Families

The history of families is an important set of building blocks for the broader study of local history. We cannot include links to all online accounts of a family with a Northamptonshire dimension but are expanding this collection to feature even more substantially researched accounts of those who have lived in or had significant connections with the county.

High society in the Middle Ages

Medieval Lands by Charles Cawley focuses on biographical genealogies of the major noble families of England and elsewhere between the 5th and 15th centuries. Information is meticulously referenced to primary sources and so generally of very high quality. Being published online, the site is more readily updated and corrected than is possible for printed works. The least exalted families covered by Medieval Lands are those described as 'untitled English nobility'. So, the vast majority of Northamptonshire families do not qualify. However, the site has wider use for local history than might at first seem for two main reasons:

• Most of the families included were substantial landowners, so their stories can be important context for the history of many places in addition to where the locations where they lived
• Family historians who have ventured back as far as the 15th century will probably only have done so with the more exalted members of society, thus increasing the likelihood of connections with the sort of families to be found in Medieval Lands.

Works about groups of families

• Patterns of progress and social mobility in some Northamptonshire families circa 1460-1560 by Dorothy Ann Rice [1996] The families concerned are Grene, Mordaunt, Epsom, Fermor, Knightley, Catesby, Tresham, Vaux, Parr and Spencer.
• Northamptonshire and some neighbouring records - historical, biographical and pictorial by John Grant [1912] Biographies of 125 people drawn from the 'great and the good' of that era with numerous pictures of the individuals and their residences. (**).

Boat families of the Grand Junction Canal

This site includes much material about the history of the Canal and the people who lived and worked on it. There are numerous references to individuals and their family relationships.

Specific families

• Adams A troublesome guardianship in the 18th Century by Christopher Tongue [1966] (page 19) A bundle of bills and letter with an account book explain the difficulties that faced by trustees in bringing up the three young children of Thomas Adams of Whilton, who died in 1736.
• Alleyne Thomas Alleyne's Grant of Arms by Francis W Steer [1953] (page 17) Description of a grant of arms dating from 1458, then held at Peterborough Museum.
• Andrew The Andrew family of Daventry - part 1 by Margaret Toynbee [1962] (page 95)
• Andrew The Andrew family of Daventry - part 2 by Margaret Toynbee [1963] (page 151)
• Bassett The First Two Bassets of Weldon - Novi Barones of the early and mid-twelfth century (part 1) by W T Reedy [1969] (page 241)
• Bassett The First Two Bassetts of Weldon - Novi Barones of the early and mid-twelfth century (part 2) by W T Reedy [1970] (page 295)
• Bennett Bennett family of Handley Park, Towcester by Dudley G Cary Elwes
• Bernard The Bernards of Abington and Nether Winchendon, volume 1 by Mrs Napier Higgins [1903] This is the only volume of the work with material relating to Northamptonshire.
• Billingham A Family of Shoemakers and Musicians: The Billinghams of Kislingbury by Wimersley Bush [1957] (page 204, with picture on page 209)
• Blencowe The Blencowes of Tasmania and South Australia by Maureen Work [1995] (page 171)
• Blundell The Blundells of Bedfordshire & Northamptonshire by Joseph Hight Blundell and Hight Blundell [1912] (**)
• Bodfish Origins of the Bodfish family at Naseby by Francis Howcutt [2024]
• Bott Pictures assembled by Marjorie Clipstone [2025] An album of photographs and newspaper cuttings. The families illustrated include Clipstone of Rothwell and Kingsthorpe, Bott & Burdett of Naseby, Pinnock of Rothwell and Wadsworth & Dartnell of Chapel Brampton.
• Boyson Alice Boyson of Winwick & Crick and her family by Francis Howcutt [2026] The life, Boyson ancestry and close relatives of Alice Boyson (1823-1856).
• Brabazon Brabazon family of Sibbertoft and Hothorp
• Brudenell The Wealth of Five Northamptonshire Families 1540-1640 by Mary E Finch [1956]
• Burdett Pictures assembled by Marjorie Clipstone [2025] An album of photographs and newspaper cuttings. The families illustrated include Clipstone of Rothwell and Kingsthorpe, Bott & Burdett of Naseby, Pinnock of Rothwell and Wadsworth & Dartnell of Chapel Brampton.
• Chichele Stemmata Chicheleana by Benjamin Buckler [1765] Sets out 527 pedigrees of families that the author claimed were descended from Thomas Chichele of Higham Ferrers.
• Claypole Cromwell's Master of the Horse and the Other Claypoles of Northborough by M Urwick Smith [1951] (page 23)
• Claypole The Claypoles of Northborough in America by Marion Balderson [1967] (page 121)
• Clipstone Pictures assembled by Marjorie Clipstone [2025] An album of photographs and newspaper cuttings. The families illustrated include Clipstone of Rothwell and Kingsthorpe, Bott & Burdett of Naseby, Pinnock of Rothwell and Wadsworth & Dartnell of Chapel Brampton.
• Collins Richard & Lucy Walpole of Brixworth by Francis Howcutt [2024] Includes history of the Collins family at Pitsford in the 17th century and its origins.
• Cox A Family of Stone-Carvers,The Coxes of Northamptonshire by Shelagh M Lewis [1953] (page 19)
• Craxford The Craxford Genealogy Magazine by Alan D Craxford includes 1,907 Northamptonshire references.
• Crisp Crisp migration from Naseby to Cottesbrooke & Crick by Francis Howcutt [2026] Evidence that the Crisp family of Crick came from Cottesbrooke and Naseby, with transcripts of primary sources.
• Dartnell Pictures assembled by Marjorie Clipstone [2025] An album of photographs and newspaper cuttings. The families illustrated include Clipstone of Rothwell and Kingsthorpe, Bott & Burdett of Naseby, Pinnock of Rothwell and Wadsworth & Dartnell of Chapel Brampton.
• Eayre Thomas Eayre of Kettering and other members of his family by P I King [1952] (page 10)
• Eayre The Eayres of Kettering (Addenda) [1953] (page 10)
• Fermor Northampton County, Pennsylvania by Henry David Raasch [1967] (page 85) concludes that its name comes from a connection with the Fermor family of Easton Neston.
• Fitzwilliam The Wealth of Five Northamptonshire Families 1540-1640 by Mary E Finch [1956]
• Garford The Garfords of Easton-on-the Hill by Frank Hance [1969] (page 209)
• Garratt The Curate's Line Extensive information about families with the Garratt surname, including those who lived at Crick and West Haddon.
• Haddon A history of the Haddons of Naseby and their descendants 1701-1914 by William George Cruft [1915] (**)
• Herbert & Clifton A Northamptonshire Courtship in the Eighteenth Century by Ray A Kelch & William W Wootton [1994] (page 47) Well-documented arrangements leading up to the marriage in 1725 of Thomas Herbert and Agnes Clifton and its poignant aftermath.
• Holand ‘A Nest of Warriors’ – the Holands of Northamptonshire 1314-1373 by Douglas Arden [2009] (page 7)
• Hotot Estate Records of the Hotot Family edited by Edmund King [1983] (page 1)
• Hotot The Origins of the Hotot family by Trevor Foulds [1984] (page 79)
• Isham A Treasury of Comfort: A Study of Elite Comfort in the Long Eighteenth Century by Ruth Joanne Barton [2025] The families whose correspondence provided the focus for this thesis include Isham of Lamport, Rye of Culworth, Thornton of Brockhall, Young of Orlingbury and Orlebar, some of whom lived at Ecton.
• Isham The Wealth of Five Northamptonshire Families 1540-1640 by Mary E Finch [1956]
• Isham Washington and Isham Discuses a connection between these families.
• Lamb Lord Melbourne's Ancestry: The Lamb family and Peterborough by W T Mellows [1950] (page 25)
• Lumley The ancient Northern family of Lumley and its Northamptonshire branch by L G H Horton-Smith [1948]
• Lyne Lyne family of Brixworth
• Markham History of the Markhams of Northamptonshire by Christopher A Markham [1890] (**)
• Maunsell The history of Maunsell or Mansel and other families by Robert George Mausell [1903] The chapter about the Maunsell family of Thorpe Malsor starts on page 77.
• Montagu Lord Montagu's Directions for his Son by Lawrence Stone [1958] (page 221) Instructions from the first Lord Montagu drawn up in 1621 with an account of their background.
• Orlebar A Treasury of Comfort: A Study of Elite Comfort in the Long Eighteenth Century by Ruth Joanne Barton [2025] The families whose correspondence provided the focus for this thesis include Isham of Lamport, Rye of Culworth, Thornton of Brockhall, Young of Orlingbury and Orlebar, some of whom lived at Ecton.
• Orland The Orlands in Northamptonshire A menu at the left-hand side of this account leads to pages about the family at Winwick, West Haddon, Creaton and Flore.
• Pinnock Pictures assembled by Marjorie Clipstone [2025] An album of photographs and newspaper cuttings. The families illustrated include Clipstone of Rothwell and Kingsthorpe, Bott & Burdett of Naseby, Pinnock of Rothwell and Wadsworth & Dartnell of Chapel Brampton.
• Roughton Some notes on the Roughton family of Kettering by F J W Roughton [1963] (**)
• Rye A Treasury of Comfort: A Study of Elite Comfort in the Long Eighteenth Century by Ruth Joanne Barton [2025] The families whose correspondence provided the focus for this thesis include Isham of Lamport, Rye of Culworth, Thornton of Brockhall, Young of Orlingbury and Orlebar, some of whom lived at Ecton.
• Saunderson Saunderson family of Little Addington
• Spencer The Wealth of Five Northamptonshire Families 1540-1640 by Mary E Finch [1956]
• Thornton A Treasury of Comfort: A Study of Elite Comfort in the Long Eighteenth Century by Ruth Joanne Barton [2025] The families whose correspondence provided the focus for this thesis include Isham of Lamport, Rye of Culworth, Thornton of Brockhall, Young of Orlingbury and Orlebar, some of whom lived at Ecton.
• Tresham The Treshams of Newton and Wold
• Tresham The Wealth of Five Northamptonshire Families 1540-1640 by Mary E Finch [1956]
• Trick The Trick family in Brixworth - 1872 to 1961
• Wadsworth Pictures assembled by Marjorie Clipstone [2025] An album of photographs and newspaper cuttings. The families illustrated include Clipstone of Rothwell and Kingsthorpe, Bott & Burdett of Naseby, Pinnock of Rothwell and Wadworth & Dartnell of Chapel Brampton.
• Wake The origins of the Wake Family: The Early History of the Barony of Bourne in Lincolnshire by Edmund King [1975] (page 167)
• Washington The Sulgrove Washingtons and Their Village Connexion by George Washington [1964] (page 231)
• Washington The Virginia Washingtons and Newton Bromswold by George Washington [1969] (page 215)
• Washington The Washington family and its Northamptonshire connections by George Washington [1966] (page 37)
• Washington The Washington Surname in Northamptonshire by Patrick King [1976] (page 335)
• Washington The Washingtons
• Washington The Washingtons and Stonehenge by George Washington [1968] (page 191)
• Washington Washington and Isham Discuses a connection between these families.
• Thornton A Treasury of Comfort: A Study of Elite Comfort in the Long Eighteenth Century by Ruth Joanne Barton [2025] The families whose correspondence provided the focus for this thesis include Isham of Lamport, Rye of Culworth, Thornton of Brockhall, Young of Orlingbury and Orlebar, some of whom lived at Ecton.