International Wrathall Family Tree

This page covers the branches of the Wrathall tree that have spread from Yorkshire to other parts of England and to America, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Rhodesia.

The first section concerns the aboriginal ancestors of the Wrathalls. These were members of the Brythonic tribe who became known to the Roman occupying forces during the reign of Claudius (41-54) as the Brigantes. They controlled most of West and North Yorkshire, and were described by Cornelius Tacitus (55-120) as the most numerous of British tribes. Although their chief town was Eboracon (Roman Eboracum=York), they had a fort commanded by the legendary King Venutius at Olicana (Ilkley, south of Bolton Abbey) in Wharfedale, the ancestral home of the Wrathalls (see map ).

The Brigantes represent the prehistoric and early historic portion of the Wrathall family tree. They were subdued by the Romans during the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161), but control of Yorkshire changed hands many times until the reign of Caracalla (211-235). The Roman occupation straggled on until about 420 A.D. under the pressures on the crumbling continental Empire and the constant attacks of the Saxon pirates.

There was a long period between the end of Roman military rule and the advent of the Anglian kings. Most of the Romans did not leave Yorkshire, but rather intermarried with the Brigantes and Saxons, so the Wrathalls must also have Roman heritage. The invasion of the territory of the Brigantes is diagrammed in the first map of Europe
The second map of Europe diagrams the origin of the Anglian (500-700 A.D.), Viking (800-1000 A.D.), and Norman (1066-1400) ancestors of the Wrathalls. The Anglians invaded in the late 500s, and under King Aella they set up the kingdom of Deira in the East Riding (Thryding, or Third) of Yorkshire (Northumbria).

Aella's son Eadwine extended the kingdom to encompass all three Ridings of Northumbria (North of the Humber River), where from then on the Anglians battled the Saxons of Mercia for control of border areas until the advent of the Danes and Norse (Vikings), who conquered Deira in 875 under Gudrum.

[Click HERE for a map of the ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.]

The Danes allowed the English (Anglo-Saxons) to retain their lands, so the opportunity to intermix with the population was great, thus making it reasonable to assume that the Wrathalls had Scandinavian ancestors.

The English only regained control of Yorkshire in 1066, just prior to Hastings, when the Dane HardRaade was defeated by King Godwinesson of Mercia. After the English defeat at Hastings, William I distributed the lands of Yorkshire to the Norman nobility, who then ruled the Anglo-Saxon serfs and yeomen until the advent of the Tudors, bringing us to the time of the first Wrathall, Edmond (Eadmund). So it is likely that there are also some Normans in the Wrathall line, especially since most of the given names after Edmond were Norman.

Information on Wrathalls in England is contained in the English Wrathalls page.
Some examples of Wrathall emigration from England: