Pemberton / Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Pemberton / Family History

Pemberton / Family History

The family history of the ancient name Pemberton was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. The names Pemberton and Pembelton are locality names, derived from the town of Pemberton, found in the parish of Wigan, County Lancashire. This name is of English descent and is found in many ancient manuscripts in that country. Examples of such are an Thomas Pemberton, of Whitley, who was recorded in the 'Wills at Chester', England, in the year 1595, and a William Pemberton, of Wigan, who was also recorded in the year 1602 in this ancient document.

Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep records of the population at any given time. When the overlords acquired land by either force or gifts from their rulers, they created charters of ownership for themselves and their vassals. It was by the method of creating and updating these old reference books that they were able to maintain their authority and enforce laws.

In Ireland this name and its variants were first introduced into Ulster Province by settlers who arrived from England and Scotland, especially during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Pemberton family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Pemberton descendants.