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
Hi Ros,
Yes, Florence Nightingale Shore who was murdered on a train in 1920, was related to the Florence. FNS was the daughter of Dr. Bohun Offley Shore who was son of Offley Shore, son of Samuel Shore IV, son of Samuel Shore III who was brother to William Shore who married Mary Evans who had William Edward Shore who inherited his maternal Uncle’s estate when he was 10 (about 100,000 pounds). When William turned 21, he changed his last name to add Nightingale, otherwise known as WEN. WEN had 2 daughters, Parthenope and Florence. Whew!
Thanks Amy!
A Miss Flood lived in a grace and favour apartment in St James Palace in the 1960* does anyone have any information about this relationship with Florence Nightingale.
A Miss Flood lived in a grace and favour apartment in St James Palace in the 1960.s and I believe was a relation of Florence Nightingale. Does anyone have any info. concerning Miss Flood
Hi. My Uncle William jnr (Billy) Nightingale claims that Florence was a great Aunt of one of my ancestors. My grand father William Nightingale snr was born in Bolton c 1880 that’s all I have any help would be appreciated!
Hi Mike. Have you tried tracing your grandfather’s family back to see if there’s a possible link? Let me know if you’d like any help! Cheers, Ros.
I’m a distant relation from Florence Nightingale. (Smith side)
Hello-
My grandfather was a Nightingale- and so my mother is also.
An interesting note: Charles Nightingale ( my grandfather) had a son around 1929. When my mother was a baby, her older brother Joseph Nightingale at 19 years old was killed in the Pearl Harbor attacks.
He left behind a newborn daughter named Florence.
The most important piece here is that on Dec 7, 2021 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, US, there will be a memorial for him as his remains have recently been identified.
Hi
I had an email from Family search website, with a link to their new ‘See if you have famous relatives’…
I clicked on the link…
And there was Florence Nightingale!
Only, I’m not related in any straight forward way. Apparently, she is my 10th cousin 4 times removed.
And this is how:
My 2nd Great Gran is Hannah Dancer. My fifth x Great Grandparents through her line are Robert Dancer and his wife Alice Holt. Through Alice’s Holt line, my 13th Great Grandparents are Richard Holt and Alice Bynum Preston. These two are mine and Florence’s common ancestors. My line are down through their son Thomas Holt and Florence’s line is down through their son Roger Holt. Rogers line is through the Holt/Nowell/ Adams/Smiths families , so it’s through her mother’s side.
We all know what the internet can be like for people wanting to find famous links, so theres a big possibility that there could be mistakes made. Perhaps you would like to check it out? I have had my DNA tested through ancestry, so if there is anyone who would like to see if they are a match, that would be good too.
If it all works out as legitimate…my 15th Great Grandparents, apparently are shared with Florence Nightingale’s, Richard Holt and Margaret Cheetham.
I wouldn’t know how you could document that far back?
To be honest with you…I don’t know too much about them.
But Florence, I think, is lovely. I played her in my school assembly when young. Never in a million years did I think I was related to her!
And I love that she had a calling from God! How wonderful to be related to someone who isn’t worried about sharing God’s message of the Gospel.
Thank you for your time.
Gill.
Hi Gill
That’s very interesting. I’m not sure how accurate those online family trees are – and it’s certainly a long way back. If you want any professional help, then do email me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com – though I can’t guarantee being able to prove this definitively.
I hope you can find someone who is also a match.
Ros
Hi Roz
Thank you.
I have dropped you an email
Gill
Nightingale name runs in my family but I don’t know how we are connected bit of a mystery as we live tasmania
Hi Gillian
Thanks for your comment. Having the same surname as someone does not necessarily mean that you are related. The surname Nightingale is an old English one, and probably originated as a nickname for someone who had a sweet voice – so there would probably be separate instances of the name in completely different families.
Ros
Vancouver artist, Bob High – born Robert Nightingale, is a great grandnephew or so (not sure of the relation exactly) of Florence Nightingale. He is in his 70s. When he is in hospital the nurses treat him like gold.
Ha ha! I bet they do! Thanks for this 🙂
Ros
Fun fact I am actualy related to Florence nightingale. She was my great, great, great, great, great, great, great aunt. I know right supprising seeing as my sername is Pankhurst.
Interesting. Have you researched your Pankhurst name? I may do another post on the Pankhursts at some point, so watch this space!
Ros
Hi Ros, my Grandfather maintained his Mother (Elizabeth Rhoda Nightingale whose father was Edward Nightingale) was somewhere down the line a second cousin to Florence. I’ve tried to find out through the internet but not found anything particularly helpful, are you able to point me in the right direction please?
Hi Karen
The only way of doing this is to trace the family line back using primary sources – census records, parish registers etc (available on Ancestry or FindmyPast). You should be able to find Elizabeth and her father on the census records, which will give places of birth and ages, and then you should be able to find Edward’s father using the census and parish registers. However, finding links to other families is not an easy task. You need to find a common ancestor – and a connection to Florence’s great-uncle, Peter Nightingale.
If you would like some professional help, then please do contact me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com, and we can discuss fees and details.
Best wishes
Ros
I’m related to Florence nightingale, my grandmother’s maiden name is nightingale, I want to know how I am related to her for free.
Hi Carly
Thanks for your comment. I’m wondering if you have any other evidence for the connection other than the surname? Not everyone with the name Nightingale is related. The origin of the surname is a nickname for someone with a lovely singing voice – so there is no common ancestor for everyone with that name.
If you want to do the research to take your grandmother’s line back, you can do that fairly cheaply – but unfortunately not for free. There may be necessary documents that you may have to order, and you would need a subscription to one of the ancestry research websites. However, both Ancestry and FindMyPast offer free two-week trials, so you could try doing as much as possible within that time!
There are also free websites such as FamilySearch and FreeBMD – but quite honestly, it would be extremely difficult to do a full and accurate search just on the free sites.
Let me know if you need any further advice.
Best wishes
Ros
Hello
I am a relative of Florence nightingale but struggling to find the connection.
I did a dna test on a website to trace my family history after not knowing much about my birth family.
Well it came back as 5th cousin to Florence nightingale. I’m just struggling to find the link. After finding your post and looking through the surnames there are two possible connections.
A Thomas Moore born in 1804 whom was my 5th grand father or a Jess Ives born 1757 his daughter becomes Hannah Moore in 1867. The very strange thing is there is the Moore surname on both my mothers side and fathers side. Does this mean they married relatives?
Hi Emma
To answer your question, Moore is quite a common surname, so while it’s possible they may have married cousins (which is not that uncommon in the 18th and 19th centuries), it could also be a coincidence.
Regarding the connection to Florence, being 5th cousin means that you share a 4 X great grandparent with an ancestor of hers. Because of the length of time between Florence and yourself, you will probably be at least 2 or 3 times removed (so her ancestor might be a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent). So, it’s necessary to be able to find her ancestry as well as the names of your 4 x great grandparents. This is not as easy as it sounds!
If the connection is through the Moore family, then you would need to need to trace back to a son of Sir Norman Moore, then through the mother, Amy Leigh Smith – and her family, though I would have to look at this in more detail to be sure.
Let me know if you’d like some professional help!
Ros
Hi Ros,
I am related to Florence Nightingale (1st cousin 4x removed) as my ancestor was Frederick Coape Smith son of William Smith MP and Frances Coape. Frederick Coape Smith emigrated to Australia and had a number of children one of whom was my 2nd great grandmother Julia Anne Coape Smith.
Thanks Julienne – that might be useful for anyone in Australia trying to find their Smith/Coape connection. Nice to have Florence on your tree!
Ros
I descend from Samuel Shore and Margaret Diggles, through John Shore and Gertrude Binks.
Hi Ros
I am a 3rd cousin, 4 times removed. I descend from Samuel Shore (1676-1755) and Jane Sykes (1681-1750). Their daughter, Jane Shore (1706-??) married John Finch and their daughter, Jane Finch married John Simpson, Esq of Launde. Their son, John Finch Simpson (1769-1826) married Mary Ducarel (1777-1861). Their daughter, Louisa Finch Simpson (1809-1865) married Henry Dawson (1806-1849). Their son Captain Arthur Finch Dawson (1836-1928) married Jessie Wentworth Lyon (1848-1876) and their son Captain Arthur Bertram Finch Dawson (1870-1956) married Muriel Graham (1877-1952). Their daughter Helen Graham Finch Dawson (1908-1985) married Lt. Col. William Wycliffe Hemming (1990-1976) and they were my parents.
Many thanks Heather – that’s very useful info for other readers.
Ros
My father was Charles J Nightingale, his father was Charles Nightingale II, who had a brother by the name of Elmer. Elmer had three children with his wife Magdalena, William, Alice, Connie. My father told me once that we were decendants of William the Conqueror AND Jesse James… he passed away taking all that info with him. Looking for links.
Me and Florence had the same 8th great grandfather. I am desended from Paul Nightingale who was Peter Nightingales brother. Florence was my 4th cousin 5x removed!
Oh and I forgot to say I found this out by doing a DNA test so it’s confirmed
This post has been one of the best sources of connections that I’ve found! My grandmother passed away last week, one week shy of her 107th birthday. She is a Nightingale by birth. After going through all her things after she passed, I discovered there is some distant relation to Florence. I’ve been working really hard on my family tree to trace this back, but it’s proving to be very difficult. Any additional advice would be fantastic! I am finding this genealogy stuff to be absolutely fascinating!!!
Thanks Mindy – I am so glad you’ve found my page helpful. Genealogy is rarely very easy! If you need any professional help, do let me know.
Ros