Ascman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Ascman has a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. The name comes from when a family lived in parishes called Askham, or Ascham, in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, and Westmorland (now part of Cumbria).

The name could have been derived from an Old English expression for a "dweller at the Ash-Tree field or enclosure." 1

Early Origins of the Ascman family

The surname Ascman was first found in Yorkshire at Little Askham or Askham-Richard. :"In the 9th of Edward II. the priory of Burlington held this manor; the patronage of the church was exercised by the nuns of Monkton till the Dissolution." 2

However, we must look to the aforementioned Westmorland to find the first listing of the family. For it is there that the "Placita de Quo Warranto" listed Avice de Askum, 20 Edward I (during the 20th year of Edward I's reign.) Later, the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379 listed Thomas de Askam. 3

Early History of the Ascman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ascman research. Another 246 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1313, 1379, 1390, 1397, 1398, 1406, 1515, 1540, 1553, 1568, 1638, 1650 and 1752 are included under the topic Early Ascman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ascman 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 Ascman have been found, including Askham, Askheam, Ascham, Askum, Askam and others.

Early Notables of the Ascman family

Distinguished members of the family include Anthony Ascham (fl. 1553), an English astrologer who studied at Cambridge, became M.B. in 1540, and in 1553 was presented by Edward VI to the vicarage of Burneston, Yorkshire. Antony Ascham (d. 1650), was a parliamentarian and Ambassador at Madrid, "born of a genteel family, educated in Eton school, and thence elected into King's College, Cambridge, 1638." 4 Roger Ascham, (1515-1568), was an English author born in 1515 at Kirby Wiske, near Northallerton. "His family appears to have been of considerable antiquity, and to have taken its name from the villages known East and West Askham, near...
Another 113 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ascman Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ascman family

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 Ascman, or a variant listed above: W.B. Askam, who sailed to San Francisco in 1850; and Charles, James and Luke Askam who journeyed to Philadelphia in 1854.

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, 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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print