Contents [hide]

Tasker History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Tasker History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The surname Tasker comes from the Middle English "taske" from the Latin "taxare" meaning "to appraise." Like most Latin based words in English, it was introduced by the Normans. It came to be used as a surname to denote an appraiser, and later it came to mean one who performed a specific task, like threshing or reaping. Another source claims the word "tasker" was given to a labourer who received his wages in kind for a certain task and yet another claims the name was a trade name for a thrasher or a reaper. 1

Early Origins of the Tasker family

The surname Tasker was first found in Essex, where Taske appears in records of 1185. John le Tasker was listed in the Assize Rolls of Northumberland in 1279 and in the same year, Benedict le Taskur was listed in the Rotuli Hundredorum. 2

Early History of the Tasker family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tasker research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1279, 1307, 1379, 1690, 1752, 1753 and 1768 are included under the topic Early Tasker History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tasker Spelling Variations

Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Taske, Tasker, Taskur, Task and others.

Early Notables of the Tasker family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Benjamin Tasker (1690-1768), who was President of the Council of Maryland in the 18th century and was the Provincial Governor of Maryland from 1752 to 1753...

Tasker Ranking

In the United States, the name Tasker is the 9,385^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Tasker migration to the United States +

Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World 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 stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Tasker or a variant listed above:

Tasker Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Tasker, who was sent to a plantation in Virginia in 1668
Thomas Tasker and John Tasker, who settled in Maryland in 1673 and 1674
Thomas Tasker, who arrived in Maryland in 1673 4
Robert Tasker, aged 21, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1684 4

Tasker Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

David and George Tasker, who arrived in Maryland as bonded immigrants in 1735 and 1740
Johannes Tasker, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1737 4
William Tasker, who arrived in America as a convict from England in 1750

Tasker Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Tasker, who settled in America as an immigrant in bondage
J F Tasker, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 4
John Tasker, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1850 4

Tasker migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Tasker Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Tasker, (b. 1806), aged 34, English miller who was convicted in East Riding, Yorkshire, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Duncan" on 10th December 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1870 5
John Tasker, aged 26, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Isabella Watson" in 1845 6
Thomas Tasker, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Abberton" in 1846 7
Elizabeth Tasker, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Abberton" in 1846 7
Emily Tasker, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Abberton" in 1846 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Tasker migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Tasker Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Thomas Tasker, aged 33, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Douglas" in 1873
Jane Tasker, aged 36, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Douglas" in 1873
Harry Tasker, aged 1, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Douglas" in 1873

Tasker 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. 8

Tasker Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Dinah Tasker, who immigrated to Barbados in 1659

Contemporary Notables of the name Tasker (post 1700) +

William R. Tasker, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for West Virginia State House of Delegates from Marshall County, 1940 9
John C. Tasker, American politician, Member of New Hampshire State Senate 22nd District, 1893-94 9
Benjamin Tasker (1690-1768), American politician, Mayor of Annapolis, Maryland, 1721-22, 1726-27, 1750-53, 1754-55, 1756-57 9
Steven Jay Tasker (b. 1962), American broadcaster for CBS Sports, former NFL wide receiver
Joshua Wilder Tasker (1887-1974), American college football, basketball, and baseball coach
Benjamin Tasker Sr. (1690-1768), American politician, the 21st Proprietary Governor of Maryland (1752 to 1753)
Jill Tasker (b. 1967), American actress
Yvonne Tasker, American author
Steven Jay Tasker (b. 1962), American football wide receiver
William Tasker (1740-1800), English poet and antiquary, the only son of William Tasker (1708–1772), rector of Iddesleigh, Devonshire
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duncan
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The ISABELLA WATSON 1845. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1845IsabellaWatson.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ABBERTON 1846. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1846Abberton.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html