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Waples

Origin of the Waples surname

The surname Waples is an English surname that has been spelt as Walpole, Waple, Wapple, Wapol, Waples, Wapples. It is probably a locational surname derived from either of two places called Walpole in the East Anglian counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The place in Suffolk was recorded as Walepola in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, whilst that in Norfolk was recorded as "Walepol" in the register of charters known as the Codex Diplomaticus aevi Saxonici in the year 1050. Walpole in Suffolk means the "pool of the Britons", whilst that in Norfolk probably means a pool surrounded by a wall.

Earliest known Waples people

The surname Waples was first found in the UK in Norfolk where they held a family seat at Freethorpe at the time of the Norman Conquest. John of Wapole was a nephew of Waleran, the great Essex Baron who was Count of Meulan in Normandy. Joceline de Walpole was living in the reign of Stephen. Reginald de Walpole was living in the time of Henry I. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Everard Wagepole. This was dated 1169, in the Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire, during the reign of King Henry II. Other early recordings include William Wagepole in the Curia Regis Rolls of Suffolk in 1206, and Thomas Waghepol in the Assize Court Rolls of the borough of Leicester in 1271.

Sir Robert Walpole (1676 - 1745) was not only the first Earl of Oxford, but he was the first prime minster of Great Britain. Source: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Waples#ixzz4JLTzC4EU.

Waples migration to Australia

George Waples was born in Northamptonshire in about 1807 and arrived in Tasmania as a guard aboard the convict ship Strathfieldsay on 13 Nov 1831. He later joined the King's Own 4th Regiment as a Private and was stationed at Government House in Sydney as a servant to Captain Robert Westmacott who, in turn, was aide-de-camp to Governor Richard Bourke.

After four years in the colony he was married at Parramatta by Chaplain Samuel Marsden to Amelia Carlisle. George and Amelia's first child was born in the year after their marriage and named for the mother that Amelia never knew, Mary Ann. In the following year, 1837, George purchased his discharge for £15 rather than accompany the regiment to Madras, India. He took up employment with Captain Westmacott at Bulli in the Illawarra district. According to family oral history, George had charge of the convicts that built the road down Bulli Pass. In any case, he settled his family on Captain Westmacott's Bulli property "Woodlands".

Waples pedigree

Our Waples ancestors include the following people. Click on any name to access a computer-generated page of information about that person and a list of the information sources.

George Waples (b. 1807, d. 27 Feb 1884)
- William Walpole
- Elizabeth Haseldine (b. ca. 1780)

Notable Waples ancestors

Click on the name of any of the notable ancestors listed below to read a short biography that I have written about them.

Waples family memorials

For centuries families have created memorials to honour their forebears, including headstones, church monuments, memorial cards, obituaries and much more. This website is, in a way, just another innovation in this regard. Each of the links below takes you to a memorial page that is dedicated to that particular deceased ancestor.