Hockshaw History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Hockshaw is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when the family lived in the settlement of Hawkshaw in the county of Lancashire. The surname Hockshaw belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Hockshaw family

The surname Hockshaw was first found in Lancashire at Hawkshaw, a village, now in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester. Hawkshaw was also a village in Peebleshire but was destroyed when the Fruid Reservoir was constructed in 1963.

Adam de Haukesheye was the first record of the family as listed in the Assize Rolls of Lancashire in 1285. 1

Early History of the Hockshaw family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hockshaw research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1285, 1375, 1687, 1691, 1693, 1707, 1718 and 1738 are included under the topic Early Hockshaw History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hockshaw 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 Hockshaw 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. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. The variations of the name Hockshaw include: Hawkshaw, Hawkeshaw, Hawkshore, Hoxie and others.

Early Notables of the Hockshaw family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Benjamin Hawkshaw (d. 1738), a divine, born in Dublin, and entered Trinity College in 1687. He left Ireland upon the Revolution, and entered St. John's College, Cambridge; graduated B.A. there...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hockshaw Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hockshaw family to Ireland

Some of the Hockshaw family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hockshaw 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 Hockshaw or a variant listed above: George Hawkshaw and his son Thomas, who settled in Virginia in 1698; David Hoxie, who came to San Francisco in 1852; and Alexander Hawkshaw, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1855..