The Sessions surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,593 people carried this name — #4,671 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 38,900 people counted. That is up 5% from 7,204 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

62 families named Sessions, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 393 people lived in those households, 6.3 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 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 23
Connecticut 15
South Carolina 12
Vermont 5
Massachusetts 3
Rhode Island 3
New Hampshire 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. 261 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Sessions in American newspapers,
1875–1913.

Newspaper page from The Daily Clarion carrying the name Sessions
The Daily Clarion 1875-01-30
Newspaper page from The Semi-weekly Leader carrying the name Sessions
The Semi-weekly Leader 1913-06-18
Newspaper page from Macon Beacon carrying the name Sessions
Macon Beacon 1910-06-17

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,652 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Sessions in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.

2,301 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Sessions. The most, 564, date from the 1940s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Victoria, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,117
Victoria 652
Queensland 318
Tasmania 110
Western Australia 40
South Australia 35
ACT (Canberra) 22

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

Who carried it

People named Sessions,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Patty Bartlett Sessions
    Patty Bartlett Sessions 1795–1892 · midwife
  • Alonzo Sessions
    Alonzo Sessions 1810–1886 · politician
  • Walter L. Sessions
    Walter L. Sessions 1820–1896 · lawyer
  • Francis C. Sessions
    Francis C. Sessions 1820–1892 · merchant
  • Milan H. Sessions
    Milan H. Sessions 1821–1898 · lawyer
  • Darius Sessions 1717–1809

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 Sessions,
in the records of 4 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 States409 records

409 records of the Sessions name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 235
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 96
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 26
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 20
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 17
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 13
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 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 James Sessions

    Born 1907 in Texas. Enlisted 1942 at Houston; charwoman from Harris County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1973, buried at Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    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 William Robert Sessions

    Born 1950; from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Thua Thien, 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 Ada Sessions

    Arrived at New York in 1891 aboard the Germanic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 28. From Berlin, Germany; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 409 records for Sessions in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). 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).

Australia35 records

35 records of the Sessions name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 15
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 10
  • Tasmanian Names Index 6
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record James Sessions

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Sir Charles Forbes, sailing from England in 1825.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ivor K. Sessions

    Arrived in Queensland in 1924 aboard the Jervis Bay, aged 17.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Neville George Sessions

    Printer of Boronia, Victoria; died 1981.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 35 records for Sessions in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

United Kingdom5 records

5 records of the Sessions name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. Sessions

    Leicestershire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. Sessions

    Gunner, Oyal Garrison Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record G. Sessions

    Duke of Wellington's Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Sessions in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Canada4 records

4 records of the Sessions name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Jeanne Sessions

    Died 1992, aged 40; buried at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Ernest Sessions

    Died 1922; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Gale Baird Sessions

    Died 1947 in Glace Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 4 records for Sessions in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Sessions.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Sessions 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.

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