Contents [hide]

Sowers History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Sowers History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Sowers surname evolved from any of several places so named in Northern England. The place name comes from the Old Norse "saurr," meaning "ground," and "the Old English "byr," meaning farm. 1 2

Alternatively, the name could have originated in the far south of England, specifically Cornwall and Devon where could have been derived from the Middle English personal name Soby. "It could also derive from the rare Old French name Sob(b)o, a pet form of ancient Germanic names like Sudbald and Sudbert (composed of the elements sud- 'south' + -bald 'bold' and -bert 'bright'). A habitational name from a shortened form of Sobbery, a Middle English form of Sodbury, Gloucestershire, is also formally possible but no evidence has been found that definitely links the two names. This surname is found in Cornwall from the late 13th century." 3

Early Origins of the Sowers family

The surname Sowers was first found in the North Riding of Yorkshire at Sowerby, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Thirsk, wapentake of Birdforth. Another chapelry named Sowerby can be found in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 4 Both date back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when they were both recorded as Sorebi at that time. 5

Castle Sowerby is a civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England and it is here that Odierna de Sourebi was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of 1195. Years later, Richard Surby was listed in London in 1381 and in the same year, William Sourby was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls. 6

Also in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379, we found Thomas de Sawreby; and Johannes de Sawreby. 7

"Sowerby is the name of parishes and townships in the North and West Ridings, in Lancashire, and Cumberland. Between the reigns of Charles II. and George I. three Thomas Sowerbys were buried in the minister yard, Ripon. Soureby was a Yorkshire surname in the reign of Edward I.. The Sowerbys are also represented in the counties of Cumberland, Durham (around Darlington), and Lincoln." 3

Today, the variants Sower and Sowers is an abbreviated form of the name Sowersby. 6

Early History of the Sowers family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sowers research. Another 139 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1597, 1609, 1699, 1757, 1787, 1788, 1811, 1812, 1822, 1825, 1831, 1843, 1844, 1847, 1852, 1854, 1871, 1884 and 1891 are included under the topic Early Sowers History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sowers Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Sowerby, Sowerbie, Sowersby, Sorebi, Soreby, Soureby, Sowerbutts, Sourbutts, Sorbutt, Sowers and many more.

Early Notables of the Sowers family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Thomas Surbey, an English water engineer made notes of the lock at Hudd's Mill in 1699.James Sowerby (1757-1822) was a British naturalist and illustrator, whose sons would continue his work. He was the son of John Sowerby (descendant of an old border family through the Yorkshire branch) and Arabella, his wife, was born in London on 21 March 1757. He became a student at the Royal Academy, and was an articled pupil of Richard Wright, the marine painter. In his early years he was a teacher of drawing and a portrait-painter.His eldest son...
Another 448 words (32 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Sowers Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sowers Ranking

In the United States, the name Sowers is the 2,983^rd most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 8

Sowers migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Sowers Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Sowers, who landed in Maryland in 1838 9
W Sowers, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 9
George Sowers, aged 42, who immigrated to the United States, in 1894
Gregory Sowers, aged 19, who settled in America, in 1894
James Sowers, aged 64, who settled in America, in 1895
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sowers Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Abraham Sowers, aged 32, who settled in America from England, in 1900
Ethel Sowers, who landed in America, in 1903
Mrs Wm. B Sowers, aged 24, who immigrated to the United States, in 1904
Margaret Sowers, aged 60, who immigrated to America from Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1909
Georgiana Sowers, aged 58, who landed in America, in 1909
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sowers migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Sowers Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. John A Sowers U.E. who settled in St. Andrews, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 10

Contemporary Notables of the name Sowers (post 1700) +

George F. Sowers (1921-1996), American Civil Engineer and Regents Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Scott Sowers (b. 1963), American actor
Jeremy Bryan Sowers (b. 1983), American Major League Baseball pitcher
Roy G. Sowers Jr., American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 1964 11
Rosslyn L. Sowers (1864-1951), American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1928; Democratic Candidate for U.S. Representative from Michigan 3rd District, 1930, 1932, 1934, 1936 11
Neil S. Sowers, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from North Carolina, 1940 (alternate), 1948 11
Frank Sowers, American politician, Burgess of Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, 1960 11
D. H. Sowers, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 1912 11
Barbara J. Sowers, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives 35th District, 1980 11
A. H. Sowers (b. 1833), American Republican politician, Physician; Member of Nebraska State Senate, 1883-86 11

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"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
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html