Whatman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Early Origins of the Whatman family

The surname Whatman was first found in Westmorland, where they held a family seat on the English/Scottish border. After the Norman Conquest of England many of Duke William's rebellious Barons moved north. The border became a convenient but turbulent no-man's land where the persecuted survived only by stealth. Many were given land by King Malcolm Canmore and later by King David of Scotland. Some were native Scots. In the 16th century they became known as the 'unruly clans'. The name was first recorded in northern England when Richard Weythman or Waitman held estates in that shire in 1223.

Early History of the Whatman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whatman research. Another 163 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1279, 1437, 1566, 1576, 1621, 1625, 1626, 1630, 1702, 1706, 1740, 1741, 1759, 1775 and 1798 are included under the topic Early Whatman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whatman Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Waiteman, Waythman, Waithman, Watman, Whatman, Whateman, Waiteman, Weytman, Whatman, Watman, Whattman, Wattman, Wetman, Wettman, Whetman, Whettman, Wheatman, Weatman and many more.

Early Notables of the Whatman family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Thomas Whatman (1576-1630), English politician from Chichester, Sussex, Member of Parliament for Chichester (1621-1625) and for Portsmouth in 1626
James Whatman (1702-1759), the Elder, was a paper maker from Kent, who made revolutionary advances to the craft in England. His son, James Whatman the Younger (1741-1798) continued the tradition. In 1...

Whatman migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Whatman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Chas. Whatman, aged 19, who settled in America from England, in 1893
Florence Whatman, aged 20, who immigrated to the United States from Maidstone, in 1899

Whatman Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Wm. Whatman, aged 40, who landed in America from England, in 1901
William Whatman, aged 46, who immigrated to the United States from Brede, England, in 1907
Mary Grace Whatman, aged 19, who settled in America from Boughton, England, in 1911
Edward Whatman, aged 52, who landed in America from Boughton, England, in 1911

Whatman 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:

Whatman Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

A. Whatman, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Hermione" in 1880

Contemporary Notables of the name Whatman (post 1700) +

James Whatman (1813-1887), English Liberal politician, Member of Parliament for Maidstone (1852-1857) and (1865-1874), Member of Parliament for West Kent (1857-1859)
Lieutenant Colonel Amherst Barrow "Brownie" Whatman MBE (1909-1984), English wireless operator, radio engineer and explorer; he was wireless operator on the Oxford University Arctic Expedition (1935-1936)
James Whatman Bosanquet (1804-1877), Welsh partner in the banking-house of Bosanquet, Salt, & Co., and a writer on biblical and Assyrian chronology