Topics

• About the Dunsford One-Name Study
• Variants
• Origin of the surname
• Historical occurrences
• Frequency of the name
• Distribution of the name
• Data
• Contact Details

About the Dunsford One-Name Study

There is very strong evidence that everyone with the surname Dunsford can trace their ancestry back to the ancient town of Bradninch in Devon. The earliest British census in 1841 records some 50 families of Dunsfords in England and Wales. I have traced 44 of these back to Bradninch. I have also found half a dozen family trees and pedigrees drawn up in the 18th and 19th centuries which lead back to Bradninch. I have been in touch with a number of Dunsfords who have independently traced their ancestry back to Bradninch.

Up to the mid seventeenth century most, if not all the Dunsfords in and around Bradninch were farmers. By 1650 almost all of them had left the land, and most of the extended family had left Bradninch and settled in Tiverton 8 miles away. Their early years in Tiverton were marred by persecution for their Puritan beliefs, two of them being imprisoned for an entire winter. Their treatment in Tiverton may give a clue as to why so many left their ancestral home of Bradninch. By 1642 Civil War had broken out between the King and Parliament, led by Puritans. Most of the land in theManor of Bradninch was owned by the King, who may well have not wanted Puritans farming his land.

Whatever the reason for this exodus from the land, the impact on later generations of our ancestors was profound. They were forced to find other ways to earn a living, and many were remarkably succesful. The trades and professions on which they made their mark include:- cloth makers, cloth merchants, wine merchants, cutlers, bankers (the former Dunsford Bank in Fore Street Tiverton is now a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland, but the foundation stone marking it as the Dunsford Bank can still be seen.), sea captains, lieutenants (Royal Navy),surgeons (Harris Dunsford 1808 - 1847 was called to attend Queen Charlotte and the King of Prussia), vets, jewellers, innkeepers, carpenters, woolcombers, cordwainers, blacksmiths, accountants, printers, chemists, florists, coastguards, tailors, miners (owners and hewers), railway policeman, journalist, barrister, and at least one master dredger, and a general in the Bengal Army. The efforts of some at least did not go unrecognised. Decorations includt the D.S.O., C.B., V.O., and the M.B.E.

With the help of other people researching the surname, I have traced branches of the family in the U.K., U.S.A., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I would be interested to hear from other people trying to trace their Dunsford ancestry. There is a good chance I may have information leading as far back as the 16th century.

Variants

The registered variants of the name are Dunsford and Dunsforde. The name Dunford which occurs in Dorset and the North of England is not considered to be a variant.

Origin of the surname

There is very strong evidence that the surname originates in Devon. Lists of taxpayers in Devon in 1524 and 1543, and the Devon Protestation Return of 1641 show the name to be concentrated exclusively in and around Bradninch. The earliest record of the name found to date is in Exeter in 1260, which is where it may have originated. The village of Dunsford lies in the valley of the River Teign where it descends from Dartmoor, some 8 miles to the west of Exeter.

Historical occurrences

The author Martin Dunsford (1744 - 1807), in his 'Memoirs of the Family of Dunsford', describes the family as 'remarkable for a long mediocrity of station in the useful employments of life'. The only exceptions I have found to this are:

Thomas Dunsford (1666 - 1735) was amongst the first to greet William Prince of Orange at Exeter in 1688 at the start of the Glorious Revolution.

Harris Dunsford (1808 - 1847), surgeon, was called to attend both Queen Adelaide and the King of Prussia

Frederick Aubrey Dunsford, born 1856, was elected Mayor of Southampton in 1901.

Frequency of the name

236 Dunsfords were recorded in the 1841 census, comprising some 50 families. By 1861 there were 290 Dunsfords. and by 1881 this had increased to 447. The Canadian census for 1881 has 62 records of the surname, and the U.S. census for 1880 has 85. At the present day at a very rough estimate there are 2000 Dunsfords worldwide, about half of them residing in the U.K., and most of the rest in the U.S.A. and Canada.

Distribution of the name

In 1841 there were 120 Dunsfords in Devon, just over half of the total for the whole country. Of the rest, 30 lived in Somerset; 27 in Cornwall, 27 in London and 32 in other counties of England and Wales. The International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.) lists over 600 Dunsfords in Devon, 59 in London and 22 in Cornwall, No other county has more than 8.

Data

I have obtained all the Dunsford entries in the G.R.O. index for births and marriages between 1837 and 1900. Data gathering is now being concentrated on collecting entries in Devon parish registers. A number of branches of the family have been traced back from the twentieth century to the sixteenth century, including descendants in the U.K., U.S.A., and Australia, and Canada

Contact details

For further information, contact:

Mr Robert Dunsford
37 Stephen Drive,
Sheffield
S10 5NX
UNITED KINGDOM
E-mail:

This page last updated 16 March 2008.

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