Stanage History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The history of the Stanage family name begins after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived at Standish (St.Wilfrid), a parish, in the unions of Wigan and Chorley, hundred of Leyland. "According to Whitaker, the historian of Manchester, Standish, anciently Stanedich, was one of the twelve considerable towns in the south of Lancashire in which the Saxons erected fortified castles for the residence of their chiefs, and the protection of the country. Of the castle of Standish, however, there are no remains, nor can its site even be ascertained. Jordan de Standish is named in connexion with the manor in the 16th of Edward I.; but whether his progenitors gave their name to the parish, or received it from the castle, is by no means evident: it is believed that the family have been settled here from the Conquest, or from a very short period after that event. Standish Hall is a large brick mansion of irregular form, long the seat of the Standish family." 1

The place name literally means "stony pasture or enclosure," from the Old English "stan" + "edisc." 2

Early Origins of the Stanage family

The surname Stanage was first found in Lancashire. However, some believe the family originated in Gloucestershire where they are conjecturally they are descended from Earl Hugh of Standish, who was undertenant of the Archbishop of York. "The Lancashire Standish seems to have been the more fruitful source of the surname. The famous Miles Standish carried it to America - he was a gentlemen born, could trace his pedigree plainly back to Hugh Standish of Duxbury Hall, in Lancashire, England who was the son of Ralph, and the grandson of Thurston de Standish." 3

"The earliest recorded ancestor seems to be Thurstan de Standish, whose name appears in deeds dated 6. Henry II (1139.) This distinguished family continued to flourish on the lands from which they derived their name until the year 1807, when the last male heir died, and the estate passed to his sister's son, a Strickland, who assumed the Standish name." 4

Early feudal rolls provided the king of the time a method of cataloguing holdings for taxation, but today they provide a glimpse into the wide surname spellings in use at that time. Ralph de Standis was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for Lancashire in 1206 and 'Herriesservant Standich de Clyfford was listed in Wales in 1377. 5 Baine's Lancashire lists William de Standisch, 1311; and Hugh de Standisch, 1311. 6

Early History of the Stanage family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Stanage research. Another 241 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1180, 1332, 1392, 1445, 1507, 1535, 1570, 1584, 1605, 1611, 1614, 1615, 1621, 1633, 1656, 1659, 1660, 1662, 1690, 1740, 1790 and 1857 are included under the topic Early Stanage History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Stanage Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Standish, Standishe, Standich, Standidge and others.

Early Notables of the Stanage family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Myles Standish (Miles Standish) (c. 1584-1656), an English military officer hired by the Pilgrims as military advisor for Plymouth Colony.Captain Josiah Standish, (c. 1633-1690), son of Captain Myles Standish, participated in King Philip's War and tracked the Wampanoag chief, Metacomet to Mt. Hope, Rhode Island where he was killed.Henry Standish (died 1535), was an English divine, Bishop of St. Asaph, son of Alexander Standish of Standish in that county, who died in 1445, but the dates render the relationship improbable. 7John Standish...
Another 90 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Stanage Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Stanage family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Stanage or a variant listed above were: Dorothy Standich who settled in Virginia in 1635; Sarah Standidge settled in New England in 1753; James Standish settled in Virginia in 1623; George Standish with his wife Dorothy settled in Virginia in 1643. and Captain Miles Standish sailed on the ".

Contemporary Notables of the name Stanage (post 1700) +

John Stanage (1823-1898), American politician, Member of Dakota territorial House of Representatives, 1862 8

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html