SMALLWOOD FAMILY HISTORY


This page is dedicated to the history of the Smallwood family, principally in the UK but also throughout the world.               

The surname Smallwood is, by general agreement, a locality surname derived from the township of Smallwood in the parish of Astbury, Cheshire. This origin is supported to a large extent by the distribution of the surname within the UK, although from the earliest dates the name was established well away from Cheshire, including several branches which emigrated to the US and elsewhere. The name is quite prominent in Yorkshire, and there is a possible alternative origin for the name in the area of Smalwode in the parish of Ravenfield, West Yorkshire, documented in a land grant of 1337 (YASRS 102 Page 90 Deed 258). There is also a possible alternative locational origin for the name in Staffordshire.

A Smallwood study has been registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies by David Smallwood of Worcestershire, and this site is intended to provide a repository for material related to the history and distribution of the name, principally in the UK but also worldwide. David has constructed an index of all Smallwood births, marriages and deaths from civil registration records in the UK for 1837-2005 (overview attached), and an index to Smallwood probate entries from 1858. We also have several other indices to Smallwood related genealogical information, particularly in relation to Yorkshire and the West Midlands.

A significant number of Smallwood genealogies have now been constructed, and David has organised many of these into a series of numbered trees. Several of these have now been written up in detail, with copies submitted to the Society of Genealogists Library, while many others remain unpublished. An overview of David's series of UK trees is attached, arranged both by size of tree and by original location. Details of other research interests, not yet linked to specific trees, are incorporated into the locality summaries. In addition, North American researchers have worked on a number of US and Canadian trees, and a guide to these is also attached. New feature : an index to all the Smallwoods in the 1881 census for England, Scotland and Wales, linking them to their associated numbered trees in this series, has now been made available online.

Anyone looking specifically for a coat of arms associated with the Smallwood family should visit the Coats of Arms page.

The site contains a variety of (rather out of date) links to Smallwood related internet resources, although these are being gradually incorporated elsewhere in the site.

 

Any general comments, suggestions, relevant material and inquiries for this site should be addressed to Ian Hall.

 

 

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