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Quincey History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Quincey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The Quincey surname is one of the many Norman names that came to Britain following 1066. The Quincey surname is generally thought to have come from Cuinchy in the Arrondissement of Béthune, Pays de Calais region of northern France; however there were several places in France such as Quincy-sous-Sénard in Seine-et-Oise or Quincy-Voisins in Seine-et-Marne.

Another reference states clearly that the name is "a baronial family from Quincé, Maine to the house of De Rohan, whose arms they bore. The mascles [(hollow diamond shapes)] were borne by the Dukes de Rohan." 1

These place names all derive from the Gallo-Roman personal name Quintus, meaning "fifth-born."

Early Origins of the Quincey family

The surname Quincey was first found in Northamptonshire, where the first of several to bear the name Saer de Quincy (Saer I) was Lord of the Manor of Long Buckby. Saer I was the second husband of Matilda of St Liz, stepdaughter of King David I of Scotland, and thus the family had holdings in Scotland from very early times. 2

This line produced Saer de Quincy (1170-1219), 1st Earl of Winchester. He was one of the leaders of the baronial rebellion against King John of England. He fought against King John after the Magna Carta was signed in 1215. While on the Fifth Crusade in 1219, he fell sick and died and was buried in Acre, the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

"In the reign of the Second Henry, Saier de Quincy had a grant from the crown of the Manor of Bushley, co. Northampton, previously the property of Anselme de Conchis. Of his two sons, the elder, Robert, became a Soldier of the Cross, and the younger, Saier, was created Earl of Winchester by King John. He subsequently obtained large grants and immunities from the same monarch, but, nevertheless, when the Baronial War broke out, his Lordship's pennant waved on the side of freedom, and be became so eminent amongst his contemporaries that he was chosen one of the twenty-five Barons appointed to enforce the observance of Magna Charta." 3

"The name is in Holinshed's list of the followers of William the Conqueror." 4

Early rolls give us today a glimpse of the many spelling is use over the years. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had two entries with an early spelling: Robert de Quency, Essex; and Hawyse de Quency, Bedfordshire. 5 The aforementioned Saer de Quincy was listed in Oxford Rolls as a Knights Templar in 1153-1163. Henry Quenci was listed in Lincolnshire in early days. 6

Early History of the Quincey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Quincey research. Another 111 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1155, 1160, 1195, 1219, 1265, 1722, 1774, 1775, 1785 and 1859 are included under the topic Early Quincey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Quincey 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 Quincy, Quincey, de Quincey, Quince and others.

Early Notables of the Quincey family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Thomas de Quincey (1785-1859), was the English author of 'Confessions of an Opium Eater,' born at Greenheys, Manchester, 15 Aug. 1785. He was the fifth child of Thomas De Quincey, a merchant of reputa...

Quincey migration to the United States +

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 Quincey name or one of its variants:

Quincey Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Samuel Quincey, who landed in Georgia in 1735 7

Quincey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Joseph Quincey, who arrived in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1818 7

Quincey migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Quincey Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Quincey, (Bird), (b. 1802), aged 36, English convict who was convicted in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England for 10 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Earl Grey" on 27th July 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1862 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Quincey (post 1700) +

James Robert B. Quincey (b. 1965), British businessman based in the United States, CEO of The Coca-Cola Company
David Quincey (b. 1939), also known as Dave Quincy, a British saxophonist and composer
Kyle Quincey (b. 1985), Canadian NHL ice hockey defenceman for the Detroit Red Wings
George Quincey Lumsden Jr. (b. 1930), American politician, U.S. Ambassador to United Arab Emirates, 1982 9
Quincey Jones (b. 1933), American composer, music producer and media mogul

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-grey
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html