Goolsby History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Goolsby is rooted in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It is a name for someone who worked as a goldsmith, or jeweller refiner or gilder. The surname Goolsby was also a nickname for someone with bright yellow hair which referred to gold.

Early Origins of the Goolsby family

The surname Goolsby was first found in Yorkshire at Goldsborough, a parish, in the Upper division of the wapentake of Claro, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Goldsborough Hall, built in the reign of James I., is the property of the Earl of Harewood. 1

The parish dates back to at least the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was recorded as Godenesburg. By 1170, it was known as Godelesburc and literally meant "stronghold of a man called Godel." 2 Today this stately home has been fully restored to its finest glory. In the Church of St. Mary, there are memorials to Richard de Goldsburgh (d.1308) and his son (d.1333), both are effigies of an armoured knight.

Early History of the Goolsby family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Goolsby research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1548, 1568, 1584, 1598, 1604, 1606, 1618, 1626, 1691, 1693 and 1702 are included under the topic Early Goolsby History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Goolsby Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Goolsby are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Goolsby include: Goldesborough, Goldsbrough, Goldisbrough, Goldsborough and many more.

Early Notables of the Goolsby family

Notables of the family at this time include John Goldsburgh, of Godmanchester, Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire in 1626.Godfrey Goldsborough (1548-1604), was Bishop of Gloucester, born in 1548 in the town of Cambridge. On 28 Aug. 1598 he was elected bishop of Gloucester, and he was consecrated at Lambeth on 12 Nov. Before leaving London he made a will, dated 7 March 1691, wherein he described himself as 'of Bethnall Green, in the county of Middlesex, knight, being bound on a voyage to the East India beyond the seas in the shipp Berkly Castle'. Not long after his death his widow...
Another 156 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Goolsby Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Goolsby Ranking

In the United States, the name Goolsby is the 4,604^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Goolsby family

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Goolsby or a variant listed above: Thomas Goldsborough who settled in Jamaica in 1686; John Goldsborough settled in Maryland in 1774.

Contemporary Notables of the name Goolsby (post 1700) +

Thomas Cowart "Thom" Goolsby (b. 1961), American politician, Member of the North Carolina Senate (2011-2014)
James Anthony "Tony" Goolsby (b. 1933), American businessman and politician, Texas State Representative from District 114 (1989-1993)
Raymond Daniel "Ray" Goolsby (1919-1999), nicknamed "Ox", an American Major League Baseball player who played in three games for the Washington Senators in 1946
Mike Goolsby, former American football player who played in two games with the St. Louis Rams in 2005
Tony Goolsby, American Republican politician, Member of Texas State House of Representatives 102nd District; Elected unopposed 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998; Elected 2000; Elected unopposed 2002; Elected 2004, 2006; Defeated, 2008 4
Michael Goolsby, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for Texas State House of Representatives 98th District, 2012 4
Lora Goolsby, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Arkansas, 1924 4

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html