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| Origins Available: |
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The surname Hassel was first found in Cheshire at Hassall, a village and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East which dates back to at least the Domesday Book where it was listed as Etshale as land held by William Malbank. At that time it was part of the Middlewich Hundred and was land enough for two ploughs. 1 2
The place name literally means "the witch's nook of land" derived from the Old English haegtesse + halh. By the 13th century, the place name had evolved to be spelt Hatishale. 3
Hassall Hall is a former manor house to the east of the village and dates from the 17th century. It was upgraded in the 19th century and has since been divided into two houses. Today, the buildings are designated by the English Heritage as a Grade II listed buildings. Hassall Green is a village in the civil parish of Betchton, near Hassall.
"The ancient family of Hassall or Hassell possessed the lordship of the manor of the name as far back as the reign of Edward II.; in later times a branch has established itself in Nantwich." 4
The first record of the family was found in Oxfordshire in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, John de Hassett. It was not until 1299 when we find a Cheshire entry, that of Henry de Hasshal, there in 1299. 5
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hassel research. Another 145 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1045, 1510, 1600, 1627, 1644, 1650, 1655, 1667, 1680, 1690, 1701 and 1710 are included under the topic Early Hassel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Hassall, Hassel, Hassell, Hasell, Hasel, Hassal, Hassul and many more.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was
In the United States, the name Hassel is the 15,492nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6
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 Hassel or a variant listed above were: