Zouch History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Early Origins of the Zouch family
The surname Zouch was first found in Lancashire at Ormskirk. The first record of the family was Thomas Such, who complained early in the reign of Elizabeth that certain of the inhabitants of Ormskirk had taken their corn to other mills. The entry continues: apparently there were complaints against the miller that the corn was not so well ground by him and that he took, or lost, an excessive proportion of the flour. In the end, Thomas Such built a new mill at the Knoll to help solve the issue. 1
However, another source has a different point of origin for the family. This source claims the name was a Norman name appearing in the Roll of Battel Abbey. "All authorities are agreed in deriving this great house from the Sovereign Earls of Brittany ; but they differ materially as to the affinity it bore to the parent stock." 2
"Alan La Zouche, the undoubted founder of the family, who in his charter to Lilleshall Priory styles himself ' son of Geoffrey le Vicomte,' lived in the time of Henry II., and acquired a great estate through his wife Alice, the heiress of the elder male line of De Belmeis. She brought him Ashby, since, as Ashby-de-la-Zouche, the head of his barony, in Leicestershire, Tong and other manors in Shropshire, and lands in Sussex and Devonshire. Their eldest son William commonly went by his mother's name; but when he died in 1199, he was succeeded by his brother Roger, who had always called himself La Zouche." 2
North Molton, Devon was the site of another of the family. "The manor was part of the portion of Eadgytha, wife of the Confessor, and was given by John to Roger le Zouch. From the Zouches it passed to the St. Maurs. The church was given by Alan le Zouch, circa 1313, to the monastery of Lilleshull, in Shropshire." 3
"The manor [of Harringworth, Northamptonshire] belonged to the barons De la Zouche, who, till within the last three centuries, resided here; and remains of their mansion are perceptible in the present manor-house." 4
Early History of the Zouch family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Zouch research. Another 134 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1394, 1415, 1420, 1510, 1569, 1600, 1607, 1634 and 1703 are included under the topic Early Zouch History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Zouch Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Zouch, Zouche, Souch, Souche and others.
Early Notables of the Zouch family
Notable of this family during the Middle Ages was
- Hants, as a residence (it is said) for Prince Henry, the son of James I. The architect, it is believed, was Thorpe (who built Holland House in 1607) : the effigy over the N. front is that of Lord Zouc...
- To lye by my good Lord Zouche
Zouch migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Zouch Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Sir John Zouch, who arrived in Virginia in 1639 5
- John Zouch, who landed in Virginia in 1639 5
- John Zouch, who landed in Virginia in 1666 5
Zouch 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:
Zouch Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
- Mr. Charles Zouch, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Zambesi" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 20th September 1863 6
- Mr. William Zouch, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Zambesi" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 20th September 1863 6
Citations +
- 'Townships: Scarisbrick', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1907), pp. 265-276. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp265-276 [accessed 21 January 2017].
- 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
- Worth, R.N., A History of Devonshire London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G., 1895. Digital
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- 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)
- New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html