Pickren History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

In ancient Anglo-Saxon England, the ancestors of the Pickren surname lived in the parish of Pickering found in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Pickren is a habitation name that was originally derived from the pre-existing name for a parish. It was originally derived from the Old English word Picora which referred to those individuals who lived at the edge of a hill.

Early Origins of the Pickren family

The surname Pickren was first found in the North Riding of Yorkshire at Pickering, a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in Pickering lythe. "The origin of this place is said to be very remote, being dated by tradition 270 years before the commencement of the Christian era, and ascribed to Peridurus, a British king, who was interred here, on the brow of a hill called Rawcliff. According to local tradition, also, its name is derived from the circumstance of a ring having been lost by the founder whilst washing in the river Costa, and subsequently found in the belly of a pike." 1

Some of the earliest records of the family were Sir James Pickering (fl. 1383), Speaker of the House of Commons, was son of Sir John Pickering of Killington, Westmorland. The family had been established at Killington since 1260. Thomas Pickering (died 1475) was an early English genealogist and was presumably a native of Pickering, Yorkshire. 2

Early History of the Pickren family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pickren research. Another 131 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1544, 1592, 1596, 1611, 1613, 1618, 1637, 1654, 1668 and 1701 are included under the topic Early Pickren History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pickren 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 Pickren 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 Pickren include: Puckering, Pickering, Pykering, Pikering and others.

Early Notables of the Pickren family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir John Puckering (1544-1596), an English lawyer, politician, Speaker of the English House of Commons, and Lord Keeper from 1592 until his death; Sir Gilbert Pickering, 1st Baronet (1611-1668), a regicide, a member of the English Council of State during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, and a member of Cromwell's Upper House; Sir Henry Pickering, 1st Baronet (1613-1668), an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in...
Another 78 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pickren Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pickren migration to the United States +

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 Pickren or a variant listed above:

Pickren Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Robert Pickren, who arrived in New England in 1717 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Pickren (post 1700) +

T. L. Pickren, American politician, Member of Georgia State House of Representatives from Charlton County, 1923-24 4

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html