| ![Show Contents]() Brownsmith History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England The name Brownsmith is Anglo-Saxon in origin. It was a name given to a worker in copper and brass. The surname Brownsmith is derived from the Old English words brun, which means brown, and refers to the color of the metals used, and smith, which means smith. 1 2 Early Origins of the Brownsmith familyThe surname Brownsmith was first found in Yorkshire, where Thomas le Brounesmyth was registered at Wakefield in 1296. A short time later, William Brounsmyth was registered on the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327. 1 Kirby's Quest also lists the same person. 3 Back in Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 include: Willelmus Bronesmyth; and Simon Bronsmyth. 2 A William Brownsmith was rector of Stiffkey, Norfolk in 1559 4 and the Register of the University of Oxford includes William Brownsmith, Essex in 1581. 2 Early History of the Brownsmith familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brownsmith research. Another 194 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1327, 1349, 1369, 1379, 1447, 1559, 1581, 1694, 1809, 1829, 1838, 1848, 1853, 1857, 1859, 1862, 1865 and 1866 are included under the topic Early Brownsmith History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Brownsmith Spelling VariationsUntil the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Brownsmith include Brownsmith, Brounesmyth, Brounsmyth, Bronesmyth, Bronsmyth and many more. Early Notables of the Brownsmith familyNotables of this surname at this time include: - John Leman Brownsmith, born in Westminster in 1809, and received his musical education as a chorister of Westminster Abbey under George Ebenezer Williams and Thomas Greatorex...
- In 1829, on the death of Benjamin Jacob, Brownsmith was appointed his successor as organist of St...
Migration of the Brownsmith familyThousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Brownsmith were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: a number of settlers who arrived in the New World by the 19th century.
| Contemporary Notables of the name Brownsmith (post 1700) | + |
- John Leman Brownsmith (1809-1866), English chorister, lay-clerk, and assistant organist at Westminster Abbey
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
- Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
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