Chaunce History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Chaunce came to England with the ancestors of the Chaunce family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Chaunce family lived in Cauncy, near Amiens, in northern France. The Sieur de Cauncy came from here. "His descendant Sir Henry Chauncy gained distinction as the historian of Hertfordshire. Many of the name and family are settled in that county." [1]

"It is quite possible that Chance may have been a personal name, like Bonaventure, which it exactly represented; chance in Middle English generally meaning a happy accident, a good mishap. " [2]

Early Origins of the Chaunce family

The surname Chaunce was first found in Essex where Robert and Ralph Chance were listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1209 and later in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1310. Simon de Chanci was listed in the Assize Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1218 and later, Roger de Chauncy was found in the Pipe Rolls for Yorkshire in 1230. Also in Yorkshire, we found John Chancy listed there 1293-1294. Later, Roger Chansi was listed in Gloucestershire in 1361. [3]

Early History of the Chaunce family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chaunce research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1150, 1581, 1592, 1672, 1654, 1632, 1712, 1632, 1719 and 1691 are included under the topic Early Chaunce History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chaunce Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Chance, Chancey, Chaunceur, Channsy, Channsey, Chauncey, Chancy and many more.

Early Notables of the Chaunce family (pre 1700)

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Maurice Chauncy (d. 1581), Carthusian monk, whose surname is found under the forms of Chamney, Chawney, Chancy, Channy, Chenye, Chasee, and Chawsey, was the eldest son of John Chauncy, esq., of Ardele, Hertfordshire. [4] and Charles Chauncy (1592-1672), was an English-born, American clergyman and educator from Yardleybury (Ardeley), Hertfordshire who became President of Harvard College in...
Another 64 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Chaunce Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chaunce migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. [5]

Chaunce Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Elin Chaunce, who settled in St. Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635

Citations +

Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies