Foxcroft History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The ancestors of the Foxcroft surname lived among the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. The name comes from when they lived beside an enclosure or croft. The surname Foxcroft is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a 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.
Early Origins of the Foxcroft family
The surname Foxcroft was first found in Lancashire near the Yorkshire border where one of the first records of the was found, namely Johannes de Fowscroft who was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 1
Early History of the Foxcroft family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Foxcroft research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1633, 1634, 1665, 1668, 1670, 1676, 1690, 1697, 1715 and 1769 are included under the topic Early Foxcroft History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Foxcroft Spelling Variations
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 Foxcroft include Foxcroft, Foxcrofte and others.
Early Notables of the Foxcroft family
Notables of the family at this time include
- George Foxcraft (c. 1634-1715), English administrator, Agent of Madras in 1665 and 1668 to 1670; Thomas Foxcroft, (1697-1769), American Puritan minister of the First Church in Boston, Massachusetts an...
- Ezechiel Foxcroft (1633-1676) was an English esoterocist who produced the first translation of the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz published in 1690
Foxcroft migration to the United States +
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:
Foxcroft Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Thomas Foxcroft, (Foxcrofte), aged 19, who settled in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Assurance"
- Francis Foxcroft, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1679 2
Foxcroft Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- John Foxcroft, who arrived in New York in 1790 2
Contemporary Notables of the name Foxcroft (post 1700) +
- Helen Charlotte Foxcroft (1865-1950), English historian
- Robert Foxcroft (1934-2009), Canadian fencer at the 1964 and 1972 Summer Olympics
- Captain Charles Talbot Foxcroft (1868-1929), British Conservative Party politician, Member of Parliament for Bath from 1918 to 1923, and from 1924 until his death
- Victoria Jane Foxcroft (b. 1977), British Labour Party politician, Member of Parliament for Lewisham Deptford (2015-)
- Ron Foxcroft (b. 1945), Canadian businessman and former basketball referee, Chairman, Founder & CEO of Fox 40 International and CEO & Chairman of the Fluke Transportation Group
- Mr. Alexander Foxcroft, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1756 to 1757
- Mr. Benjamin Foxcroft, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1762 to 1763
- Mr. James Foxcroft, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1760 to 1761
- Mr. John Foxcroft, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1759 to 1760
- Mr. John Foxcroft, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1731 to 1732
Citations +
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- 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)