Show ContentsWidell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Widell family

The surname Widell was first found in Lancashire where the name was derived from the place name Whittle-in-the-Woods, a township in the parish of Leyland. There are also "hamlets and townships in Northumberland and Derbyshire." 1 "There are five townships bearing this singular name, two of which are in Lancashire, two in Northumberland, and one in Derbyshire." 2

Looking at census records in the late 1800's, the hamlet of Whittle in Derbyshire was the most populous with 2,284 people living there at that time, followed by Whittle in Northumberland with 56 and another Whittle in Northumberland with 31 people. The aforementioned Whittle-in-the-Woods or Whittle-Le-Woods is perhaps the most interesting. "One-half of the manor was granted about the reign of Henry I. to Gilbert de Witul." However, he passed the estate to "Richard le Butler; and by marriage with the heiresses of John Butler, it came to the families of Standish of Duxbury, and Anderton of Clayton." 3

Early entries in various rolls were infrequent as we must look to the Wills at Chester to find the following entries: John Whittle, of Chorley, Lancashire in 1581; and Robert Whittle, of Leyland in 1617. 1

Whittlesey is a village, in the hundred of North Witchford, Isle of Ely, county of Cambridge. "This place, called Witesie in Domesday Book, is supposed to have been a Roman station from the traces of a military way, and the numerous relics of antiquity discovered in the neighbourhood. " 3

William Whittlesey or Wittlesey (d. 1374), was Archbishop of Canterbury, "though doubtless a native of the Cambridgeshire village whose name he bore. " 4

Early History of the Widell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Widell research. Another 61 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1650 is included under the topic Early Widell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Widell Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Whittall, Whittell, Whittle, Wittle, Whyttel, Whyttall, Whyttle, Wyttle, Wittall, Wittel, Wittell and many more.

Early Notables of the Widell family

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

Migration of the Widell family to Ireland

Some of the Widell family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 33 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Widell migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Widell Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • C J Widell, aged 32, who landed in New York, NY in 1869 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Widell (post 1700) +

  • Mollie H. Widell, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Wisconsin, 1924 6
  • Gustav F. Widell, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Minnesota, 1904; Member of Minnesota State Senate 8th District, 1919-22, 1927-28 6
  • Mrs. Gustav Widell, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Minnesota, 1944 6


  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  5. 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)
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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