Gaskin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Gaskin is one of the names that was brought to England in the wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Gaskin family lived in Yorkshire. Their name, however, is not a reference to this place, but to the family's place of residence prior their emigration to England, Gascony, a French province which was occupied by the English from 1152 until 1453.
The family was "a native of Gascony, the French province, which being in the possession of England, during a portion of the XIV. cent., supplied this country with many new families and names. The heads of the family were all Williams, the courageous Chief-Justice who sent Prince Henry to prison being one." 1
The surname was introduced to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066, as was the wine for which the area was known. Geoffery Chaucer's Old English poem Piers Plowman makes reference to "reed wyn of Gascoigne."
Early Origins of the Gaskin family
The surname Gaskin was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire as Saxton, a parish, in the Upper division of the wapentake of Barkstone-Ash. "The parish comprises by computation 4030 acres, and is chiefly the property of the daughters and co-heiresses of R. O. Gascoigne, Esq." 2
"The Gascoignes were for many generations settled at Gawthorpe in Yorkshire, where their old hall stood by the side of the lake, about two hundred yards south of Lord Harewood's present house. It had come to them early in the fourteenth century, through the marriage of William Gascoigne with its heiress, Mansild de Gawkethorp." 3
Indeed, the family produced a long list of notables dating back to 1026 in Northumberland where Bernard Gascon was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1206. Two years later, William le Gascum was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Yorkshire in 1208. 4
From these earliest listings the family spread throughout ancient Britain including: Philip le Gascoyn in Shropshire in 1266. The Hundredorum Rolls has two listings: Peter Gascoying in Devon in 1274; and Geoffrey Gascoyne, in Norfolk in 1275. 4
"In the 15th century and later, Gascon occurs as Gaskin, Gascogne, Gascoigne, which some believe may be due to the influence of Gascogne 'Gascony'. Some of the above forms are certainly from the adjective." 4
Other early listings include: Robert de Gascoin, Assize Rolls for Somerset in 1243; Nicholas de Gascoigne in 1340; and William Gascoigne in the Feet of Fines in 1389. Johannes Gascone was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls in 1379. 5
Early History of the Gaskin family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gaskin research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1350, 1381, 1404, 1419, 1458, 1507, 1514, 1516, 1525, 1535, 1537, 1558, 1572, 1577, 1579, 1593, 1596, 1602, 1610, 1614, 1623, 1637, 1644, 1659, 1661, 1662, 1686, 1687, 1698, 1716, 1718, 1723 and 1778 are included under the topic Early Gaskin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Gaskin Spelling Variations
Before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Sound was what guided spelling in the Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Gaskin family name include Gascoigne, Gascoyne, Gascoine, Gascoin, Gaskoyne and others.
Early Notables of the Gaskin family
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William Gascoigne (c.1350-1419), Chief Justice of England during the reign of King Henry IV, eldest son of William Gascoigne, by Agnes, daughter of Nicholas Frank, was born at Gawthorpe, Yorkshire; Thomas Gascoigne (1404-1458), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University; John Gascoigne (fl. 1381), an English lawyer and author; George Gascoigne (c. 1535-1577), an English poet, soldier and unsuccessful courtier; John Gascoigne (c.1537-1602), of Parlington, Yorkshire, an English...
Another 72 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gaskin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Gaskin Ranking
In the United States, the name Gaskin is the 3,880th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 6
Migration of the Gaskin family to Ireland
Some of the Gaskin family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Gaskin migration to the United States +
To escape the political and religious chaos of this era, thousands of English families began to migrate to the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. The passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe; however, those who made the voyage safely were encountered opportunities that were not available to them in their homeland. Many of the families that reached the New World at this time went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. Research into various historical records has revealed some of first members of the Gaskin family to immigrate North America:
Gaskin Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- William Gaskin, who landed in Maryland in 1666 7
Gaskin Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Silvesler Gaskin, who arrived in Virginia in 1706 7
Gaskin Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- John Gaskin, who arrived in New York in 1820 7
- Edward Gaskin, who landed in New York in 1831 7
Gaskin migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Gaskin Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Mr. Samuel Gaskin, (b. 1805), aged 25, English ship wright who was convicted in Essex, England for 14 years for theft, transported aboard the "Clyde" on 20th August 1830, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
- Mr. William Gaskin, (Gaskell), (b. 1817), aged 24, English book folder who was convicted in Salford, Manchester, England for 10 years for burglary, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 27th August 1841, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1874 9
Gaskin migration to New Zealand +
Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:
Gaskin Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
- Matthew Gaskin, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1841 aboard the ship Catherine Stuart Forbes
- Samuel Gaskin, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1841 aboard the ship "Catherine Stuart Forbes"
Contemporary Notables of the name Gaskin (post 1700) +
- Stephen Gaskin (1935-2014), American counterculture hippie icon
- Bradley Gaskin, American country music singer & songwriter
- Leonard Gaskin (1920-2009), American jazz bassist
- Roderick Victor Gaskin (b. 1934), American jazz bassist
- George Gaskin (1751-1829), English Pebendary of Ely, son of John Gaskin, (1710–1766), a leather-seller 10
- Arthur Joseph Gaskin (1862-1928), English illustrator, painter, teacher and designer of jewellery
- Ida Margaret Gaskin CNZM (1919-2016), Welsh-born, New Zealand schoolteacher and politician, the first woman in New Zealand to win the local version of Mastermind
- Peadar Gaskin, former Irish football player
- George J. Gaskin (1863-1920), Irish Tenor based in the United States
- Catherine Gaskin (1929-2009), Irish romance novelist
- ... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Historic Events for the Gaskin family +
- Miss Dorothy Gaskin (1910-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 11
- Mr. Amos Gaskin (1882-1917), Canadian resident from Woodside, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada who survived the Halifax Explosion (1917) but later died due to injuries 11
- Master George Gaskin (1914-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who survived the Halifax Explosion (1917) but later died due to injuries 11
- Stanley Frederick Gaskin (d. 1942), British Able Seaman aboard the HMS Cornwall when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 12
Citations +
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
- 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)
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- 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)
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clyde
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
- Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020
- Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance
- Force Z Survivors Crew List HMS Cornwall (Retrieved 2018, February 13th) - Retrieved from https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listcornwallcrew.html#A