| ![Show Contents]() Wandford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England Early Origins of the Wandford familyThe surname Wandford was first found in Suffolk at Wangford (St. Peter), a parish in the union and hundred of Blything or at Wangford (St. Denis) another parish in the union of Mildenhall in the hundred of Lackford. 1 A census in the late 1800s, listed 818 inhabitants for Wangford (St. Peter) and only 46 inhabitants for Wangford (St. Denis.) Wangford dates back to at least the Domesday Book where it was listed as Wankeforda and literally meant "ford by the open fields" from the Old English words wang + ford. 2 Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Wangford, held by Richard Fitzgilbert from the Abbot of St. Edmund's. 3 Early History of the Wandford familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wandford research. Another 143 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1225, 1327, 1497, 1586, 1592, 1593, 1621, 1624, 1629, 1637, 1640, 1655, 1656, 1665, 1684, 1707, 1710, 1713, 1717, 1719, 1726 and 1736 are included under the topic Early Wandford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Wandford Spelling VariationsAnglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Wangford, Wangforth, Wankforth, Wankford, Wangfurd, Wangforde, Wankforde, Wandsford, Wandesford, Wandisford, Wansford, Wainsford and many more. Early Notables of the Wandford familyOutstanding amongst the family at this time was Christopher Wandesford (1592-1640), an English administrator and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1621 and 1629, Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1629.His brother, John Wandesford (1593-1665) of Kirklington, Yorkshire was also an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1624 and 1665.Christopher Wandesford, 1st Viscount Castlecomer (1656-1707) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. Christopher Wandesford...
Another 71 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wandford Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Wandford familyFor many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Wandford or a variant listed above were: settlers were recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Florida, and to the islands..
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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