Twidwell Name Study

Profile manager: Linda Green [send private message]

This is a One Name Study to collect together in one place everything about one surname and the variants of that name. The hope is that other researchers like you will join our study to help make it a valuable reference point for people studying lines that cross or intersect. Please contact the project leader, add categories to your profiles, add your questions to the bulletin board, add details of your name research, etc.

All persons with the surname Twidwell (and variants) are almost certainly from the same family line. There are approximately 400 people with the surname Twidwell in the United States; approximately 250 with the surname Tweedell; approximately 180 with the surname Tweedale; approximately 120 for the surname Tweedwell. Research indicates that the Twidwell surname may be connected to a spring called TWEEDS WELL, the source of the Tweed River which flows through southeast Scotland and northern England. Although the exact spelling of the surname does not appear in primary sources, the surname Tweeddale and variants of Tweeddale do appear. Tweeddale is also a designation for the Tweed River Valley in Scotland. Various sources mention variants of the name Tweeddale: Tweedale, Tweedell, Tweedle, Twaddle, Twadle, Twadell, Twidale, Twidle, Twidell. There is evidence that all of these names are from the same source, an ancient Peebleshire Scotland family of Boernician origin.

The earliest record found of the exact spelling of this surname is a record of christening of Mary Twidwell, daughter of John and Mary Twidwell, at St. Giles Cripplegate Church at London in 1656. Early records of this surname in the United States start in the mid-1700’s. The Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Tithable Lists include: W. Tredwell (1767); George and William Tweedwell (1770); George and William Tweedwell (1773); William and George Tweedwell (1774); George Tweedwell (1775); and George Tweedwell (1776).

Research Sources

The Sampsons of Virginia and the Twidwell Connection by Olen and Gina Twidwell, published by the Twidwell Family Association (2013).

DESCENDANTS OF THOMAS TWIDWELL, Reprint of the Thomas Twidwell book originally published by Leone Twidwell Jensen and Naomi Twidwell Perry with additions and corrections submitted by family members and obtained by Twidwell family researchers.

WAYNE COUNTY TWIDWELLS AND RELATED FAMILIES, Originally researched, compiled and published by Beulah Twidwell Davis in 1974, Reprinted by the Twidwell Family Association to include additional families, corrections and recent family research.

Twidwell Family Association Web Site: http://www.twidwellfamily.org/