The Grisham surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,798 people carried this name — #5,148 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 43,500 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (6,796).

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

22 families named Grisham, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 128 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 4 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

North Carolina 9
Virginia 7
South Carolina 5
Pennsylvania 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 243 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Grisham in American newspapers,
1899–1930.

Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name Grisham
Evening Star 1930-11-16
Newspaper page from New-york Tribune carrying the name Grisham
New-york Tribune 1899-01-01
Newspaper page from The Colored American carrying the name Grisham
The Colored American 1901-03-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 9,905 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Grisham in Australian newspapers,
1890s–1950s.

42 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Grisham. The most, 11, date from the 1950s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 22
Victoria 7
Queensland 3
Tasmania 2
Western Australia 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Grisham.

Who carried it

People named Grisham,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Wayne R. Grisham
    Wayne R. Grisham 1923–2011 · politician
  • Edna Earl Adams 1878–1952
  • Lemma Newell Grisham 1879–1954
  • Edith Vallie Grisham 1901–1968
  • Frank Phillips Grisham 1928–2020 · librarian
  • Jerry Grisham 1941–2015 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Grisham,
in the records of 3 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States329 records

329 records of the Grisham name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 235
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 83
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 3
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 2
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Ellis E. Grisham

    Born 1920 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1943 at Los Angeles, California; farm hand. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1994, buried at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Charles Cole Grisham

    Born 1942; from Memphis, Tennessee. U.S. Army, armor reconnaissance specialist; died of wounds 1968 in Bien Hoa, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Henry Grisham

    Arrived at New York in 1852 aboard the John Stuart from Liverpool, aged 19; farmer. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 329 records for Grisham in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia9 records

9 records of the Grisham name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 8
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ada Grisham

    Sailed from Victoria in 1863 aboard the Lady Melville, bound for London.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John B. Grisham

    Of Enfield, New South Wales; died 1920.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Grisham

    Sailed from Victoria in 1863 aboard the Lady Melville, bound for London.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Grisham in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Grisham name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Johannes Wilhelmus Grisham

    Born 1881 in Delfshaven.

    Open Archives, Nationaal Archief Rijksarchief Zuid-Holland (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Adriana Augustine Grisham

    Born 1885 in Delfshaven.

    Open Archives, Nationaal Archief Rijksarchief Zuid-Holland (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Grisham.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Grisham is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Grisham volume
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