With racism being very much in the news recently, I decided to take a look at the man who was the driving force behind the end of the slavery trade in Britain in the early 19th century. I found a man who we could certainly do with in our Governments today, as we still have a long way to go, it seems.
William Wilberforce was an 18th and 19th century politician who is famous for being the leader of the Society for the Abolition of Slavery, and was instrumental in ending the slave trade in the UK in 1807. And not only that, he also campaigned for legislation to improve the lives of the poor, better education, prison reforms, the end of child labour and was a founder of the RSPCA. If that wasn’t enough, he was said to be witty, charming and a brilliant public speaker. Yes, we could certainly do with a William Wilberforce today.
But this is a blog about genealogy, not politics, so let’s look at his family.
With such a career, no doubt anyone would surely be proud to find that they had Mr Wilberforce in their family tree! However, it is very likely that any of his direct descendants would be very much aware that he was one of their great-grandparents – but perhaps the more extended family descendants may not have that knowledge, so I’ve listed a few names further below that are connected to WW.
The Wilberforce family has been traced back to the 12th century to the Saxon, Ilgerus de Wilberfoss, whose father is believed to have fought at the battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 (that’s the one just before the Battle of Hastings), so there’s plenty of information available to see if you have connections further up. There is too much information to list here, so I’ve provided a link to the William Wilberforce tree on geni.com. However, I cannot verify the accuracy of this website, so any information here should be backed up with evidence where possible.
A little more about his life: William was born in Hull, Yorkshire in 1759, the son of Robert Wilberforce, a merchant, and Elizabeth Bird. Elizabeth came from Warwickshire, and her mother’s name was Elizabeth Martyn. The house where he was born in Hull was 25 High Street, and is now known as Wilberforce House. At the age of 21 he became and MP, and by 25 he was the MP for all of Yorkshire, which was the time he also started working for the abolition of the British slave trade. With the backing of the Prime Minister, William Pitt, he became the leader of the Society for the Abolition of Slavery.
In 1797 he married Barbara Spooner, and they had six children, from whom there are many descendants, and there are several multi-times great grandchildren of Wilberforce living today.
anti-slavery campaign by
Josiah Wedgwood, 1787
It took many years to get a bill through Parliament to end the slave trade in Britain, but this was finally achieved in 1807. This was a great achievement, but it did not completely stop people owning slaves and still benefiting from the trade, and along the way William made many enemies of those who made huge profits from this trade. William continued to campaign for the complete abolition of slavery, but it was not until 1833, when William was severely ill, that a law was passed freeing all slaves in the British Empire. He was told of this victory on 26th July, and three days later he died. As a mark of respect, his body was buried at Westminster Abbey.
Here are a few of the surnames that are connected to William Wilberforce’s tree (apart from WW’s maternal grandparents, these are mostly in Yorkshire):
BIRD (WW’s mother – daughter of Thomas Bird of Warwickshire)
THORNTON – (WW’s paternal grandmother)
MARTYN (WW’s maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Martin of Warwickshire)
DAVYE (WW’s great-grandmother)
And further up the tree….(see THIS SITE for more details)
BRIGHAM
FERRAS
SHEPPARD/SHEPHERD
OVERAND
Hi Ros,
I am related to William Wilberforce as follows:
William Wilberforce 1759-1833
5th cousin 7x removed
William Wilberforce
Elizabeth Bird -1798
Elizabeth Martyn
Elizabeth Doughty
Charles Doughty
Martha Bolles 1597-
Sir John Bolles 1560-1606 & Lady Elizabeth Waters 1565-1647
Elizabeth Bolles 1598-1669
Charles Cracroft 1620-1701
Charles I Cracroft 1648-1712
Luke CRACROFT 1667-1731
Sarah Cracroft 1720-
Robert Wood 1746-
George Wood 1776-
John Wood 1802-1888
Ruth Wood 1832-1914
Sarah Elleby 1855-1930
Millicent Emma Plant 1887-1964
Cecil Raymond Ward 1921-1998
Martin Ward
William is similarly related to HM Queen Elizabeth 11 via the Queen Mother, and also to the author George Orwell. Our common ancestor is Sir John Bolle (Bowles).
Regards
Martin
Hi Martin – thanks very much for this! It may well be useful to other readers.
Ros
Please check the link to the tree as it went to a site offering me bitcoins.
Hi Kathy
Many thanks for bringing this to my attention. Obviously the website is no longer functioning. I’ve changed the link so that it takes you to the geni.com tree.
Ros
William Wilberforce (1462-1540) is a paternal 15th Great Grand Father
Thanks Dave – that’s extremely impressive to have a tree traced back that far!
Ros
Hi all, I do hope that this post is still active! I would really like to chase up some family history, since my mum passed away earlier this year, and I would like to confirm some of the rumors that I’ve heard over the years. Apparently my grandad was a relation of William Wilberforce, his name was Cecil Clayton (unfortunately I have no further information- I’m not sure at what point the name was changed or the names of other family on his side to prove the claim).
If it helps, he was married to Elizebeth (Betty) Clayton (who’s maiden name was Wintour- of the Wintour brothers, who were involved in the gunpowder plot!)
History at it’s finest; very intriguing!
I am also related to William Wilberforce through my Grandmother, Mary Ann Swaine, nee Wilberforce. Unfortunately I never met her as she passed away in 1939 before I was born.
Hi Cecily
So sorry not to have replied sooner. I usually get a notification of posts and approve and reply immediately, but for some reason I didn’t get the notification of this comment. If you would like to have any help with your research, please see my genealogical services page, or email me at info@tracingancestors-uk.com.
Ros
Thanks Julie. That’s a great connection to have!
Ros
I’m a decendant of Wilberforce through the daughter he disowned after she wanted to marry a Man he didn’t like [heresay]. Now residing in New Zealand 8 generations younger, finding out her is my family saved me out of a pit of depression.
Thanks Brodi. That’s interesting – I wonder what the story is behind that! Glad to hear that family history has helped you personally 🙂
Ros
I do have the last name wilberforce however I am black so I was wondering if he had any black descendants or if his family was linked to slave trade
Hi Nana
I don’t think he had black descendants. What I suspect is if you had slaves in your ancestry, they were often named after the person who ‘owned’ them. So, there might have been another Wilberforce who owned slaves in, say, America or the Caribbean, and one of your ancestors was named after him, but not actually related. However, I have come across plantation owners who had children with a female slave, and so obviously their children would also bear the name – but I doubt any such person would be related to William Wilberforce – but it’s worth looking into.
Cheers
Ros
Hi Brodie, I read somewhere that William Wilberforce was not happy with his daughter’s choice of husband because he made money from the slave trade so you can understand why.
Hi Julie
Thank you very much for this information and responding to Brodi’s comment – makes perfect sense now!
Ros
My mother is from Runsford.. Maiden name Oliver.
I am the great-great-great-great-great-great grandson of Wilberforce.
Thanks Chester – a lineage to be proud of! Can you give details of where the link is – just to help anyone else.
Thanks
Ros