The Stilwell origins

All true Stilwell/Stillwells are related. The name is a single-source one and originates from near Godalming in Surrey, England. The original spelling was Stylewell, and means "pure spring" and is named after two springs in the area of Bowlhead Green in Thursley, near Godalming. These springs are called "High Stilwell" and "Nether Stilwell". The former is still a village pond in Bowlhead Green but the latter spring has since been piped into a lake. The first record of the name "Stilwell" is in 1235 in the Godalming Court records where a "Ricardus de Stiyelewell" is recorded. Later records that exist for the name until the early 1500's are all in the same area. In 1515, baptisms of Stilwells are recorded in nearby Dorking, and this branch of the family grew in the area and ultimately became successful. There are no records of the name "Stilwell" (in any form) anywhere in the country except in the county of Surrey until the 1630's when some baptisms for children of just one family are recorded in London. By the mid 1700's a few Stilwell families had moved to London (mainly to Stepney/Whitechapel) and others inevitably followed in search of work and wealth.

Until the arrival of the Railways in the early 1800's, the name "Stilwell" does not appear anywhere in England apart from Surrey, Sussex, London and a few adjoining counties.

The misspelling of "Stillwell" mainly occurred in the London baptisms where the name was recorded phonetically in churches where the family had no roots and so the correct spelling was unknown by the church officials recording the details. The misspelling extends to the Stillaway/Stilaway surname. This spelling can be found in the 1700 and 1800s in and around Bramshot in Hants and Farnham in Surrey; both populated with many Stilwells. The name also appears in Henfield in Sussex. Whilst the first two occurences can definitely be proved to be misspellings, the Henfield Stillaways cannot categorically be proved to be Stilwells, but they almost certainly are. Most Stillaways have reverted the spelling back to Stilwell or Stillwell, but a few families retained the misspelling. The surname is extremely rare in Britain today.

This website is aimed at providing details of the Stilwell/Stillwell/Stillaway families and history to fellow "Stilwells". The information is as accurate as it can be with any historical research, and is a culmination of many years of research into the family by the author and other like-minded family members. The information is freely available to you, but if you are going to use any of my words please ensure you quote my name and this website both to protect yourself and promote myself.

Martin Stilwell. Woking, Surrey, England

Use the links on the left to navigate around the web pages. Each page has a "Did you know" with some interesting facts about the Stilwells.

There are a large number of Stilwell/Stillwells in the USA and the majority of these fine folk are descended from a Nicholas Stilwell who settled in Virginia in the early 1600's. Nicholas' roots are controversial and are covered in the "USA Stilwells" page. Click on the link in the menu above.

All Stilwells will know that we do not have many famous ancestors. General "Vinegar Joe" is the most well known, but there are a few others, including Frank Stilwell who killed Wyatt Earp's brother. Go to the "History" link in the menu.