Woodroffe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Woodroffe is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Yorkshire. Their name, however, derives from the woodrofe plant, a white flower whose leaves bear a sweet scent. The name indicates that the original bearer lived in an area in which the woodrofe was common. 1

Alternatively, the name could have been derived from "Woodreve, the woodman, the forester of the Midland Counties." 1 2

Early Origins of the Woodroffe family

The surname Woodroffe was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat at Bolton upon Dearne, before and after the Norman Conquest in 1066. "The place became the residence of several families of some consideration, and seems to have been from early times a rich and flourishing spot." 3

The Hundredorum Rolls or 1273 proved the wide use of the name with early spellings throughout ancient England: John Woderove, Oxfordshire; Robert Woderove, Huntingdonshire; and Henry Woderove, Lincolnshire. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included and entry for Thomas Woderoue. 4

Early History of the Woodroffe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Woodroffe research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1551, 1554, 1574, 1638, 1646, 1656, 1660, 1669, 1672, 1679, 1685, 1711, 1734, 1766, 1768, 1803, 1807, 1821, 1824, 1830, 1841, 1851, 1852, 1855, 1856 and 1865 are included under the topic Early Woodroffe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Woodroffe Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Woodroffe family name include Woodrow, Woderove, Woodrof, Woodrofe, Wodrow, Woodroffe, Woodruff, Woodrufe and many more.

Early Notables of the Woodroffe family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Benjamin Woodroffe (1638-1711), was an English divine, son of the Rev. Timothy Woodroffe, born in Canditch Street, St. Mary Magdalen parish, Oxford. "He was educated at Westminster school, and was ele...

Migration of the Woodroffe family to Ireland

Some of the Woodroffe family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 43 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Woodroffe migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Woodroffe surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Woodroffe Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Matthew Woodroffe, who landed in Hartford, Connecticut in 1640 5
William Woodroffe, who arrived in Maryland in 1658 5
Joseph Woodroffe, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1682

Woodroffe Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Charles Woodroffe, who arrived in Mississippi in 1876 5

Woodroffe migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Woodroffe Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Edward Woodroffe, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Surrey" in 1838 6
Mary Woodroffe, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Jenny Lind" in 1850 7
Richard Woodroffe, aged 42, a farm labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "Constance" 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Woodroffe (post 1700) +

Barry Jonathan Clayton Woodroffe SBS, JP (1989-1999), English diplomat, Commissioner of Rating and Valuation, Hong Kong
Sidney Clayton Woodroffe VC (1895-1915), English recipient of the Victoria Cross
Sir John Woodroffe (1865-1936), English lawyer, educator and government official in India
Paul Vincent Woodroffe (1875-1954), British book illustrator and stained-glass artist
Martyn J. Woodroffe (1950-1968), Welsh silver medalist swimmer at the 1968 Olympic Games
Colin D. Woodroffe, Australian geographer and coastal geomorphologist
Rt. Rev. George Woodroffe, Bishop of Windward Islands

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SURRY/SURREY 1838. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1838Surry-Surrey.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) JENNY LIND 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850JennyLind.gif
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CONSTANCE 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Constance.htm