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The ancient Scottish name Hirskink was first used by the Strathclyde-Briton people of the Scottish/English Borderlands. The original bearer of the name lived on the Clyde river, near Glasgow. The town name comes from the Gaelic air an sgian, meaning "upon the knife." According to legend, a Scotsman under the command of Malcolm II uttered that phrase after slaying a Danish leader at the Battle of Murthill.
The surname Hirskink was first found in at Erskine in Renfrewshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Friù), a historic county of Scotland, today encompassing the Council Areas of Renfrew, East Renfrewshire, and Iverclyde, in the Strathclyde region of southwestern Scotland.
A few of the more interesting records show that Henry de Erskyn bore official witness to the Earl of Lennox's grant of a church to the Abbey of Paisley, and that in 1491, Robert Erschin held the office of Canon of Glasgow. 1
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hirskink research. Another 235 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1376, 1552, 1558, 1572, 1592, 1615, 1616, 1624, 1634, 1662, 1671, 1677, 1685, 1695, 1696, 1715, 1743, 1768 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Hirskink History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling and translation were hardly exact sciences in Medieval Scotland. Sound, rather than any set of rules, was the basis for spellings, so one name was often spelled different ways even within a single document. Spelling variations are thus an extremely common occurrence in Medieval Scottish names. Hirskink has been spelled Erskine, Arskine, Arskin, Erskin, Irskine, Hirskine, Ersken and many more.
Notable amongst the family at this time was John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine (died 1552), a Scottish nobleman; John Erskine, 17th Earl of Mar (died 1572), Regent of Scotland; John Erskine, 2nd Earl of Mar (ca.1558-1634), Scottish politician; William Erskine (died 1685), Master of Charterhouse Hospital; Alexander Erskine of Gogar, (died 1592), Scottish laird and keeper of James VI of Scotland at Stirling Castle; Lady Margaret Erskine (died 1572), a mistress of King James V...
Another 75 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hirskink Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Such hard times forced many to leave their homeland in search of opportunity across the Atlantic. Many of these families settled along the east coast of North America in communities that would become the backbones of the young nations of the United States and Canada. The ancestors of many of these families have rediscovered their roots in the 20th century through the establishment of Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Among them: William Erskin arrived in New York State in 1803; Thomas Erskine settled in New England in 1773; John, Richard and William Erskine arrived in Philadelphia in 1876..