Send email to: peter@mendenhall.org.ukJames Mendenhall (born 1751) was the first in England to acquire this surname. This site lists his paternal MILDENHALL ancestors and all his MENDENHALL surname descendants. The Wessex (West Saxon) village of Mildenhall (pronounced Minal) is in Wiltshire, England and its Anglo-Saxon name means a nook or corner of land that was either mild or belonged to a person called Milde or Milda (due to their temperament).
Every male-line descendant and all his paternal-line ancestors share the same Y-chromosome. Our Y-DNA is of Germanic heritage and originated within Nordic Europe about four thousand years ago. It is thought most likely that our ancestral forefathers were Norman whose own ancestors were Viking. The story of how our Y-DNA probably migrated from there to Mildenhall in England is told in the article entitled Our Journey to Mildenhall.
The Mendenhall surname in America originated there in the 1680s; a century before it independently appeared in England. The most recent common ancestor of the American and English Mendenhall branches of the Mildenhall family tree is Thomas Myldenale, the seven-times great grandfather of James. Ydania de Mildehal and her son Ralph de Mildenhall, the five-times great grandfather of Thomas, are our earliest known ancestors. It is gratefully acknowledged that the research into James’s ancestors was largely conducted by the Mendenhall Family Association; see link to their website below for further information. My own research focuses on James and his descendants; the English Mendenhalls.
All those Mendenhall surname descendants of James still living in England share a common ancestor in his grandson George Mendenhall. There are two ongoing branches of his family tree that retain this surname. They were clustered around the English south coast towns of Weymouth and Hastings but are now more widely distributed. However, regardless of surname, all the known descendants of George are now also included here.
Other than indicating some names and relationships, details of living people are not published here. To correct any errors or omissions, please email using the address below. Any feedback is most welcome.
Descendants .......... Surname List .......... Name Index .......... Our Y-DNA .......... Our Journey to Mildenhall
Peter Mendenhall, England
Send email to: peter@mendenhall.org.uk
This web site produced 25 Jan 2024 by Family Tree Heritage is related to but separate from the Mendenhall Family Association site in America.