Whittefield History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

Early Origins of the Whittefield family

The surname Whittefield was first found in Northumberland at Whitfield, a parish, in the union of Haltwhistle, W. division of Tindale ward where "this place was for six centuries the property of the Whitfield family, to whom the Countess Ada, widow of Henry, Earl of Huntingdon, and mother of William the Lion, King of Scotland, made a grant of it in fee, with the exception of some lands to be held under the convent of Hexham; shortly after which, the family had a grant from that establishment of nearly all Whitfield." 1

Due to the literal translation of the surname to "dweller by the white field," 2 there are many other place name in both common spellings, Whitefield and Whitfield; too many to list here. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Margery de Wytefled in Oxfordshire; and Peter de Whytefled in Norfolk. 3

Early History of the Whittefield family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whittefield research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1371, 1378, 1384, 1401, 1619, 1634, 1639, 1646, 1650, 1660, 1684, 1685, 1688, 1705, 1712 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Whittefield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whittefield Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Whytefield, Whitfield, Whitefield, Whitefeild and others.

Early Notables of the Whittefield family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was Henry Whitefield, Archdeacon of Barnstaple from 1371 to 1384; and Thomas Whitefield (fl. 1378-1401), an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Hereford in 1378 and 1401. Henry Whitfield or Whitefield (d. 1660?), was an English divine, said to have been second son of Ralph Whitfeld of Gray's Inn. "He was more probably son of Thomas Whitfeld, lord of the manor of East Sheen and of Mortlake. In 1639 Whitfield, who had become a nonconformist at...
Another 85 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Whittefield Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Whittefield family to Ireland

Some of the Whittefield family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 146 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Whittefield family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Barbara Whitefield who settled in Virginia in 1685; Richard Whitefield settled in Virginia in 1635; Gilbert Whitfeild settled in Georgia in 1623; John Whitfeild settled in Barbados in 1660.

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)