Aschbee History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The history of the Aschbee family goes back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from the family living in a dwelling near an ash tree. Aschbee is a local surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. There are a variety of types of local surnames, some of which include topographic surnames, which could be given to a person who lived beside any physical feature, such as a hill, stream, church or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions and entire counties. In this case, the surname Aschbee comes from the Old English words æsc and by, which mean ash tree and dwelling. The earliest members of the Aschbee family on record lived in the county of Leicestershire, where they been settled prior to the Norman invasion of England, in 1066.

Early Origins of the Aschbee family

The surname Aschbee was first found in Leicestershire where they held a family seat for many centuries. Some of the first records of the name include: Richard de Ashby, Lord of the manors of South Croxton and Quenbyas, found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273; William de Ashby (1240-1299), Lord of the Manor of Ashby Magna, Leicester; and Alexander of Ashby (Latin, Alexander Essebiensis), an English theologian and poet about the year 1220. 1

Years later, George Ashby (d. 1475), was an poetical writer, born about 1390. "Little is known of him till late in life, when he appears to have owned an estate named 'Breakspeares' in Harefield, Middlesex, and to have been clerk of the signet, first to Henry VI from the beginning of his reign and afterwards to Margaret of Anjou." 2

Early History of the Aschbee family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Aschbee research. Another 51 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1346, 1475, 1537, 1614, 1632, 1646, 1665, 1668, 1680, 1688, 1689 and 1693 are included under the topic Early Aschbee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Aschbee Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Aschbee include Ashby, Ashbie, Ashbe, Ashbee, Ashbey and others.

Early Notables of the Aschbee family

Notables of this surname at this time include: George Ashby (c.1475), Clerk to King Henry VI; George Ashby (died 1537), a martyred English Cistercian monk; and Sir John Ashby (1646-1693), Admiral of the Blue who fought at Bantry Bay in 1668. He was a native of Lowestoft, and presumably a follower of Sir Thomas Allin. "In 1665, he was appointed lieutenant of the Adventure, and in October 1668 captain of the Deptford ketch. From that time onward he seems to have served without intermission, and in September 1688 was appointed to the Defiance, a third-rate vessel...
Another 96 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Aschbee Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Aschbee family

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Aschbee or a variant listed above: Alice Ashby who settled in New England in 1635; John Ashbey settled in Barbados in 1663; William Ashbey settled in Virginia in 1663.

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print