{{ad}} |
|
|
Origins Available: |
| England |
The origins of the Ashbey name come from when the Anglo-Saxon tribes ruled over Britain. The name Ashbey was originally derived from a family having lived in a dwelling near an ash tree. Ashbey is a local surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. There are a variety of types of local surnames, some of which include topographic surnames, which could be given to a person who lived beside any physical feature, such as a hill, stream, church or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions and entire counties. In this case, the surname Ashbey comes from the Old English words æsc and by, which mean ash tree and dwelling. The earliest members of the Ashbey family on record lived in the county of Leicestershire, where they been settled prior to the Norman invasion of England, in 1066.
The surname Ashbey was first found in Leicestershire where they held a family seat for many centuries. Some of the first records of the name include: Richard de Ashby, Lord of the manors of South Croxton and Quenbyas, found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273; William de Ashby (1240-1299), Lord of the Manor of Ashby Magna, Leicester; and Alexander of Ashby (Latin, Alexander Essebiensis), an English theologian and poet about the year 1220. 1
Years later, George Ashby (d. 1475), was an poetical writer, born about 1390. "Little is known of him till late in life, when he appears to have owned an estate named 'Breakspeares' in Harefield, Middlesex, and to have been clerk of the signet, first to Henry VI from the beginning of his reign and afterwards to Margaret of Anjou." 2
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ashbey research. Another 51 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1346, 1475, 1537, 1614, 1632, 1646, 1665, 1668, 1680, 1688, 1689 and 1693 are included under the topic Early Ashbey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Ashbey include Ashby, Ashbie, Ashbe, Ashbee, Ashbey and others.
Notables of this surname at this time include: George Ashby (c.1475), Clerk to King Henry VI; George Ashby (died 1537), a martyred English Cistercian monk; and Sir John Ashby (1646-1693), Admiral of the Blue who fought at Bantry Bay in 1668. He was a native of Lowestoft, and presumably a follower of Sir Thomas Allin. "In 1665, he was appointed lieutenant of the Adventure, and in October 1668 captain of the Deptford ketch. From that time onward he seems to have served without intermission, and in September 1688 was appointed to the Defiance, a third-rate vessel...
Another 96 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ashbey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants: