Origins of the Upshaw Surname
"The name Upshaw may possibly have been derived from the hamlet of Upshire, in the Parish of Waltham, County of Essex, England. Bishop Meade mentions the Upshaw family as one of the leading families in Eastern Virginia in Colonial times and immediately following the Revolution."
-- Lenora Higinbotham Sweeny, "The Upshaw Family of Essex,"
William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 18, Series 2, 1938, p 64.
The first Upshaw in the United States arrived in Virginia around 1660, and the Upshur family may be descended from the same lineage. Early families living in the same areas of pre-colonial England and colonial Virginia with similar names include Upcher, Upshur, Upsher, Upshott and Upshall. Less than two centuries ago, there were still Upshaws, Upchers and Upshers living in Essex Co. England and London. However, no proof of the connection to the Upshaws of early Virginia has yet been found.There is some speculation that the Upchurch or Abshire/Absher families mayderive from the same origins. At least one English genealogy of the Upchersindicates that some generations may have spelled their name Upchurch. TheAbshires may have originated in the same area of England (Essex).
It is also remotely possible that the Upshaw surname is related to the Welsh name ApShaw - a family that is of Scottish origin. I think this increases in likelihood if there is a connection with the Abshire family.
Old family legends have the family originating in France in the 1500's, and also designate Abel Upshaw as the first North American progenitor, his brother Arthur apparently giving rise to the Upshur family. The existence of Arthur Upshott/Upshur has apparently been confirmed. However, none of the many researchers of Upshaw family genealogy have to date found any confirming evidence to support the existence of Abel Upshaw, nor for a North American (i.e. recent) connection between the Upshaw and Upshur lineages.
The progenitor of all caucasian Upshaws in North America appears to be Capt. William Upshaw and his father, probably named Jeremiah. Jeremiah was the first Upshaw to arrive in the Virginia Colony and apparently died not long after his son William was born, as there are no known siblings of William.
Most caucasian Upshaws living in North America today are descended from Capt. William's son John (and grandson Edwin) or from William's youngest son Forrest, whose line moved south to Georgia and Alabama. Some of Edwin's children (by his first wife Lucy Roane) moved West, taking the Upshaw name to Kentucky, Missississippi and Texas. Others stayed in Virginia, where Upshaws can still be found living today. Descendants of Forrest's sons LeRoy and John moved into Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri and Texas. Others stayedin Georgia and are found there still. In the subsequent four (now five) generations, Upshaws have spread throughout North America, although the
largest families still appear to be located in the southern half of theUnited States, and Illinois.