The name Fassy came to England with the ancestors of the Fassy family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Fassy family lived in Northampton. The name, however, derives from the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Vassy, Normandy. One of the first records of the name was Robertus Invesiatus, Lascivus which appeared in the Domesday Book [1] in Essex [2]. Other records show the name was originally De Vesci, which was a baronial name, a branch of the De Burgh family. [3]
Eustace de Vescy or Vesci, Baron Vesci (1170?-1216), "son of William de Vesci and Burga de Stuteville, paid his relief on coming of age in 2 Richard I (1191-1192). He was with the king in Palestine in 1195. John de Vescy (d. 1289) was eldest son of William de Vescy (d. 1253), and elder brother of William de Vescy. In 1253, on the death of his father in Gascony, he succeeded to the family estates. These included the barony of Alnwick and a large property in Northumberland." [4]
The surname Fassy was first found in Northampton where Robert de Vassy (Veci) and his brother Ivo were granted nineteen Lordships in that county and overlapping into Warwick, Lincoln, and Leicester, by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. Ivo (John) won the hand of Alda, daughter of Gilbert, Lord of Alnwick in Northumberland and the family claim considerable prominence as the Lords of Vesey from which Lords Fitzgerald and Vesei claim descent.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fassy research. Another 204 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1313, 1500, 1589, 1661, 1462, 1554, 1470, 1674 and 1746 are included under the topic Early Fassy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Fassy are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Fassy include Feasey, Feasy, Fessey, Fassey, Fessys, Fressis, Veasey, Vassey, Vassy, Vesci, Vezey, Vezay, Vesey, Vessey and many more.
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fassy Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Fassy family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Fassy, or a variant listed above: Andrew Veasey settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1876; William Veazie settled in Massachusetts in 1640; Nathaniel Feazey settled in Somers Islands in 1662.