THE ORIGINS OF WINNETT FAMILIES OF THE WORLD

Pennsylvania families

Descendants of William Winnett (born c. 1745)

William Winnett married Sarah Strange at Wilmington, Delaware in 1773, and their family later lived in Washington County, Pennsylvania. His descendants appear to make up a sizeable proportion of people with the name in the USA. Family members on the Internet suggest he came from Liverpool. The is a short biographical piece on him in Beers Biographical Records On-Line in which it says he was kidnapped and taken to America as a servant.

The mention of Liverpool is curious, as the Winnett name does not appear in Lancashire during the period suggested. It is more likely that this was simply his port of departure, as most emigrants for the USA left from Liverpool.

Turvey lists this family briefly as "Family No. 7". In 2006 DNA testing revealed that this family has common origins with the family of William Winnett of Kildare (See Irish families), although distantly. It may be that their common ancestor lived in the 1500s.