Show ContentsAnsteys History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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  • England
Ansteys Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Ansteys

What does the name Ansteys mean?

This surname was found in various counties and was derived from the Old English "anstiga" which meant "narrow or lonely track" There are multiple listings in the Domesday Book 1 including: Leicestershire (Anstige), East and West Anstey, Devon (Anestinga) Ansty, Warwickshire (Anestie), Ansty Cross, Higher Ansty, Dorset (Anesty) 2

Early Origins of the Ansteys family

The surname Ansteys was first found in Warwickshire at Anstey. "This place is situated on the road from Coventry to Wolvey heath, and thence to Leicester; it was originally called Heanstige, from the Saxon hean, high, and stige, a path-way. " 3

Significantly the same source notes that Anstey in Leicestershire was "formerly called Hanstigie or Anstige," some one can easily see exact spelling of places did not apply in ancient times. Later the more commonly used today spelling of Anstey prevailed as "in 1376, certain lands, described as 'lying in the fields of Anstey in Wolfdale,' were granted by John Lenerych, of Leicester." 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 continued to show early spellings: Roger de Anesti, Cambridgeshire, 1273; and Richard de Anesty, London. 4

Early History of the Ansteys family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ansteys research. Another 240 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1520, 1623, 1657, 1669, 1685, 1688, 1692, 1702, 1708, 1717, 1718, 1723, 1724, 1725, 1727, 1736, 1742, 1744, 1745, 1749, 1754 and 1805 are included under the topic Early Ansteys History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ansteys Spelling Variations

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 Ansteys family name include Anstey, Anstie, Ansty, Anstay, Anstee and others.

Early Notables of the Ansteys family

John Anstis the Elder (1669-1744), was an English officer of arms and antiquarian who became Garter King of Arms in 1718. Born at St. Neots, Cornwall, 28 (or 29) Sept. 1669, he entered Exeter College, Oxford, in 1685, and was admitted to the Inner Temple in 1688. "Of a good family, and possessed of considerable fortune, Anstis was chosen one of the members for St. Germains in 1702. Although a strong Tory, he voted against the bill for the prevention of occasional conformity, which caused his name to appear among the 'tackers' in the prints of the time. " 5 John Anstis...
Another 263 words (19 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ansteys Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ansteys family

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 Ansteys surname or a spelling variation of the name include: John Anstey who landed in Philadelphia in 1701; and then proceeded westward. In Newfoundland, Canada, Nicholas landed in Newfoundland in 1706; Charles in Twillingate in 1768.
  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  5. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print

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