Ayshirst Surname, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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Ayshirst is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Ashurst in the county of Lancashire. The name derives from the Old English words, ash, meaning ash tree, and hyrst, meaning hill, and indicates that the town was named for a hill on which ash trees grew.

Ayshirst Early Origins

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The surname Ayshirst was first found in the counties of Lancashire, Cheshire, and the north west of England. The Lancashire family seems to be the oldest as noted "A Lancashire family of good antiquity, and until the middle of the last century [1700] lords of Ashurst in that county, where they appear to have been seated not long after the Conquest." In the north transept of the church of Leigh, Staffordshire are monuments to the Ashenhurst family. "The family of Ashhurst had lands [in Skelmersdale, Lancashire] in 1346 and frequently occur later."

Ayshirst 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 Ayshirst family name include Ashhurst, Ashurst, Ashirst, Ashairst, Ashenhurst and others.

Ayshirst Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ayshirst research. Another 337 words (24 lines of text) covering the years 1614, 1680, 1679, 1662, 1645, 1711, 1681, 1695, 1715, 1722, 1614, 1680, 1647 and 1720 are included under the topic Early Ayshirst History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ayshirst Early Notables (pre 1700)

Notables of the family at this time include Henry Ashurst (c. 1614-1680), was a wealthy and benevolent merchant of London; James Ashurst (died 1679), was an English divine who lost his living in the Great Ejection of 1662; Sir Henry Ashurst, 1st Baronet (1645-1711), English Member of Parliament for Truro, 1681-1695...

Another 58 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ayshirst Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ayshirst In Ireland

Some of the Ayshirst family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

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 Ayshirst surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Richard Ashurst arrived in Philadelphia in 1813; and many more.

Motto

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Vincit qui patitur
Motto Translation: He conquers who endures.

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Citations

^ Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
^ Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
^ '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].

Other References

Le Patourel, John. The Norman Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-19-822525-3).
Shirley, Evelyn Philip. Noble and Gentle Men of England Or Notes Touching The Arms and Descendants of the Ancient Knightley and Gentle Houses of England Arranged in their Respective Counties 3rd Edition. Westminster: John Bowyer Nichols and Sons, 1866. Print.
Bede, The Venerable. Historia Ecclesiatica Gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History Of the English People). Available through Internet Medieval Sourcebook the Fordham University Centre for Medieval Studies. Print.
Mills, A.D. Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4).
Bowman, George Ernest. The Mayflower Reader A Selection of Articales from The Mayflower Descendent. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. Print.
Marcharn, Frederick George. A Constitutional History of Modern England 1485 to the Present. London: Harper and Brothers, 1960. Print.
Magnusson, Magnus. Chambers Biographical Dictionary 5th edition. Edinburgh: W & R Chambers, 1990. Print.
Colletta, John P. They Came In Ships. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1993. Print.
Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8).
Robb H. Amanda and Andrew Chesler. Encyclopedia of American Family Names. New York: Haper Collins, 1995. Print. (ISBN 0-06-270075-8).
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The Ayshirst Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Ayshirst Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.

This page was last modified on 16 February 2017 at 14:38.