Wedgwood History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The lineage of the name Wedgwood begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in Wedgwood, a township in Staffordshire. The place-name Wedgwood is derived from the Old English elements wæthe, whcih means marsh or fen, and wuda, which means wood. The place-name taken as a whole means "place at the marshy wood." The township no longer exists.

Early Origins of the Wedgwood family

The surname Wedgwood was first found in Staffordshire at Wedgwood, a township, in the parish of Wolstanton, union of Wolstanton and Burslem, N. division of the hundred of Pirehill. "This township, which comprises 431 acres of arable land, is supposed to have been originally the residence of the Wedgwood family, several of whom have been eminent for their improvements in the earthenware and porcelain manufacture." 1 Josiah Wedgwood founded the village of Eturia, again in Staffordshire. "The classical name of this place was given to it by its late celebrated founder, Josiah Wedgwood, who established here the well-known Wedgwood-ware potteries, in 1769, and called the village after the seat of the ancient fictile art in Italy, Etruria, where a colony of Phœnician potters settled about 1000 years before the birth of Christ." 1 Wedgwood "erected an entire village for his workmen and dependants, and a mansion on a neighbouring eminence for his own residence." 1

Early History of the Wedgwood family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wedgwood research. Another 248 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1470, 1576, 1588, 1612, 1637, 1730 and 1795 are included under the topic Early Wedgwood History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wedgwood Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Wedgwood has undergone many spelling variations, including Wedgewoode, Wedgewood, Wedgewode, Wegewode, Wegewood and many more.

Early Notables of the Wedgwood family

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

Wedgwood migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Wedgwood were among those contributors:

Wedgwood Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Helene Wedgwood, aged 37, who immigrated to America, in 1905
Josiah Wedgwood, aged 2, who immigrated to the United States from Burton on Lent, in 1905
Sarah Wedgwood, aged 31, who immigrated to the United States from Burton on Lent, in 1905
Violet C. Wedgwood, aged 26, who settled in America from Stoke on Trent, in 1906
Joseph Wedgwood, aged 23, who landed in America from Southsea, in 1906
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Wedgwood (post 1700) +

Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795), English potter, thirteenth and youngest child of Thomas and Mary Wedgwood, founder of Wedgwood Pottery 2
Ruth N. Wedgwood, American law professor
E. W. Wedgwood, American politician, Mayor of Biddeford, Maine, 1870-71 3
Hensleigh Wedgwood (1803-1891), British etymologist, philologist and barrister, author of A Dictionary of English Etymology, a cousin of Charles Darwin
Thomas Wedgwood (1771-1805), early English photographer
Francis Hamilton "Frank" Wedgwood (1867-1930), English Justice of the Peace, High Sheriff
Francis Wedgwood (1921-1970), 2nd Baron Wedgwood
Laurence Wedgwood (1844-1913), Director of the Wedgwood pottery firm
Dame "Cicely" Veronica Wedgwood OM, DBE (1910-1997), English historian
James Ingall Wedgwood (1883-1951), the first Presiding Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 Jan. 2019
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html