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Underhill History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Underhill History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Anglo-Saxon name Underhill comes from when the family resided at the foot of a hill or in the settlement of Underhill in Devon. The surname Underhill belongs to both the category of habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads, and the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees.

Early Origins of the Underhill family

The surname Underhill was first found in Staffordshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, before and after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Early History of the Underhill family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Underhill research. Another 114 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1268, 1275, 1509, 1515, 1518, 1539, 1545, 1561, 1592, 1603, 1625, 1630, 1634, 1637, 1641, 1672 and 1710 are included under the topic Early Underhill History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Underhill Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Underhill has been recorded under many different variations, including Underhill, Undrell and others.

Early Notables of the Underhill family

Notables of the family at this time include

Edward Underhill (fl. 1539-1561), the 'hot-gospeller,' who came 'of a worshipful house in Worcestershire,' and was born probably about 1515. His grandfather, John Underhill, originally of Wolverhampto...
John Underhill (ca. 1545-1592), was an English academic, and later, bishop of Oxford. Cave Underhill (1634-1710?), was an English actor, the son of Nicholas Underhill, clothworker, born in St. Andrew'...
John Underhill (d. 1672), was an American colonist who came of a Warwickshire family, (probably of the Kenilworth branch), and may perhaps be identified with John Underhill, the son of Thomas Underhil...

Underhill Ranking

In the United States, the name Underhill is the 3,999^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1

Underhill migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Underhill or a variant listed above:

Underhill Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Sharpe, Jr., who arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Ambrose" as part of the Winthrop Fleet, bound for Boston 2
Henry Underhill, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 3
Thomas Underhill, who settled in Virginia in 1654
Edward Underhill, who landed in Maryland in 1661 3
Elizabeth Underhill, who arrived in Maryland in 1661 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Underhill Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Giles Underhill, who landed in Virginia in 1714 3
Sarah Underhill, who landed in Virginia in 1714 3

Underhill Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mr. William Underhill, (b. 1809), aged 23, Cornish settler departing from Plymouth aboard the ship “Andromeda” arriving in the United States on 10th May 1832 4
Charles Underhill, who arrived in New York, NY in 1855 3
S E Underhill, aged 38, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1869 3

Underhill migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Underhill Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Nathaniel Underhill U.E. born in Westchester County, New York, USA who settled in Maugerville, Sunbury County, New Brunswick c. 1784 5
Mr. Thomas Underhill U.E. who settled in New Brunswick c. 1784 5
Capt. William Underhill U.E. (b. 1728) born in Philipsburg, Westchester County, New York, USA from Philipsburg, Westchester County, New York, USA who settled in Spoon Island, Hampstead, New Brunswick c. 1784 he enlisted in 1775 serving in the Queens Rangers, married to Mary Sutton having 6 children, he died in 1813 5

Underhill migration to Australia +

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

Underhill Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Mary Day Underhill who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Brothers" on 20th November 1823, arriving in New South Wales, Australia and Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
Mr. Thomas Underhill, (b. 1816), aged 15, English black smith who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for life for stealing, transported aboard the "Exmouth" on 3rd March 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1898 7
Mr. James Underhill, English convict who was convicted in Bristol, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Camden" on 21st September 1832, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. John Underhill, (b. 1812), aged 20 who was convicted in Somerset, England for life for burglary, transported aboard the "Circassian" on 4th November 1832, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
Miss Rebecca Underhill who was convicted in Exeter, Devon, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Emma Eugenia" on 16th November 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Underhill 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:

Underhill Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Margaret Underhill, aged 19, a servant, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Glenlora" in 1873
Thomas G. Underhill, aged 28, a tin smith, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "La Hogue" in 1874
Eliza Underhill, aged 27, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "La Hogue" in 1874
Benjamin Underhill, aged 1, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "La Hogue" in 1874

Underhill 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. 11

Underhill Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Richard Underhill, who arrived in Barbados in 1654

Contemporary Notables of the name Underhill (post 1700) +

William Underhill (1933-2022), American sculptor, from Berkeley, California
Ruth M Underhill (1884-1984), American anthropologist
Walter Underhill (1795-1866), American politician, U.S. Representative from New York
Fred Underhill, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Colorado 1st District, 1918 12
Francis Trelease Underhill Jr. (1921-1999), American politician, U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia, 1973 12
Edwin Stewart Underhill (1861-1929), American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for New York, 1888; U.S. Representative from New York, 1911-15 12
Edward Underhill (d. 1905), American Republican politician, Brewer; real estate business; Candidate for Mayor of Yonkers, New York, 1888 12
E. Stewart Underhill, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1932 12
Charles Lee Underhill (1867-1946), American Republican politician, Blacksmith; hardware merchant; Member of Massachusetts State House of Representatives; U.S. Representative from Massachusetts 9th District, 1921-33 12
Charles F. Underhill, American politician, Member of New Jersey State House of Assembly from Essex County, 1886-87 12
... (Another 23 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
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)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to New York 1820 - 1891 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_new_york_1820_1891.pdf
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 30th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/brothers
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/exmouth
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 2nd December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/camden
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 8th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/circassian
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 31st March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emma-eugenia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html