Lyster History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The founding heritage of the Lyster family is in the Anglo-Saxon culture that once dominated in Britain. The name Lyster comes from when one of the family worked as a "litster" or dyer, a trade-name for a person who dyed clothes and other fabrics. This surname is derived from the Old English words lite and litte, which both mean to dye.

Early Origins of the Lyster family

The surname Lyster was first found in Yorkshire where today it is one of the most populous surname in that shire. Early records show "Lystare, clothe dyynge (or lytaster of clothe dyynge." "The pedigree is traced to the sixth of Edward II., when John de Lister was resident of Derby. The elder line was of Mydhope, or Middop." 1 He later transferred himself to Yorkshire on his marriage with the daughter and heiress of John de Bolton 2

Gisburn in the West Riding of Yorkshire "was for many generations the seat of the family of Lister, whose descendant, Lord Ribblesdale, is lord of the manor. Gisburn Park is a noble mansion, containing a valuable collection of paintings; the park is extensive, and approached by a handsome lodge. The Lister family are interred in a vault in the church." 3

"Manningham Hall, [in Manningham, in the West Riding of Yorkshire] the seat of E. C. Lister Kaye, Esq., is a handsome mansion, erected on the site of the ancient house of the Lister family, taken down in 1770, and is surrounded by a park." 3

Early History of the Lyster family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lyster research. Another 122 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1296, 1534, 1555, 1597, 1638, 1639, 1658, 1668, 1705, 1707, 1712, 1715, 1718, 1791 and 1840 are included under the topic Early Lyster History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lyster Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Lyster has been spelled many different ways, including Lister, Litster, Lidster and others.

Early Notables of the Lyster family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Michael Lister, High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1534; Sir Martin Lister (c. 1638-1712), English naturalist and physician, eponym of the Dorsa Lister ridge on the Moon; Anne Lister (1791-1840) was a well-off Yorkshire landowner, diarist and traveler; Thomas Lister (1597-1668), English Colonel in the Parliamentary army during the...
Another 56 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lyster Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lyster migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Lysters to arrive in North America:

Lyster Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Hump Lyster, who landed in Virginia in 1650 4
Morris Lyster, who arrived in Virginia in 1654 4

Lyster Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

George Lyster, aged 25, who arrived in New York, NY in 1803 4
Edward Lyster, who landed in Connecticut in 1812 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Lyster (post 1700) +

James Lyster O'Beirne (1820-1895), Irish Liberal politician, Member of Parliament for Cashel (1865-1869)

The Lyster 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: Retinens vestigia famae
Motto Translation: Still treading the footsteps of an honourable ancestry.

Citations +

Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)