Next in my series of famous genealogies is Florence Nightingale’s family tree.
The heroine of the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale never married, and had no children. However, the Nightingale family has links with several illustrious families which are fairly well documented, so if you have any of the following surnames, it should be fairly easy to find out whether you are connected with The Lady with the Lamp.
(By the way – if you’d like to learn how to trace you ancestry, have a look at my step-by-step beginner’s course)
Surnames connected with Florence Nightingale are: SHORE, NIGHTINGALE, CHEETHAM, EVANS, SMITH, DIGGLES, WALKER, COAPE, MOORE, PRYOR, and LUDLOW.
NIGHTINGALE
The surname Nightingale actually comes from Florence’s paternal great-grandmother’s family; her father’s name was SHORE, and he took the name NIGHTINGALE when he succeeded to his great uncle Peter Nightingale’s estates. I have come across other cases where a childless landowner passes the estate to a family member, providing they take on the family name of the testator.
Anyone with the surname Nightingale therefore, is only likely to have a connection to Florence through the family of her great-grandmother Anne, and her brother Peter. Peter was born in 1736 in Lea, Derbyshire, the son of Peter Nightingale Esq. (1705-1763) and Anne CHEETHAM. While Peter junior did not have any children, this line can be traced back at least another century, and there could be links to this earlier line as well as the names CHEETHAM and BOWLER. Any Nightingale ancestors of the 17th century and earlier around the Derbyshire area could therefore be traced down to Florence.
Florence’s only sister, Frances Parthenope, became the second wife of Harry VERNEY, 2nd Baronet in 1858, and became Lady Verney. She was a writer and essayist. However, the couple did not have any children (Harry did have children from his first marriage), and so there are no descendants.
SHORE
Florence’s father was born William Edward SHORE in 1794 in Romsey, Hampshire. He was the only son of William Shore and Mary EVANS (the niece of Peter Nightingale). William and Mary also had two daughters, one of whom died in childhood, and the other, Mary, marrying Samuel SMITH (see below). William married Samuel’s sister, Frances SMITH, and as well as Florence, they had one other daughter Frances Parthenope, but no sons. Therefore, in order to find any SHORE links to Florence, we would need to go further up the line.
William Edward’s father, William SHORE, was born in 1755 in Tapton, Derbyshire, the son of Samuel Shore and Margaret DIGGLES. Samuel and Margaret had 13 children: Robert Diggles (1736), Samuel (1738) (married Lydia FLOWER and Urith OFFLEY), Margaret, Jane (1740), Thomas, John (married Gertrude BINKS), William (1755-1822) (details above), Joshua (1748-1766), Sarah, Hannah (1754) (Married Thomas WALKER), Ann, James and Elizabeth. I am sure there must be descendants to be traced from some of these children.
EVANS
Mary EVANS was the paternal grandmother of Florence. She was born in 1760 in Cromford, Derbyshire, the daughter of George EVANS and Anne NIGHTINGALE (the sister of Peter, the mining entrepreneur who left his estate to William Edward). George and Anne were married in Ashover, Derbyshire in 1756. Because the surname is common, it is difficult to accurately trace this family, but we do know that Mary had at least one sister, Elizabeth, but I do not know if she married.
If you have any EVANS family that can be traced back to this area of Derbyshire, it may be worth checking the connections.
SMITH
Obviously, anyone with this name can have a problem tracing their name back as it is the most common name in the UK. However, this particular family have some well known and interesting people in their tree, so could be easier to trace than most.
France’s father was William SMITH MP, a well known abolitionist and social reformer, and an associate of William Wilberforce. He and his wife Frances COAPE, had at least nine children: Benjamin Leigh (1783-1860), Frances (1789-1880), William Adams (1789), Joanna Maria (1791-1884), Samuel (1794) (who married his sister-in-law, Mary SHORE), Octavius Henry (1796), Frederick Coape (1798), Julia, Anne and Patty.
His eldest son Benjamin Leigh Smith was also an MP, and had four illegitimate children by his mistress, Anne LONGDEN. One of these was Barbara Leigh Smith, who married Dr. Eugene BODICHON, and became famous as Barbara Bodichon, a leading activist in women’s rights and founder of Girton College. She was Florence’s 1st cousin. I do not believe they had any children.
Benjamin’s other children by Anne Longden were Benjamin Leigh SMITH (1828-1913), an explorer, Bella Leigh (c.1831), Anne (c.1832) and William Leigh (1833).
Benjamin Leigh Smith married Charlotte SELLER, and they had one son, Philip Leigh SMITH (1892), who married the nuclear physicist, Alice Prebil. I believe that there were children and therefore living descendants of the Leigh Smiths.
Anne Smith did not marry.
William Leigh SMITH married Georgina Mary HALLIDAY, and they had at least five children, Amy Leigh (1859), Georgina F Leigh (1862), William Leigh (1867), Bella Leigh (1879) and Sophia (1882).
I could not find a marriage for his son William Leigh, or any information for Georgina.
Bella married either a FERMOR or a WYNNE but I cannot find her in the 1911 census, so more research needs to be done here, nor can I find any further information for Sophia.
MOORE
Amy Leigh SMITH (daughter of William Leigh SMITH junior) married Sir Norman MOORE and they had 3 children: Sir Alan Hilary MOORE, 2nd Bt (1882), Ethne Philippa (1886) and Gillachrist (1894-1914).
Gillachrist was killed in action in the First World War.
Alan Hilary MOORE married Hilda Mary BURROWS, and they had 3 children. These children are still living so I will not give their names here.
PRYOR
Ethne Philippa MOORE married Lieut. Col. Walter Marlborough PRYOR. They had three sons: John Marlborough (1911-1984), Mark Gillachrist Marlborough (1915-1970) and Robert Matthew Marlborough (1917-2005). Any children of these children would be the 1st cousins 4 times removed to Florence Nightingale.
LUDLOW
Bella Leigh SMITH (daughter of Benjamin Leigh SMITH MP) married John LUDLOW in 1859. John Ludlow was a major general in the Indian Army.
They had at least three children (there may have been more): Annabel (c.1861), Henry J. (c.1862) and Milicent B. (c.1868). Bella died some time before 1881.
I have not been able to find out whether Henry J. Ludlow married or had children, but if you have LUDLOW ancestors in the Sussex area it may be worth checking to see if there is a connection.
Neither could I find any further information for Annabel.
Milicent married Sir Norman MOORE, 1st Baronet, in 1903, who had previously been married to her 1st cousin, Amy Leigh SMITH. I do not believe they had any children.
Not surprisingly, Florence Nightingale had family connections with some very interesting people, and particularly those who campaigned for people’s rights – including William Smith MP, and Barbara Leigh Bodichon (nee Smith). There are certainly living descendants of the Smith family, and there may be some from further up the line.
If you would like me to carry out any research involving a possible connection with this family, please review my services page.
Further Reading
Florence Nightingale: The Woman and Her Legend
Florence Nightingale : a biography
Florence Nightingale at First Hand: Vision, Power, Legacy
My great grandama Elise Penny born Gould always insisted she was related to Florence Nightgale and her brother Walter Gould had paper work of some family tree.She was born in Southampton Hampshire but ive hit a brick wall as to go any futher.
Hi Elise
Thanks very much for your comment. It would certainly be interesting to find out if there is any link. I’d be happy to help, if possible. I’ve sent you an email.
Ros
Hi Elise
My email to you bounced, so perhaps you could try contacting me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com if you would like some professional help.
Cheers
Ros
Shes my great grandmother’s cousin
Thanks Lily. You must be very proud.
She was my 6th cousin 2x removed. My side of the family comes down through Peter Nightingale’s Great Uncle Richard. I live in Chesterfield,So only a few miles form Lea Hurst.
Thanks for sharing this Jane – great link!
Hi my gr gr gran was Mary Ann Nightingale married widower William Childs in Melbourne and had 10 children. I have just started tracing family in Britian
I am descended from William Kyme born 1684 in Boston. A John Kyme B 1505 married Alice Nightingale.Her father’s name was Richard.One of their descendants, Nightingale Kyme was born Boston 1685.Don’t know if he and William were brothers. I hasten to add haven’t had a chance as yet to verify the other details.
Thanks Janice
Let me know if you need any help with any English connections, once you’ve verified the US details.
Ros
Thanks Ros.The details I haven’t personally verified are the English ones mentioned. William married Sarah Foster, their daughter Susanna(1709) married Francis Wreeson, their daughter Susanah married James Wright,the g-g-grandfather of my grandmother Mary Wright, who came to Australia, along with all but one of her siblings. The baptism records of William and Sarah’s three children are all St. Boltoph’s, Boston, Lincolnshire. Their other two children are William, 1706, and Lucia, 1707.
My apologies Janice. I must have read this in a hurry and seen the name Boston, and immediately assumed New England, USA! Even professional genealogists sometimes break the golden rule of never assuming anything!
I will send you an email.
Ros
We are related to Shore and there has been a story in our family, passed down the generations, which is very surprising actually, about Florence Nightingale.
My mother has been doing research into out family tree for many years and has established a number of conclusive links, but we do not have the whole picture.
Mrs nightingale allegedly could not have children….
Hi Karen
Thanks for your input. Very interesting – I would love to know what the story is! if you need any further help with the tree, then do contact me.
Best wishes
Ros
Hi, My Grandfather’s family was related to the Nightingales and one of his cousins states we are related to Florence. He was born in Derbyshire in 03/08/1912 and was called Harold Barber. What further information would I need to find?
Best Wishes
Carol x
Hi Carol
The best way of verifying a connection is to trace your own family first, starting with what you know and working back meticulously from there. Start with birth, marriage & death certificates, and also use the census from 1911 back to 1841. You can search the BMD indexes and view the censuses at ancestry.co.uk and order certificates from the GRO. If you need any help, email me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com.
Cheers
Ros
How can I know if i’m in the florence nightingale’s family ?, My great grandfather was henry nightingale
Hi Ana
You would need to trace your family tree using original sources, such as birth, marriage & death records and using the census, and making notes of all members of each family, including brothers & sisters of each direct ancestor. You can do this using ancestry.co.uk – but if you need any help, email me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com.
Cheers
Ros
Hi Ros
My grandmother had a photo of her grandmother with ‘cousin Flo’ written on it. Sadly I don’t know my grannie’s grannie’s surname and the photo has dissappeared since her death. My grannie’s surname was ‘de Little’ and she was born at Carramut, Victoria Australia
I am a Decendant of Samuel Shore and pretty sure I am related to Florence Nightingale, if you could show me how I would be delighted.
Hi Sharon
I have replied to you on Facebook, and will also send you an email.
Cheers
Ros
I have the surname Shore and know that I am a great great great cousin of Florence Nightingale through my paternal grandfather (his mother was Emmeline Shore).
Thank you Margaret. That’s a great pedigree!
Thanks Ros – I since discovered my great grandmother’s middle name was Frances (same as Florence’s mother’s)
Oh and Florence used to “dangle” my baby grandfather upon her knee – so my father told me!
Excellent!
Hi, I am actually trying to find a living decendant of Florence Nightingale to open a business in Romsey named after her. Are there any living decendants in that area that you know of?
HI Conor
Florence Nightingale has no living descendants as she did not marry and had no children.
Any relatives would be distant cousins, descended from uncles or aunts.
Sorry to disappoint!
Ros
A friend has just told me that her father is a descendant of Florence Nightingale. His middle name is Nightingale and last name is Phibbs and was born in Preston, England. Any chance you’ve heard of a connection between Phibbs & Nightingale? Since the famous Florence had no children, he could not be directly related to her.
Hi Joanne
I am not aware off hand of the connection with Phibbs – research would need to be done to look into this.
You are right, though, the Nightingale name would not be directly through Florence, but probably from her father’s uncle, from whom he got the name in the first place.
If you would like any help with tracing the family, please let me know. My fees are on my home page, and you can email me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com.
Best wishes
Ros
My grandmother always claimed my linage was related to Florence (on my mothers side) – the story being that my great great great grandfather was the head gardener on the Nightingale estate and ran off with her cousin who was then ‘dis-owned’ as she married beneath herself!
I’ve not managed as yet to check this to see if it’s true.
Hi Susan
That’s a great story – and it would be fun to try and find out if it’s true. Mind you, very often these stories can never be proved, as people tend to cover their tracks. But if you ever want any help, do let me know. My email address is info@tracingancestors-uk.com.
Ros
I RECENTLY REVIEWED SOME OLD LETTERS ADDRESS TO A FLORANCE NIGHTINGALE IN ASBURY PARK N.J AND EASTON PA(1910 TOO 1939) COULD THERE BE A RELATION? TO THE EARLY FLORANCE NIGHTIGALE?,,, rbeyg8@aol.com
Hi Arbie. It does not seem very likely. Florence had no children, and the Nightingale name comes through a great-uncle of her father’s in Derbyshire, so that would be the only connection. You would need to research back to England and to the Nightingales in this county to know if your Florence was a relative.
Best wishes
Ros
My grandfather Ernest george Shore born Lydney 1890 his father George Henry Of Bedminster and I believe his father was William. but I have no birth Certificate for william. George Henrys Wife is listed as Elizabeth White. My father Kenneth George born in australia 1914 always insisted there was a connection
Hi Suzanne
In order to find a connection you would need to do some extensive research. Most of the Shores connected with the Nightingales seem to have been in Derbyshire – but they may well have travelled and we would need to look at both families. I see that George was born in Wiltshire according to census (if I have the right one), so they did move around. Beyond 1837 it would be necessary to look at parish registers and wills, as there is no civil registration before then.
If you need any help at my usual fees please contact me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com.
Ros
Hi would you happen to know anything about the oldest son in her family, In my family tree it says Florence Nightingale’s oldest brother is my great, great grandfather. Any thing would help me out alot.. Thanks!!!
Now that i’m looking at this more, it might be her uncle, Willian Edwards older brother….
Hi Karen
Florence did not have any brothers – and nor did her father. I would have to have a look at your tree to see whether there is any connection, and it would probably need some extensive research to confirm any connection.
If you would like help from me at my usual fees, then please email me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com.
Best wishes
Ros
Hi, i have always been told i am related to Florence nightingale through my grandfather Sidney Shore. apparently an uncle of Florences father. I would very much like to know more, if you know more. Please let me know any information you have.
Thanks
Kind Regards
zoe coleman
Hi Zoe
Looking at the information I have I cannot see a Sidney Shore as William’s uncle – but this would need further research to see where the link is. I’m afraid I don’t really have any information other than what is in my blog post. If you would like me to carry out further research for you, please contact me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com.
Cheers
Ros
My grandmother’s maiden name was Mary Nightingale. She married Edward Backhouse (changed to Backus when they came to Canada from England). She was a cousin, I don’t know 2nd, 3rd or how many times removed but would like to…if you have any info it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Hi Sharon
Thanks for your enquiry. In order to find out this information it would take several hours of research, using birth and marriage certificates and studying the census. However, I did have a quick look at the marriage – which I believe was in Blackburn, Lancashire in 1920? Ordering this marriage certificate would give us the name of both fathers, and then research can continue from there.
If you would like any help with this at my professional rates, please contact me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com. Or you can contact me and I will give you some advice on how to research on your own.
Best wishes
Ros
I am 64 yrs of age. I began doing genealogy on my Nightingale family when I was 12 as I always heard my gr gr grandmother was kin to Florence…and a handed down piece of info that we were the same Nightingales of Derbyshire and were in Florence’s Will but no one had the Bible or someone would not give it up to the family. It is hard making the connections as we also have so many other lines going on. My Gr Gr Grandmother, Mary NIGHTINGALE, b. 1823 (Mar), Tipton, Staffs. England was married to Thomas Hammond in England (c.a. 1841) Her father was Willaim NIGHTINGALE also. They moved to New Castle, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania USA around 1865. I also found the graves there and researched her Brother, William Nightingale b April 1815, Tipton Staffs. England and resided in our hometown of New Castle also. William (born Tipton, April 1815) was married to Ann HIGGS in England and I am not sure what year William & Ann moved to USA but they had a daughter, Sarah. (I think they had another daughter, maybe Jane? but could not find more on her in USA) Their daughter Sarah married to George Jennings. William & Ann’s grave marker was very nice and very clear on the dates and they were buried in Greenwood Cemetery in New Caslte, Pennsylvania too. I do have a photo somewhere of it. The reason I mention William so much is that they were all members of the Primitive Methodist Church here and William’s bath house was used as a meeting place until the church was built. Also, residing later with William & Ann was two of her Siblings, Benjamin HIGGS and his wife, Ann Evans and their children and another.
I cannot find anything of a Family Bible. The Papers of Intentions/and/or Naturalization papers led me to their native locations.
Hi Judy
Thanks for your interesting information on your Nightingale family. I don’t really have any extra information on the family, but if you would like me to research the line at this end I would be happy to do so at my usual fees. Please contact me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com and we can discuss the details.
Best wishes
Ros
Hello Ros
I have read the comments with much interest. My Grandmother was a Gould and married an Osman. Her mother was Florence Kersey Smith born in Jersey, father was James Smith Coachman. The story passed down by all Grandma’s brothers and sisters cousins is that Florence Nightingale is related through a marriage. Having gone down Grandma’s maternal tree we have Edward Moss Dimmock m Mary Ann Jackson. A note from my late father says that Florence Kersey’s mother did not want to marry the man chosen by her parents (Edward Moss and Mary) so she ran away with the coachman, James Smith to Jersey. We can’t find any informaton that they ever married, The note also states that Florence’s mother’s sister married a nightingale. Confusing to say the least. But the link is driving me and others mad. Any help/advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Carol
Hi Carol
Many thanks for this. I love the story of the couple running away together – sounds very romantic!
To find a definite link with Florence Nightingale’s family would take some detailed research. If you would like to send me all the details of your family tree I would be happy to help you at my usual rates. Otherwise, you would need to research both trees using online – and offline – resources. In particular, you need to find and order appropriate birth and marriage certificates and study census records. If you would like me to help just email me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com.
Cheers
Ros
Some interesting reads. My father was william joseph Nightingale. He also claimed that we were related to Florence but with no evidence and only hearsay from those of his family he was lucky to know.
But the other intriguing thing was that my dad more-so spoke about the fact that we were related to Lord Nelson. heres the story ~ Dads birth certificate says his mother was Lillian Nightingale and Father unknown. His mother was a maid in some posh mansion and as a lot of maids found out back then- Duties expected covered more than just washing etc. So she was pregnant and when told she had to get rid of the baby she refused and was terminated but probably paid a reasonable –keep your mouth shut fee.
Dad was born in 1920 and Lillian struggled to raise him and he was then taken in and raised by my great grandfather- John Curly who was quite affluent and lived in Chorley and was married to Mary Maloney. His Daughter – Agnes was at the time married to Albert turner and had 3 children- Agnes- Josephine and Albert.Her Husband Albert got into a spot of bother with some whiskey stilling and was sent to prison which made life tough for her so her father (John Curly helped out there also by taking Agnes and helping raise her. Agnes and Bill became good friends but also raised like sister and brother but then Bill joined the military bands and the army and went to war and was taken down by the Japanese and served a long time in Changi prison of war camp. On return he found that Agnes had turned into a beautiful young girl and one thing lead to another and a relationship formed. Agnes became pregnant and when Agnes approached her grandparents and mentioned they were getting married they were told it was unadvised because they were related somewhere earlier. So Agnes Turner and William Nightingale eloped and were married in Ipswitch. We believe the relationship was second cousins or further but still do not know whether William was taken in by the Curlys because of a Curly contact or a Maloney (his wifes contact).Posted here because i am stuck at the curlys and definitely cannot find a Nightingale contact and yet in amongst this lot i am probably staring at some of the comments made by my relatives. My mother seems to remember -old Harold Nightingale.?
Hi Ron
Wow – what a colourful ancestry you have! Very interesting.
Please let me know if you would like any help with making connections. I do have some experience in getting past brick walls! You can email me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com.
Best wishes
Ros
I am related to the Evans family, Henry Evans (founder of current Luke Evans Bakery in Alfreton) my gr gr grandfather, was the son of Isaac Evans of Bonsall and I believe related to Edmund Evans which would provide a link to the Nightingale family.. I recently completed dna testing (23andme.com) which confirmed some Nightingale cousins who claim to be related to the famous Florence Nightingale. I am still not exactly sure of the link to Edmund but dna suggests it is more probable given my results. Any info on Edmund Evans relation to Issac or Henry Evans would be appreciated.