Halsell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Halsell is one of the many names that the Normans brought with them when they conquered England in 1066. The Halsell family lived in Lancashire, as Lords of the Manor of Halsall.

Early Origins of the Halsell family

The surname Halsell was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat as Lords of the manor of Halsall. At the time of the taking of the Domesday Book in 1086 the village of Halsall was held by Count Roger de Poitou, a Norman noble who was Earl of Lancaster, and conjecturally the Halsalls are descended from this line. "The manor [of Birkdale, Lancashire], in the reign of Henry IV., was held by the Halsalls." 1 Unfortunately, by the 17th century the manor was passed on to other families.

Perhaps this entry will shed some light into the lost manor. "By this time there had probably been an infeudation in favour of the Halsall family. In 1346, the fourth part of a knight's fee in Argar Meols was held by Otes de Halsall; he rendered 10s [(shillings)], but it was stated that the place 'had been annihilated by the sea and there was no habitation there.' From an inquisition taken in 1404, it appears that the manors of Argar Meols and Birkdale had been held by Otes' father, Gilbert, so that the transfer from the old lords to the new must have taken place about 1320. " 2

Early History of the Halsell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Halsell research. Another 157 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1548 and 1599 are included under the topic Early Halsell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Halsell Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Hallsall, Halsall, Halshall, Hawshall, Halsell, Hallsell and many more.

Early Notables of the Halsell family

More information is included under the topic Early Halsell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Halsell family to Ireland

Some of the Halsell family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Halsell family

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Halsell name or one of its variants: James Halsall landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1844.

Contemporary Notables of the name Halsell (post 1700) +

John Edward Halsell (1826-1899), American politician, United States Representative, Kentucky 3rd District (1883-1887)
Harry Hurrinden Halsell (1860-1957), American cattle rancher and a prolific writer of books about ranching life 3
Grace Halsell (1923-2000), American journalist and writer 4
James Donald Halsell Jr. (b. 1956), former NASA Astronaut with 5 shuttle missions and over 1,250 hours in space 5

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
'Townships: Scarisbrick', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1907), pp. 265-276. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp265-276 [accessed 21 January 2017].
Harry Halsell. (Retrieved 2011, January 19) Harry Halsell. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_H._Halsell
Grace Halsell. (Retrieved 2011, January 19) Grace Halsell. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Halsell
NASA Astronauts Homepage. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) James Halsell. Retrieved from http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/halsell.html