The Severance surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,456 people carried this name — #9,407 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 85,500 people counted. That is up 2% from 3,380 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

45 families named Severance, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 241 people lived in those households, 5.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. 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

Massachusetts 20
New Hampshire 18
Maine 2
Vermont 2
South Carolina 2
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. 261 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Severance in American newspapers,
1906–1925.

Newspaper page from The Birmingham Age-herald carrying the name Severance
The Birmingham Age-herald 1925-03-22
Newspaper page from The Woman's Tribune carrying the name Severance
The Woman's Tribune 1906-07-14
Newspaper page from The Woman's Tribune carrying the name Severance
The Woman's Tribune 1906-01-06

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 109,042 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Severance in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1950s.

834 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Severance. The most, 218, date from the 1900s. 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 Western Australia, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 297
Queensland 152
Victoria 143
Western Australia 113
South Australia 79
Tasmania 46
ACT (Canberra) 2
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Severance,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Luther Severance
    Luther Severance 1797–1855 · politician
  • Caroline Severance
    Caroline Severance 1820–1914 · suffragette
  • Caroline Severance
    Caroline Severance 1820–1914 · suffragette
  • Louis Severance
    Louis Severance 1838–1913 · banker
  • Mark Sibley Severance
    Mark Sibley Severance 1846–1931 · writer
  • Martin J. Severance 1826–1907 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Severance,
in the records of 2 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 States250 records

250 records of the Severance name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 104
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 51
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 47
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 41
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 3
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 2
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Manning Severance

    Born 1921 in Florida. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Blanding; driver from Suwannee County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Orange Springs Cemetery, Florida.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record George W. Severance

    Arrived at New York in 1879 aboard the State of Georgia from Glasgow and Larne, aged 25; merchant.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Albert G. Severance

    U.S. Navy veteran of the Vietnam War. Born 1940, died 1997; buried at Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery, Augusta, Maine.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 250 records for Severance 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) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Canada67 records

67 records of the Severance name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 63
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record James Severance

    Died 1914 in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Sarah Jane Severance

    Died 1934; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Robert Alexander Severance

    Died in service in 1943.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 67 records for Severance in Canada.

Counts: 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. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Severance.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Severance 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 Severance volume
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