Show ContentsSheardaloe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Sheardaloe is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in the township of Shardlow in the parish of Aston-upon-Trent in the county of Derbyshire. This place name was listed as Serdelau in the Domesday Book and Shardelow in 1279 in the Calendar of Fines of the County of Derby. 1

Early Origins of the Sheardaloe family

The surname Sheardaloe was first found in Derbyshire, at Shardlow, a village that dates back to at least the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was listed as Serdelau and literally meant "mound with a notch or indentation" from the Old English words sceard + hlaw. 2

Sir John de Shardelowe or Scherdelow (died 1344?) was an English judge who appeared as an "advocate in the reign of Edward II, and on 28 Jan. 1332 was appointed a judge of the court of common pleas and received knighthood. During his lifetime he settled his manor of Thompson, Norfolk, upon his elder son, Sir John de Shardelowe, and, in addition, died seised of the manor of Fulbourn and of lands in Leverington and Wisbeach in Cambridgeshire, of the manors of Barrow and Cowlinge or Cooling, and of lands in Brandon, Cavenham, and elsewhere in Suffolk, and of land in Downham in Norfolk." 3

Early History of the Sheardaloe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sheardaloe research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1589 is included under the topic Early Sheardaloe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sheardaloe 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 Sheardaloe family name include Shardelow, Shardlow, Shardlowe, Shardelowe, Shardlaw, Shardelaw, Shardalow, Shardeloe, Shardloe, Shartlow, Shartloe, Shatlow, Shatloe and many more.

Early Notables of the Sheardaloe family

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

Ireland Migration of the Sheardaloe family to Ireland

Some of the Sheardaloe 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.

Migration of the Sheardaloe family

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 Sheardaloe surname or a spelling variation of the name include : William Shardloe, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682; a D. Shatlow, who arrived in San Francisco in 1852; as well as Betsy Shardlow of Nottinghamshire, England and her daughter Dorothy, age 4 who arrived at Ellis Island, New York in 1908..



  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print


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