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Strafford

Strafford is a toponym and a surname used in various contexts. In the United States, several communities bear the name, including Strafford, New Hampshire, a town in Strafford County; Strafford County, New Hampshire; Strafford, Vermont, a town in Orange County; and Strafford, Missouri, a city located in Greene and Webster counties.

The name also appears in English history through the peerage title Earl of Strafford. The title was

As a surname, Strafford is used by individuals and families beyond these place names and titles. In

created
in
1640
for
Thomas
Wentworth,
a
prominent
English
statesman
who
served
as
a
key
adviser
to
King
Charles
I
and
played
a
major
role
in
governance
during
the
early
1640s.
Wentworth
became
the
1st
Earl
of
Strafford,
and
his
downfall
and
execution
in
1641
are
noted
features
of
the
period.
The
title
itself
is
a
geographic
and
historical
reference
that
continues
to
appear
in
historical
writing
and
discussions
of
the
era.
addition
to
its
use
in
geography
and
aristocratic
naming,
Strafford
appears
in
various
institutional,
historical,
and
genealogical
contexts,
often
linked
to
the
towns
and
counties
that
carry
the
name
or
to
descendants
associated
with
those
places.
The
term
thus
functions
as
both
a
place
name
and
a
component
of
historical
and
biographical
references.