Upjohn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales

The Upjohn surname is a patronymic name created from the personal name John. The original form of the name was ap-John: the Welsh patronymic prefix "ap-," means "son of," but the prefix has been assimilated into the surname over the course of time.

Early Origins of the Upjohn family

The surname Upjohn was first found in Flintshire (Welsh: Sir y Fflint), a historic county, created after the defeat of the Welsh Kingdom of Gwynedd in 1284, and located in north-east Wales, in Wales where they were lineally descended from Meyrick, son of Prince Llewellyn, who was lineally descended from Hwfa Ap Cynddelw, founder of the first noble tribe of North Wales, descended was John Ap Meyric, whose son Robert Ap John was the ancestor of the ApJohns and UpJohns.

Early History of the Upjohn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Upjohn research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Upjohn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Upjohn Spelling Variations

There are relatively few surnames native to Wales, but they have an inordinately large number of spelling variations. Early variations of Welsh surnames can be explained by the fact that very few people in the early Middle Ages were literate. Priests and the few other literate people were responsible for recording names in official documents. And because most people could not specific how to properly record their names it was up to the individual recorder of that time to determine how a spoken name should be recorded. Variations due to the imprecise or improper recording of a name continued later in history when names originally composed in the Brythonic Celtic, language of Wales, known by natives as Cymraeg, were transliterated into English. Welsh names that were documented in English often changed dramatically since the native language of Wales, which was highly inflected, did not copy well. Occasionally, however, spelling variations were carried out according to an individual's specific design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by minor variations. The spelling variations of the name Upjohn have included Upjohn, ApJohn, Apshone and others.

Early Notables of the Upjohn family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was

Upjohn of Carmarthen

Upjohn migration to the United States +

During the latter half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the people of Wales journeyed to North America to find a new life. They made major contributions to the arts, industry and commerce of both Canada and the United States, and added a rich cultural heritage to their newly adopted societies. A look at the immigration and passenger lists has shown a number of people bearing the name Upjohn:

Upjohn Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Edward UpJohn, who settled in Philadelphia in 1774
James Upjohn, who arrived in New York in 1798 1

Upjohn Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Upjohn, who settled in New England in 1801
Aaron and Mary Upjohn, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1820
Gerrard Upjohn, who settled in Philadelphia in 1823
Mary Upjohn, who settled in New York City with four children in 1823
William Upjohn, who landed in New York in 1831 1
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Upjohn Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Richard Upjohn, aged 45, who immigrated to the United States, in 1904
Louisa Beatrice Upjohn, aged 34, who immigrated to the United States from Manchester, England, in 1908
Frank Upjohn, aged 28, who landed in America from Worsby, England, in 1908
Millie Upjohn, aged 56, who settled in America, in 1909
Frederic Upjohn, aged 53, who settled in America, in 1910
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Upjohn 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:

Upjohn Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Upjohn, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Mandarin" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 14th November 1843 2
Mary Ann Upjohn, aged 25, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Accrington" in 1863 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Upjohn (post 1700) +

William Erastus Upjohn (1853-1932), American medical doctor, founder and president of The Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company
Hobart Upjohn (1876-1949), American architect
Richard Michell Upjohn FAIA (1828-1903), American architect, co-founder and president of the American Institute of Architects
Richard Upjohn (1802-1878), English-born American architect who was a leader of the Gothic revival, his designs include Trinity Church in New York City (1846)
William Erastus Upjohn (1853-1932), American politician, Mayor of Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1918 3
James T. Upjohn (1858-1936), American Republican politician, Member of Michigan State House of Representatives from Kalamazoo County 1st District, 1925-28; Member of Michigan State Senate 6th District, 1929-34 3
Ian Upjohn, Australian barrister and Army Officer, and recipient of the Conspicuous Service Cross
Sir William George Dismore Upjohn (1888-1979), Australian surgeon from New South Wales
Brigadier Gerald Ritchie Upjohn CBE, PC, DL (1903-1971), Baron Upjohn, British soldier and judge
Thomas Haynes Upjohn (1889-1956), Australian civil engineer and public servant

Citations +

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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 17) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html