| ![Show Contents]() Dowsen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
England
Etymology of DowsenWhat does the name Dowsen mean? The ancient Anglo-Saxon surname Dowsen came from the personal names Douce and Dow. This patronymic name is augmented by the suffix -son, which superseded the other patronymic suffixes in prominence by the 14th century, and was most common in the north of England. Early Origins of the Dowsen familyThe surname Dowsen was first found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 which included: Jordan Dousing, Lincolnshire; and Richard Dusing, Norfolk. Later, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Johannes Dousyng as holding lands there at that time. 1 Early History of the Dowsen familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dowsen research. Another 176 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1320, 1327, 1349, 1379, 1573, 1596, 1643 and 1668 are included under the topic Early Dowsen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Dowsen Spelling VariationsSound 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 Dowsen family name include Dowson, Douson, Doweson, Dowsoun, Douseson, Douceson and many more. Early Notables of the Dowsen familyWilliam Dowsing (1596-1668) was an English iconoclast under orders in 1643 which stated that "all Monuments of Superstition and Idolatry should be removed and abolished", specifying: "fixed altars, altar rails, chancel steps, crucifixes, crosses, images of the Virgin Mary...
Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dowsen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Dowsen familyFor political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, 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 Dowsen surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Gilbert Dowson who settled in Virginia in 1637; George Dowson settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1774; Martha Down settled in America in 1763; R.H. Dowson settled in Maryland in 1820.
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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