Paston History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Paston family

The surname Paston was first found in Norfolk at Paston, a village and civil parish held by Thorold from William de Warren, a Norman Baron, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. At that time the place name was recorded as Pastuna and possibly meant "farmstead of a man called Paecci." Alternatively, the first element could have been derived from the Old English word paesce which meant "muddy place or pool." 1 Paston Hall was built by William Paston (1378-1444) and was rebuilt by Sir William Paston (1528-1610) after a fire. This has been the traditional home of the Paston family who are best known for the Paston Letters, a collection of correspondence between members of the family, and others associated with the family between 1422 and 1509. These documents now kept in the British Museum, the Bodleian Library, Oxford, at Magdalen College, Oxford, and at Pembroke College, Cambridge and provide a wealth of information of the life and times of the Paston family.

Early History of the Paston family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Paston research. Another 183 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1043, 1202, 1378, 1404, 1419, 1421, 1442, 1444, 1466, 1479, 1487, 1510, 1515, 1545, 1552, 1554, 1578, 1586, 1597, 1600, 1609, 1631, 1641, 1642, 1651, 1666, 1673, 1679, 1683 and 1714 are included under the topic Early Paston History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Paston Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Paston, Pastone, Payston, Paiston, Passton and others.

Early Notables of the Paston family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

William Paston (1378-1444), an English judge from Paston on the coast of Norfolk, four miles from North Walsham. He was son of Clement Paston, who died on 17 June 1419
John Paston (1421-1466), was an English letter-writer and country gentleman, the eldest son of William Paston, the judge, born in 1421. After his father's death in 1444 he divided his time between his...
Sir John Paston (1442-1479), was an English courtier and letter-writer, born in 1442, eldest son of John Paston (1421-1466.)
Sir William Paston (1479-1554), was an English lawyer and courtier, son of Sir John Paston the younger of Paston in Norfolk. He was educated at Cambridge
Clement Paston (1515-1597), was an English sea captain, second son of Sir William Paston (1479-1554,) Continuing the line was Sir William Paston, 1st Baronet of Oxnead; and his son, Robert Paston, 1st...
Edward Paston (1641-1714), was president of Douay College, born in Norfolk. He was sent to the English College at Douay when only ten years of age, arriving there on 24 Sept. 1651; and he was ordained...

Paston migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Paston Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Robert Paston, who arrived in America in 1711
David Paston, on record in New York in 1760 on a Colonial Muster Roll
James Paston, who arrived in America in 1760-1763 2
James Paston, a bonded passenger, who settled in America in 1763

Paston migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 3

Paston Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Paston, who settled in Barbados in 1655

Contemporary Notables of the name Paston (post 1700) +

Robert Paston (1631-1683), 1st Earl of Yarmouth, an English politician, nobleman and scientist
Henry Edgar Paston (b. 1943), officer of arms at the College of Arms in London, England
Mark Paston (b. 1976), New Zealand soccer player

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies