EnglandThe ancestors of the name Woolstenhulme date back to the days of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from their residence at Woolstencroft in the county of Cheshire. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Old English personal name Wulfstan and the Old English word croft, meaning paddock, farm or enclosure, or holm, meaning area of dry land. The name thus translates as the dweller at Wulfstan's farm.
The surname Woolstenhulme was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, before and after the Norman Conquest in 1066, in Wolstenholme, near Warrington, in that shire. Conjecturally they were descended from Woolston in Warwickshire, a pre-Norman Saxon settlement.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Woolstenhulme research. Another 162 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1574, 1700, 1562, 1639, 1610, 1600, 1609, 1611, 1670, 1640, 1622, 1691, 1649, 1709, 1676, 1717, 1689, 1724, 1660, 1738 and 1762 are included under the topic Early Woolstenhulme History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Woolstenhulme has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Many variations of the name Woolstenhulme have been found, including Woolstenholme, Wolstonholme, Wolstenholme and many more.
Notables of the family at this time include Sir John Wolstenholme (1562-1639), an English merchant who sponsored the Henry Hudson's last mission in 1610 to find the Northwest Passage, eponym of Cape Wolstenholme, Quebec, Canada. He hailed from "an old Derbyshire family, was the second son of John Wolstenholme, who came to London in the reign of Edward VI and obtained a post in the customs. The son at an early age became one of the richest merchants in London, and during the last half of his life took a prominent part in the extension of English commerce, in colonisation, and...
Another 132 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Woolstenhulme Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Woolstenhulmes to arrive on North American shores: John Wolstenholme arrived in Pennsylvania in 1865.
