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Leaster is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Leicester, in Leicestershire. Leicester is the capital of the county and its name is derived from the Old English element ceaster, which meant "Roman town." 1
The surname Leaster was first found in Cheshire at Leycester, more commonly known as Leicester, a city now in the unitary authority area in the East Midlands. The first record of the place name was found in the early 10th century as "Ligera ceater" but by the Domesday Book of 1086 the place name had evolved to Ledecestre. 2
Literally the place name means "Roman town of the people called Ligore," having derived from the Tribal name + the Old English word "ceater." 1 As far as the surname is concerned, the family are "descended from Sir Nicholas Leycester, who acquired the manor of Nether-Tabley in marriage, and died in 1295." 3
But another source notes that Hugo de Legrecestra was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Leicestershire in 1130, followed by Nicholas de Leycester who was listed in the Assize Rolls for Cheshire in 1287. 4
And another source notes that the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list what is probably the first instance of the name as Robert de Lestre. 5
Yorkshire was home to an early branch of the family: Richard de Laycestre in 1305; Henry Lycester in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls in 1381; William Leycetter in 1480; and Henry Lasisture in 1503. 4
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Leaster research. Another 133 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1586, 1588, 1604, 1605, 1614, 1620, 1642, 1643, 1647, 1674, 1678, 1684, 1705, 1706, 1715, 1727, 1732, 1742, 1762, 1770 and 1827 are included under the topic Early Leaster History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Leaster family name include Leycester, Leicester, Leister, Lester and others.
Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir Peter Leycester (Leicester), 1st Baronet (1614-1678), an English antiquarian and historian, supporter of the Royalist side in the Civil War. He was born at Nether Tabley, near Knutsford, Cheshire, England, the eldest son of Peter Leycester (1588-1647) and Elizabeth Mainwaring. In 1642 he married Elizabeth Gerard, the third daughter of Gilbert, 2nd Baron Gerard. They had three sons and three daughters. He died at his home in 1678 and was buried at Great Budworth, Cheshire.
He was succeeded in the baronetage by...
Another 90 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Leaster Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Leaster surname or a spelling variation of the name include: John Leicester, who settled in Virginia in 1732; Peter Leicester settled in Pennsylvania in 1682; James Lester settled in Virginia in 1637; George Lester settled in Charles Town, South Carolina, in 1767.