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sargent research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1622, 1674, 1692, 1703, 1707, 1714 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Sargent History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sargent Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Sargent family name include Sargent, Sargant, Sargaunt, Sarguent, Sarjeant, Sargeant, Sergeant and many more.

Early Notables of the Sargent family

Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Sargent Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sargent Ranking

In the United States, the name Sargent is the 968^th most popular surname with an estimated 29,844 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Sargent family to Ireland

Some of the Sargent family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sargent migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Sargent or a variant listed above:

Sargent Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Sargent, who settled in Charlestown Massachusetts in 1635
William Sargent, who arrived in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1638 4
John Sargent, who landed in Virginia in 1663 4

Sargent Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Sargent, who landed in Maryland in 1735 4
Richard Sargent, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 4

Sargent Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Sargent, who arrived in America in 1805 4
James Sargent, who arrived in Boston in 1823
Thomas D Sargent, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 4
G E Sargent, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 4
John Sargent, aged 16, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sargent migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Sargent Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Andrew Sargent U.E. who settled in Saint David, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 member of the Cape Ann Association 5
Mr. David Sargent U.E. who settled in Saint David, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 member of the Cape Ann Association 5
Mrs. Mary Sargent U.E. who settled in Saint David, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 smember of the Cape Ann Association 5
Mr. Peter Sargent U.E. who settled in Saint David, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 member of the Cape Ann Association 5
Mr. Samuel Sargent U.E. who settled in Saint David, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 member of the Cape Ann Association 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sargent migration to Australia +

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

Sargent Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Sargent, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Fanny" on 25th August 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Richard Sargent, English convict who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Fame" on 9th October 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Mr. John Sargent, (b. 1809), aged 19, English joiner who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years for house breaking, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 29th April 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1877 8
Mr. Samuel Sargent who was convicted in Devon, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Circassian" on 4th November 1832, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
Mr. Thomas Sargent, English convict who was convicted in Lewes, Sussex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 28th July 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sargent 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:

Sargent Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Henry Sargent, aged 25, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Birman" in 1842
Louiza Catherine Sargent, aged 24, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Birman" in 1842
Henry Sargent, aged 4, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Birman" in 1842
Miss Mary Sargent, British settler travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Lord William Bentinck" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 11th December 1851 11
Usher Sargent, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Armstrong" in 1865
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Sargent (post 1700) +

Charles Michael Sargent Jr. (1945-2018), American politician and a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives (1997-2018)
Joseph Sargent (1925-2014), born Giuseppe Danielle Sorgente, an American four-time Primetime Emmy Award winning film director, known for Something the Lord Made (2004), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) and Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
Dick Sargent (1930-1994), American actor perhaps best known as the second actor to portray Darrin Stephens on the television series Bewitched 12
Wallace L W Sargent (b. 1935), British-American astronomer
Pamela Sargent (b. 1948), American science fiction writer
John Grant Sargent (1813-1883), English leader of the ‘Fritchley Friends,’ son of Isaac and Hester Sargent, born at Paddington
John Sargent (1780-1833), English divine, the eldest son of John Sargent (d. 1831), M.P. for Seaford
Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent (1895-1967), English conductor, organist and composer, Britain's leading conductor of choral works
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), Italian/American painter
John Neptune Sargent (1826-1893), British lieutenant-general, born at sea, aboard the East India Company's ship Atlas
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Sargent family +

HMS Cornwall

Leonard Walter Sargent (d. 1942), British Able Seaman aboard the HMS Cornwall when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 13

HMS Repulse

Mr. Alfred William Sargent, British Leading Stoker, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 14

USS Arizona

Mr. Robert I. Sargent Jr., American Seaman Second Class working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he survived the sinking 15

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
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
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th April 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 8th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/circassian
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 23rd March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Dick Sargent. (Retrieved 2011, January 21) Dick Sargent. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Sargent
Force Z Survivors Crew List HMS Cornwall (Retrieved 2018, February 13th) - Retrieved from https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listcornwallcrew.html#A
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html