| {{ad}} |
|
|
|
| Origins Available: |
| | England |
The ancient history of the Foxton name begins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the family resided in Foxton, a place-name found in several locations in England. There are Foxtons in Cambridgeshire, Durham and Leicestershire, where the name is derived from the Old English portion fox, which means fox, and tun, which meant farm or enclosure.
The name as a whole meant "farm where foxes are often seen." There is another Foxton, in Durham. The suffix has a different root, though. It was called Foxdene about 1170; it meant "valley where there are foxes," from the Old English word dene, which meant valley. Finally, there is a place called Foxdon; it meant "hill where there are foxes," the suffix is derived from the Old English word dun, which meant "hill." 1
The surname Foxton was first found in Cambridgeshire at Foxton, a small village in South Cambridgeshire. 2 The village dates back to at least the Domesday Book where it was listed as Foxetune, land held by the Church of Chatteris, part of the Thriplow hundred. It was large enough to hold 8 ploughs with 16 villans (peasants), 11 borders with 6 ploughs 3
The place literally means "farmstead where foxes are seen." 4 Foxton is also a small village in Durham, and in Leicestershire. The Durham village dates back to about 1170 when it was listed as Foxedene, while the Leicestershire village is also listed in the Domesday Book as Foxtone. 5
However, we must look to Leicestershire to find the first records of the family. It was here that the Pipe Rolls of 1159 listed Simon de Foxtone as holding lands there at that time. Later, Robert de Foxton was found in Yorkshire in 1303 and John Foxton was listed in the Assize Rolls for London in 1382. 6
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included Richard A. Foxstune in Suffolk; and John de Foxton in Cambridgeshire. The Feet of Fines listed Simon de Foxton as rector of Middle Harling , Norfolk in 1308 and later, Thomas Foxtone as rector of Hintlesham, Norfolk in 1316. 7
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Foxton research. Another 156 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1334, 1369, 1408, 1603, 1619, 1621 and 1648 are included under the topic Early Foxton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Foxton include Foxton, Foxtown, Foxtoun, Foxon and others.
Distinguished members of the family include
Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Foxton or a variant listed above: