A Thousand Years

The Whitwell Family History

The name Whitwell comes from Anglo-Saxon roots meaning "shining stream." Villages bearing the name appear across England in the Domesday Book of 1086, and the written record reaches back nearly a thousand years before that.

What follows is the short version of a long story, the product of more than fifty years of genealogical research by Dr. David Whitwell, tracing a single family from medieval England to the American Revolution and on to Austin, Texas.

The Family Motto

Aquila non captat muscas

An eagle does not capture flies.

The family motto, a reminder to keep one's focus on what matters.

One family, ten centuries

From a name in the written record of England to a household in Austin, Texas.

  1. 942 AD

    Earliest written reference

    The Whitwell name first appears in the written record of England.

  2. 1086

    The Domesday Book

    Villages named Whitwell are recorded across several English counties in William the Conqueror's great survey.

  3. 1556

    Miles Whitwell of Kendal

    The documented direct lineage begins with Miles Whitwell of Kendal.

  4. 1773

    Samuel Whitwell and the Boston Tea Party

    Samuel Whitwell, a Boston merchant and member of the Sons of Liberty, takes part in planning the Boston Tea Party.

  5. 1775

    Two brothers cross the Atlantic

    Robert and John Whitwell emigrate from England to Boston, founding the American branch of the family. Thomas Whitwell, Sr. dies the same year at the first battle of the Revolution.

  6. 1803

    Pleasant Whitwell, Tennessee

    Pleasant Whitwell, born this year, serves as Perry County Clerk and farms in Tennessee.

  7. 1815

    The Battle of New Orleans

    Thomas Whitwell, Jr. (1774-1826) fights in the closing battle of the War of 1812.

  8. 1899

    Elbert Whitwell, preacher

    Elbert Whitwell, born this year, preaches across Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma.

  9. 1986

    A thousand-year anniversary

    The family marks one thousand years since its earliest written reference.

  10. Today

    Austin and Washington

    Dr. David Whitwell and Stefan Whitwell carry the name and its stories forward from Austin, Texas, and Floriano Whitwell carries it on from Washington, D.C.

On the Research

This history is the product of more than fifty years of genealogical research by Dr. David Whitwell, a life's work of tracing a single family across a thousand years of the written record.

The Whitwell History in Print

Dr. David Whitwell published this research as a series of volumes. Each is available in paperback on Amazon.

Amazon links are affiliate links; purchases may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.