Researching William Sumner
Dig into the past of William Sumner using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
![]() | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 4849 people with the Sumner surname? In that year Sumner was ranked number 874 for popularity in the UK. |

The name William means "resolute guardian" and is of German origin.
Records of William Sumner on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of William Sumner in your family tree. With over 30 billion records and 100 million family trees to search, Ancestry is one of the key websites to visit to help you trace your family tree back in time. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for William Sumner. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for William Sumner. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for William Sumner. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for William Sumner. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for William Sumner. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. A DNA test can sometimes help to make a link to a particular family name if you find you share common DNA with people who have the same or similar surnames as each other. If you are lucky then you may get a match within a few generations and discover some Sumner ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Sumner Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for William Sumner and the Sumner Family History
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Sumner Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources listed below it will be possible to locate a birth record and, from that record, a birth certificate may be obtainable which is likely to list the names of the parents, therefore taking you back another generation. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Sumner family tree.
Look at Parish Records for William Sumner at Find My Past.
Study for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of William Sumner using the FreeBMD database.
Check out Genealogy Bank for William Sumner records.
Explore MyHeritage for William Sumner information.
Study the LDS Database for records about William Sumner.
Research the Sumner surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Sumner Military records.
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 6354 people with the Sumner surname in the UK? Sumner is now ranked number 946 for popularity in the UK. |
Sumner Genealogy Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Look at the WikiTree database for user contributed records for William Sumner.
Study MyTrees for information on the Sumner family and people looking to contact living Sumner relations.
Investigate One Great Family for Sumner records submitted by people who are already researching the Sumner Family Tree.
Find William Sumner from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Sumner Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Sumner surname using Genealogy.com forums .
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 24306 people with the Sumner surname in the USA? Sumner is ranked number 149 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Sumner Databases
Study the Ellis Island Database for information on William Sumner. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called William Sumner
William Graham Sumner
William Graham Sumner (October 30, 1840 – April 12, 1910) was a classical liberal American social scientist. He taught social sciences at Yale, where he held the nation's first professorship in sociology. He was one of the most influential teachers at Yale or any other major school. Sumner wrote widely within the social sciences, with numerous books and essays on American history, economic history, political theory, sociology, and anthropology. He supported laissez-faire economics, free markets, and the gold standard. He adopted the term "ethnocentrism" to identify the roots of imperialism, which he strongly opposed, and as a spokesman against it he was in favor of the "forgotten man" of the middle class, a term he coined. He had a long-term influence on conservatism in the United States.
Source: William Graham Sumner, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Other names that sound a bit like Sumner
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Saegner Sagner Sainer Samber Samora Samra Saner Sanner Saunier Sauniere Saynor Scammer Schamber Schambra Schaner Schauner Scheiner Schembri Schemer Schemmer Scheuner Schiemer Schimmer Schmer Schmeyer Schmohr Schmoyer Schnerr Schneyer Schnoor Schnorr Schnur Schoener Schommer Schonauer Schoner Schooner Schumer Schwaner Schwemer Sciambra Scyner Seamer Seamour Seanor Segner Seigner Seignior Seimer Sember Semor Semour Semrau Senior Seniour Senner Senor Seymer Seymore Seymour Shamray Shaner Shanor Shimer Shiner Shinner Shomer Shoner Shumar Shumer Signor Signore Signori Simar Simbro Simbrough Simner Simnor Siner Sinkner Sinner Sinnery Sinor Skeemer Skeemor Skemer Skinner Skummer Skyner Skynner Smarr Smoyer Smurr Snair Snar Snare Snarie Snarr Snary Snear Sneary Soehner Sommer Somner Somnier Sonier Sonner Sonnier Soomro Summar Summer Summerrow Sumrow Sunier Sunner Swanner Swenor Swimmer Swinyer Swymer Syner Szymura





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