Woosnam History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Woosnam has a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. The name comes from when a family lived at Woolstencroft in the county of Cheshire. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Old English personal name Wulfstan and the Old English word croft, meaning paddock, farm or enclosure, or holm, meaning area of dry land. The name thus translates as the dweller at Wulfstan's farm.

Early Origins of the Woosnam family

The surname Woosnam was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, before and after the Norman Conquest in 1066, in Wolstenholme, near Warrington, in that shire. Conjecturally they were descended from Woolston in Warwickshire, a pre-Norman Saxon settlement.

Early History of the Woosnam family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Woosnam research. Another 162 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1562, 1574, 1600, 1609, 1610, 1611, 1622, 1639, 1640, 1649, 1660, 1670, 1676, 1689, 1691, 1700, 1709, 1717, 1724, 1738 and 1762 are included under the topic Early Woosnam History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Woosnam Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Woosnam have been found, including Woolstenholme, Wolstonholme, Wolstenholme and many more.

Early Notables of the Woosnam family

Notables of the family at this time include Sir John Wolstenholme (1562-1639), an English merchant who sponsored the Henry Hudson's last mission in 1610 to find the Northwest Passage, eponym of Cape Wolstenholme, Quebec, Canada. He hailed from "an old Derbyshire family, was the second son of John Wolstenholme, who came to London in the reign of Edward VI and obtained a post in the customs. The son at an early age became one of the richest merchants in London, and during the last half of his life took a prominent part in the extension of English commerce, in colonisation, and...
Another 132 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Woosnam Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Woosnam migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Woosnam, or a variant listed above:

Woosnam Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

John Woosnam, aged 24, who settled in America from Egremont, in 1905
Edith Adelaid Woosnam, aged 25, who immigrated to the United States from Manchester, England, in 1921
Maxwell Woosnam, aged 28, who landed in America from Manchester, England, in 1921
Joseph Woosnam, aged 35, who immigrated to the United States, in 1924

Contemporary Notables of the name Woosnam (post 1700) +

Ian Harold Woosnam OBE (b. 1958), nicknamed the "Wee Welshman", a Welsh professional gold and silver Olympic medalist golfer at the 1920 Summer Olympics
The Ven. Charles Maxwell Woosnam MA (1856-1930), born in Bombay, Archdeacon of Macclesfield from 1893 to 1904
Phillip Abraham Woosnam (b. 1932), Welsh former Association football inside-right and manager from Caersws, Montgomeryshire

The Woosnam Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: In ardua virtus
Motto Translation: Virtue against difficulties.