Ellacome History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Ellacome family

The surname Ellacome was first found in Devon at Ellacombe, a place under the Haldon Hills, where the 'de Ellacombes' were resident in 1306 1

In Wiltshire, Elcombe dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was known as Elecome. 2 Literally, the place name means "valley where elder trees grow," or "valley of a man called Ella." 3

More recently it is a "tything, in the parish of Wroughton, union of Highworth and Swindon, hundred of Elstub and Everley" 4 but now is a hamlet in Wroughton.

Early History of the Ellacome family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ellacome research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1455, 1487, 1790, 1816, 1835, 1850 and 1885 are included under the topic Early Ellacome History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ellacome Spelling Variations

Until 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 Ellacome include Ellacombe, Ellicombe, Ellicomb, Ellacomb, Elcom, Elcum, Elcomb, Elacombe, Elacomb, Ellcum and many more.

Early Notables of the Ellacome family

Distinguished members of the family include Henry Thomas Ellacombe or Ellicombe (1790-1885), English divine and antiquary, son of the Rev. William Ellicombe, rector of Alphington, Devonshire. He originally "applied himself until 1816 to the study of engineering in Chatham Dockyard, under the direction of Brunel. In 1816 he proceeded to the degree of M.A., and was ordained for the curacy of Cricklade, a Wiltshire parish in the diocese of Gloucester. In...
Another 71 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ellacome Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ellacome family

Thousands 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 Ellacome were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: settlers, who arrived along the eastern seaboard, from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands.

The Ellacome 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: Nulla fraus tuta latebris
Motto Translation: No deceit is safe in its hiding place.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.