Contents [hide]

Sergeant History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Sergeant History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancient name of Sergeant finds its origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from a name for 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 Sergeant family

The surname Sergeant 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 Sergeant family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sergeant 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 Sergeant History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sergeant 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 Sergeant family name include Sargent, Sargant, Sargaunt, Sarguent, Sarjeant, Sargeant, Sergeant and many more.

Early Notables of the Sergeant family

Distinguished members of the family include

John Sergeant (1622-1707), Roman Catholic controversialist, son of William Sergeant, yeoman, of Barrow-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire. 3
Peter Sergeant (died 1714), born in England, emigrated to Boston and became a wealthy merchant, town constable in 1674, and a Councillor from 1692 to 1703

Sergeant Ranking

In France, the name Sergeant is the 4,599^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Sergeant family to Ireland

Some of the Sergeant 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.

Sergeant 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. Early immigrants bearing the Sergeant surname or a spelling variation of the name include :

Sergeant Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Sergeant, who arrived in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1634 5
William Sergeant, who landed in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1638 5
Jonathan Sergeant, who landed in Connecticut in 1644 5
Fran Sergeant, who landed in Virginia in 1661 5
Joseph Sergeant, who arrived in Maryland in 1664 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sergeant Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Mary Sergeant, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1707 5
Elizabeth Sergeant, who arrived in America in 1760-1763 5

Sergeant Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Sergeant, aged 20, who arrived in America in 1821 5
Mr. Sergeant, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1822 5
Robert Sergeant, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1872 5

Sergeant migration to Australia +

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

Sergeant Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Charles Sergeant, who arrived in Holdfast Bay, Australia aboard the ship "Canton" in 1838 6
Henry Sergeant, who arrived in Holdfast Bay, Australia aboard the ship "Canton" in 1838 6
Jane Adelaide Sergeant, who arrived in Holdfast Bay, Australia aboard the ship "Canton" in 1838 6
John Sergeant, who arrived in Holdfast Bay, Australia aboard the ship "Canton" in 1838 6
Joseph Sergeant, who arrived in Holdfast Bay, Australia aboard the ship "Canton" in 1838 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sergeant 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:

Sergeant Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Henry Sergeant, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
James Sergeant, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Claramont" in 1863
Elizabeth Sergeant, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Claramont" in 1863
Wesley Sergeant, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Claramont" in 1863
Mary Sergeant, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Claramont" in 1863
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sergeant migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 7

Sergeant Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Tho Sergeant, aged 23, who arrived in Barbados in 1635 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Sergeant (post 1700) +

William Sergeant, American politician, Member of New Jersey State House of Assembly from Hunterdon County, 1856-57 8
Thomas Sergeant, American politician, Secretary of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1817-19; Pennsylvania State Attorney General, 1819-20; Postmaster at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1828-33 8
Jonathan Dickinson Sergeant (1746-1793), American politician, Delegate to Continental Congress from New Jersey, 1776; Pennsylvania State Attorney General, 1777-80 8
John Sergeant (1779-1852), American Republican politician, Member of Pennsylvania State Legislature; U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania, 1815-23, 1827-29, 1837-41, National Republican Candidate for Vice President of the United States, 1832 8
George Sergeant, American politician, Mayor of Dallas, Texas, 1935-37 8
John Sergeant (1779-1852), American politician who represented Pennsylvania in the House of Representatives
Mr. John Sergeant, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1487 to 1488
John Sergeant (b. 1944), British journalist and broadcaster
Frederick Sergeant, General
John Sergeant Wise (1846-1913), American author and politician in Virginia

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
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CANTON 1838. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1838Canton.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html