SHELVOCK ONS - Family Name: Where & When

The first occurrences of the SHELVOCK name as BMD (Births, Marriages, Deaths) are in C16th Shropshire (Salop) from 1581 at Fitz, close to Ruyton. Records in England before this time are rare, and were only recorded on the orders of King Henry VIII from about 1534 (where church records survive). The first known family record is the 1581 christening of Katheren d/o Jeffrey SHELVOCK at Fitz. The name of the mother was not recorded, which was common practice at the time.

Recent church records have shown a John or Johannes SHELVOCK as vicar at Ruyton 1568/84+ and then at Smethcott between 1589 & 1605. This John holds the current record as the earliest named SHELVOCK, some 13 years before the first family record, and the earliest given profession - not surprisingly the church. There are no records of any family connections to SHELVOCK or THORNES.

In 1587, at Oswestry (the ancient Hundred of which Shelvock was part), is the marriage of a Richard SHELVOCK & Katherine SIRMARTON. Both Jeffrey & Richard, above, may be some of the "other children" of Jeffrey THORNES of Shelvock, or their descendants, or descendants of unidentified children of John THORNES of Shelvock. Also, they may be descendants of bonded families or tenant farmers of humbler origins at Shelvock Manor or parts of the greater Shelvock estate, and had since moved on.

In 1599, also at Fitz, is the christening of Ellen d/o Richard SHELVOCK & Margerie of Fitz. This entry may indicate a second marriage for Richard, a son of Jeffrey, or some other relative. Apart from the above, these few earliest references have no apparent connection to each other apart from location, suggesting perhaps many families using the name were not necessarily genetically connected.

While this period was poorly documented the Parish Records for Ruyton prior to 1719 were apparently and unfortunately 'burnt in a frenzy by an earlier incumbent'. I do not expect to find any evidence of early use of the name locally, unless some lost transcripts turn up.

Not all records have been located or researched. We do know that the surname was in use in 1583 from the manorial court records as 'Roger THOMAS and Roger SHELVOCK were fined for putting hemp in the river Perry.' A law had been passed in 1541 to forbid the watering (the rotting of the non fibrous parts of the plant prior to using it for making rope) in any stream or pond where animals were allowed to drink. Hemp is a plant group that includes cannabis, and the effects on animals is not too dissimilar to that in humans.

Into the C17th

The earliest known occurrences of the SHILVOCK variant name are references in the early 1600's at the city of Worcester, either as the result of dialect or simple transcription errors. Worcester, like Shrewsbury, was an important county and market town and commerce involving wool was particularly important.

The SHELVOCK name continued to be recorded in many of the villages and townships around Ruyton within the Oswestry Hundred. These include (with relative distance to Shelvock):

The Mormon records show approx. 30 individual family groups in this C17th period but records are not complete. The majority of these cannot be reliably connected to each other. Several represent second and subsequent marriages. Detailed research is required in this area and will be done if transcripts can be found.

Some families appear to be quite wealthy for the times as John SHELVOCK was found in the 1672 Shropshire Hearth Tax paying £1-4s for 12 hearths [one pound four shillings - (20s = £1)]. The title "Mr." and 12 hearths makes him quite a large house owner in Shrewsbury at that time. In the same records there was a Charles SHELVOCK paying 10 shillings for 5 hearths. This is the only evidence to support the theory that some families with the name may have descended from more wealthier families (i.e. the THORNES) rather than the poorer servants at the Manor, although it is entirely possible some families "made good" through farming, marriage and trading in the intervening 150 years. In 1660 & 70's, John was a witness or executor to certain deeds, agreement and wills (together with Richard REYNOLDS), some of them giving his profession as barber surgeon. John died in 1685 and his Will suggests that Charles was his son, with grandchildren John & Ellenor. Shrewsbury data suggests a further child of Charles, George (c1675) became the famous Captain & Pirate, the family having to have moved to Deptford, London sometime in the 1680's.

In 1626 a Roger SHELVOCKE, yeoman & Dorothie his wife are mentioned in Lancashire Quarter Sessions at Liverpool as being of Derby. This is the first known occupation of any SHELVOCK outside of the church.

There is quite good evidence to suggest the actual individuals who moved from their home village of Baschurch to the Halesowen area in the 1630's, which was then still part of Shropshire (see map below), although migration outside of the county had clearly occurred. The period of the English Civil War (1642-60) may have also led to others being displaced.

The Black Country dialect appears to be responsible for changing the "e" to an "i" sound since almost all subsequent family references in Romsley & Halesowen (part of the Stourbridge registration district) have the SHILVOCK variant. Some rare Stourbridge entries were made as SHELVOCK or other variants (even into the C20th on the 1901 census), most of these seem to be transcription errors or true records of the older phonetic pronunciation.

The Halesowen area community did not appear to have many contacts with the remaining Shropshire families after this time, which may account for the establishment of the SHILVOCK variant. A few may have had connections or ancestral knowledge that resulted in the occasional use of the correct family name. It can be categorically ruled out that the name SHILVOCK has any independent or foreign origin. Unfortunately firms selling derivations of family names that show the SHILVOCK name to have some Polish origin connected to tailoring and plums are plainly wrong.

The changing of SHILVOCK to SHELVOCK, and back again, occurred many times over the following centuries and within individual families. There are rare stories in modern Halesowen SHILVOCK families relating to "lands in Shropshire"; which are all the more remarkable for having been passed down by word of mouth and surviving the intervening 350 years!

The first recorded clan members within the parish of Halesowen were given as "Elizabeth, the daughter of Roger SHELVOCK by Elizabeth his wife was baptised the 9th of June, 1639". Appropriately, the name which has been shown to have the earliest origins in Salop is shown to be within the limited area bounded by Oldbury, Warley (Abbey), Halesowen, Clent (sometime part of Staffs.) & Romsley which specifically defined the then small inlier of Salop county within Worcs., and shown in the northern part of the 1832 map, above, in the area between Dudley & Birmingham. This is no coincidence, as at the time it would have been easier to relocate within the county. It is not known why the family moved. The area was merged with Worcs. sometime before the 1851 census. T

The SHELVOCK name also begins to appear in London several times between 1668 & the 1700's. The majority of the available evidence suggests that these were families that went for a career in the sea. Others may have been involved in merchant trading, perhaps as representatives of the Manor or the merchant families in Shrewsbury. Records are few, but indicate that the name essentially remained either close to the home county or occasionally in London. London, in any age, was a magnet for the poor and wealthy alike. Many earlier records in London were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666.

Reynold/Regnalde SHELVOCK and his family were in London at least in the period 1614-1619 for the christening of three children at the church of St. Jewry & St. Mary Magdalene in Milk Street. Possibly the same Reynold had a child christened later in 1623 at Shrewsbury. A possible further descendant Reynald of Deptford died aboard HMS Gloucester. The bachelor's Will of 1697/98 left all his belongings to his sister Ellener HARDING.

The most famous family member, the historical figure of Captain George SHELVOCKE of Ancient Mariner fame was supposedly born in Deptford, London in 1675 of Salopian parents (although records suggest he was born in Shrewsbury, s/o Charles). His own book states his Salopian roots. His son, also named George (born around 1702), became Postmaster-General of the Post Office in London.

A Richard SHELVOCK married Ann CHILD at the church of St. James, Duke Place in 1688 in London and their first child was christened at St. Giles, Cripplegate in 1689. Richard, a mariner on HMS Devonshire died at Kinsale, Ireland. His estate was administered to his wife back in Cripplegate on 30th June 1696. A John & Ann SHELVOCK had four children christened at the church of St. Andrew, Holborn between 1719 & 1734, possibly a son of Richard & Ann. A Charles & Sarah SHELVOCK had a child christened at the same church in 1745. There may be other records.

The first note of SHELVOCK & SHELVOKE being referred to together is the reference for the George SHELVOCKE, above, as an author: SCHELVOCK, or Shelvoke, author, Artillery of Simienowicz, in-fol., London, 1729. There are a number of his books in the British Library.

Into the C18th

The C18th still sees the SHELVOCK name mostly around the Oswestry Hundred in Salop, as well as the first known settler abroad, however not in great numbers. Records have been found in Shropshire at;

It is noticeable that the number of family groups (based on LDS records only) is only half that of the previous century, and again they remain unconnected to a larger family tree due to incomplete records and insufficient research.

The C18th provided the major opportunity for the name to spread from the traditional rural regions and market towns, which had been the focus for Britain's agricultural heritage, to the rapidly growing towns of the Midlands (Wolverhampton, Willenhall & Birmingham) - this was the Industrial Revolution that had roots in Shropshire of the 1740's.

From the late C17th/C18th in the Wolverhampton area, including Willenhall, there appears to be a group of families with the name variant SHELVOKE. They are probably related to the Shrewsbury SHELVOCKs as Wolverhampton is along the main Watling Street Roman Road (now the A5 trunk road) from Shrewsbury. The name variant seems to occur in this area specifically, and then towards the SE and Aston/West Bromwich near Birmingham (as the industrial city expands) and also in the London area in the early part of the C20th (through one of the SHELVOKE sons). The name survives into the C21st as a rare variant only as part of company names founded by SHELVOKEs. Evidence suggests the variant died out as a family name in the 1960's. There were only 9 records in the 1901 census.

For whatever reasons (infant mortality or an apparent larger number of girls in families relative to boys), even allowing for missing records, the SHELVOCK family name was in serious decline from the end of the C17th.

The earliest known New World reference is the marriage of a John SHELVOCK at Pittston, Maine, USA in 1745 to a Polly LAW. There does not appear to be any descendants of this family in the US today. John & his wife either died or perhaps returned to England. All modern US families can be traced back to more recent emigration from the Halesowen area in the late C19th, particularly via Chicago and spreading further afield to California and other states. Their descendants are still in those areas today.

Into the C19th

Distribution of the SHELVOCK family name and several common variants in 1881.
The dominance of the SHILVOCK variant in WOR (Halesowen) is clearly shown.

The C19th has only 8 named SHELVOCK individuals in the LDS listings. The 1881 census has only 10 individuals of that name with Salopian origins (1 family group and 1 female unmarried head of family, excluding the one family of 5 of that name who were really SHILVOCKs).

There were only 20 of the name in the 1901 census (3 proven SHELVOCKs, the remainder appearing to be SHILVOCKs, with several known SHELVOCKs missing (as in 1881)). This suggests the name barely survived in England through a small number of families. This family group is discussed in more detail on a separate webpage.

It is now known that all the C20th/C21st SHELVOCKs in Canada, Australia and those still in the Shrewsbury area are descended from the children of one particular couple. If it wasn't for the particularly large family of John & Susannah SHELVOCK in the period from 1852, and the fecundity of subsequent generations, the SHELVOCK name would now also be extinct. There are numerous other records of the period, but no other branches appear to have survived.

By comparison, the 171 individuals (34 heads of family) on the same 1881 census with the SHILVOCK name (including one SHILVOCK family each misnamed SHELVOCK, SHILVACK & SHILVICK) demonstrates this variant to be thriving in the Halesowen/West Midlands area and has expanded further.

At least one SHILVOCK is believed to have been transported to Australia, although this remains to be proven. Most modern families in both Australia & New Zealand are descendants of relatively recent immigrants. One group of mining families in the Capella region of Queensland, is one example of early C20th migration, although some may be the descendants of this convict.

As family members emigrated variable literacy and dialect have ensured that the two main name variants have become interchangeable, this is particularly so with many surnames entering the US. There are now more people named SHELVOCK abroad (especially the USA) than back in the UK as a result of this.

C20th/C21st - The Family Name Today

Distribution of the SHILVOCK family name in 1998
The study did not cover SHELVOCK which had fewer than 100 individuals on the 1998 Electoral Roll.

In addition to the area around Shrewsbury, where the name remains as SHELVOCK, the name SHILVOCK still concentrates in the Dudley / Halesowen / Stourbridge / Clent area of north Worcestershire, now part of the industrial West Midlands. Outside of these areas the name is still very rare even in modern mobile times. This researcher has found that it's not unusual for even slightly remote family groups outside of the Stourbridge / Halesowen area to consider themselves unique and perhaps foreign, rather than part of a wider clan. A lot of family myths have resulted, not helped by inaccurate commercial "genealogy" certificates of origins. You don't often meet a SHILVOCK or SHELVOCK in England unless you live in the Black Country or Shrewsbury areas.

In the C18th & C19th the families in the greater Halesowen area were mostly connected with the nail making trade (a big industry supporting both construction at home as well as abroad in the ever expanding British Empire), or owned shops such as Grocers and Bakers. The families in the more rural Clent area were more involved with farming, mainly hay.

The Black Country families have apparent aliases which include the SHILBURN, DAY, BARLOW, PROPHET, & MANLIE "sub-clans" which appear to stem from some earlier maternal family names. This has been shown in the case of DAY only, but not yet the others. These stories remain in certain families and more information is requested from these families.

The 1998 UK Electoral Roll gave approx. 320 registered voters at 180 addresses for SHILVOCK. The one SHILLOCK (telephone catalogue entry) matches a SHILVOCK on the Electoral Roll. An approach to all these families in 1999 for my "Millennium Project" resulted in a response rate of less than 10% (which was an exceptional response rate based on the history of postal polls!), so the majority of living SHILVOCKs at the end of the C20th in the UK remain to be connected. It is hoped they will make contact through the ever expanding use of the Internet and exposure of this site.

Emigrant families have so far been found in Canada, US, Australia & New Zealand but only as SHILVOCK and SHELVOCK. Apart from a few exceptions all families abroad have been tied back to UK family trees.

The UK 2000 Electoral Roll had only 25 SHELVOCKs of voting age at only 13 addresses (all but one proven descendants of John & Susannah), and at least 200 SHILVOCKs (the maximum allowable to list using unpaid search).

With the discovery of several modern SHELVOKE references as part of company names this variant was made the third official name in 2000, however there are no known occurrences of the name in the UK 2000 Electoral Roll except for three registered firms. Continuing research will locate the final "extinction event" for this as a family name, believed to be the death of a widow in the 1960's.

Spelling Variants

For modern Worcs., (Halesowen in the Black Country) confirmed variants include SHELOOCK, SHILCOCK, SHILLCOCK, SHILLOCK, SHILOCK, SHILOCKE, SHILOOCK, SHILOOK, & SHILOOKE. These variants are entirely due to mistranscription or misread original Parish Records during the completion of the LDS (a common occurrence, since the LDS contains many errors), and St Catherine's Indices whereby scripted ilv has been interpreted as ilc, ilio or ill, and the v transcripted as s or c, as some examples. Other possible variant names include CHILCOCK, CHILLIACK, SCHILICK, SHELCOCK, SHELLCOCK, SHILCOCK, & SHILLCOCK, although some of these names are unrelated and stand as a surname in their own right. Original PR's confirm the correct family name, with usual allowances for phonetic spelling due to dialect.

Due to the number of missing family members in the UK 1901 census a number of spelling errors have been identified, due to the way data was transcribed & transferred to the PRO database.

Source Material

Some progress has been made in compiling and analysing the most common sources. The LDS listings have been covered and UK Indices to a large extent from the start of General Registration in 1837 to cover the period including "living memory". Readers should note that data is far from complete for a variety of reasons, and errors inevitably exist. Transcription errors are common, variants should be checked (including the order of first names), and some people seem to be simply missing from the records. Information should be used as a guide only, and serious researchers should confirm the data at source.

Transcripts for 1559-1643 for Halesowen (1910), as well as 1717-36 (1987) & 1736/37-61 (1983) have been examined. Registers were for the church of St. John the Baptist. Salopian parishes have not been explored in detail at this time but will be required to fill in the early picture. Halesowen falls under the Stourbridge registration district for births, marriages and deaths. West Midland BMD into the C21st are being incorporated into the indices on this website.

The World Wide Web (Internet) is proving to be a valuable new source for contacts and information.

It remains my hope that more connections will come from today's families themselves, as the interest in genealogy increases as a hobby. Please get in touch!

C16th - The Earliest SHELVOCKs

Into the C17th

Into the C18th

Into the C19th

C20th/C21st - The Family Name Today

Spelling Variants

Source Material