Joss History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Joss family

The surname Joss was first found in Staffordshire where the Pipe Rolls of 1130 list Gotso dapifer. A few years later, Gosce and Joce de Brunna were listed in Lincolnshire in 1195. From these earliest entries as a forename, we found Hugo Gosse in the Assize Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1202 and Geoffrey Gosse in Huntingdonshire in 1251. The Pipe Rolls of 1205 for Suffolk included Richard Goce and Thomas Joce was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1327. 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 proved the widespread use of the name in a variety of spellings: Isabel le Gous, Cambridgeshire; Walter le Gows, Cambridgeshire; and Michael le Govs, Somerset. 2 In Somerset, Richard le Goos and William Goose were listed there 1 Edward III (in the first year of the reign of Edward III.) 3

In Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Cicilia Gous and Johannes Gosse as holding lands there at that time. 2

"The name of Goss is now best represented in the Aylesbury district [of Buckinghamshire]. In the 13th century Gosse was a common Bucks name, occurring in Stoke Goldington, Ravenstone, and in other parts of the county." 4

The source Baines' Lancashire notes "Thomas Goose was executed at Garstang, Lancashire, Feb. 14, 1716, for joining the Scotch insurgents in 1715."

Early History of the Joss family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Joss research. Another 172 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1195, 1202, 1205, 1327, 1359, 1400, 1402, 1770, 1800, 1811, 1814, 1817, 1841, 1872 and 1880 are included under the topic Early Joss History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Joss Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gosse, Goss, Joss, Jose and others.

Early Notables of the Joss family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was Alexander Goss (1814-1872), Roman Catholic bishop of Liverpool, born at Ormskirk, Lancashire, on 5 July 1814, educated at St. Cuthbert's College, Ushaw, and at the English College, Rome, where he was ordained priest by Cardinal Fransoni in 1841. 5Sir John Goss (1800-1880), the English musical composer, born at Fareham, Hampshire, on 27 Dec...
Another 63 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Joss Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Joss migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Joss Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. James Joss, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Excelsior" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 17th March 1859 6
Mrs. Margaret Joss, (b. 1836), aged 39, Scottish settler travelling from Scotland (possible Greenock) aboard the ship "Wellington" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 24th February 1876, heading for Invercargill 7
Miss Isabella Joss, (b. 1857), aged 18, Scottish settler travelling from Scotland (possible Greenock) aboard the ship "Wellington" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 24th February 1876, heading for Invercargill 7
Mr. George Joss, (b. 1865), aged 10, Scottish settler travelling from Scotland (possible Greenock) aboard the ship "Wellington" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 24th February 1876, heading for Invercargill 7
Mr. Alexander Joss, (b. 1872), aged 3, Scottish settler travelling from Scotland (possible Greenock) aboard the ship "Wellington" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 24th February 1876, heading for Invercargill 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Joss (post 1700) +

Jonathan Joss (b. 1965), American actor from San Antonio, Texas
Adrian "Addie" Joss (1880-1911), nicknamed The Human Hairpin," an American Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1902 through 1910, inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame
Scott Joss (b. 1962), American songwriter, guitarist, singer, and fiddle player
John Joss, American politician, Socialist Labor Candidate for New York State Attorney General, 1912 8
Frederick A. Joss, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Indiana, 1916 8
Morag Joss, English-born Scottish Edgar Award nominated writer
Alex Joss (b. 1985), Swiss world champion domino player in 2007
Joss Ackland CBE (1928-2023), born as Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland, an English actor who appeared in more than 130 film, radio and television roles
Joss Christopher Labadie (b. 1990), English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Newport County
Joss Stone (b. 1987), stage name of Jocelyn Eve Stoker, an English soul singer-songwriter and actress

Citations +

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.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html