Seddgewyke History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The present generation of the Seddgewyke family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in the township of Sedgewick in the parish of Heversham in Westmorland.

Early Origins of the Seddgewyke family

The surname Seddgewyke was first found in Sussex where the family held an ancient castle and manor near Horsham. 1 Horsham "is supposed to have derived its name from Horsa, the brother of Hengist, who is said to have been interred in the immediate vicinity, in 457, after the battle with Vortimer, near Aylesford, in which he was slain." 2

Early History of the Seddgewyke family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Seddgewyke research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1557, 1558, 1573, 1600, 1610, 1611, 1656, 1658 and 1669 are included under the topic Early Seddgewyke History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Seddgewyke Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Seddgewyke include Sedgewick, Sedgewicke, Sedgwicke, Sedwick and many more.

Early Notables of the Seddgewyke family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Thomas Sedgwick (Segiswycke) (d. 1573), an English Roman Catholic theologian. Under Queen Mary he became Regius professor of divinity at Cambridge in 1557, and in 1558 both rector of Stanhope, Durham and vicar of Gainford, Durham. William Sedgwick (ca.1610-1669), was an English Puritan and mystic, born in Bedfordshire, son of William Sedgwick of London. He was known as the "Apostle of the Isle of Ely" and "Doomsday Sedgwick." Obadiah Sedgwick (c.1600-1658), was an English...
Another 81 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Seddgewyke Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Seddgewyke family

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Seddgewyke were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Major General Robert Sedgwick (c. 1611-1656), who settled at Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1635; Joe and Mary Sedgwick who settled in Virginia in 1679.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.