| William Henry Duignan | |
| Birth Date: | August 16, 1824 |
| Birth Place: | Walsall, England |
| Death Place: | Walsall |
| Nationality: | British |
| Known For: | Antiquarian, writer, local politician |
| Occupation: | Solicitor |
William Henry Duignan (16 August 1824 – 27 March 1914)[1] was a solicitor who lived in and around the town of Walsall for his entire life. He was better known as an antiquarian, writer, historian and local politician and wrote a number of books and pamphlets about local history and especially on the etymology of place naming, many of which are still available today.[2]
Duignan was born of Irish descent in Walsall in 1824; his grandfather, latterly a master at Walsall Grammar School, had emigrated to England from County Longford.[3] He had three children, Florency-Mary, Ernest-Henry, and George-Stubbs, by Mary Minors, of Fisherwick, whom he married in 1850; and a further three children, Bernard, Carl, and Oscar, by Jenny Petersen, of Stockholm, whom he married in 1868.An antiquarian and etymologist, he wrote three histories of place names and a monograph on Rushall Hall, where he had lived for 29 years.[1] He travelled widely around Britain and Ireland, earning the nickname "the man on a tricycle" after his preferred mode of travel. He was often accompanied in his travels by the Staffordshire businessman and writer Willam Henry Robinson.[4]
Duignan's most widely known works are his three etymologies of place names in the West Midlands, Notes on Staffordshire Place Names (1902), Worcestershire Place Names (1905), and Warwickshire Place Names (1912); all are still available in reproduction form today.
| Escutcheon: | Argent on a mount in base Vert an oak tree the stem entwined with two serpents interwoven and erect respecting each other all Proper. |
| Crest: | An owl at gaze Proper. |
| Notes: | Confirmed 6 November 1891 by Sir John Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms.[5] |
| Motto: | Historia Magistra Vitae |