Forness History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland/England
France

Early Origins of the Forness family

The surname Forness was first found in Berwickshire on the eastern part of English/Scottish Border. However, some of the family were found at Alderwasley in Derbyshire in ancient times. "The Le Foune or Fawne family held lands here in the reign of Henry III., and their heiress intermarried with the Lowes, who obtained a grant of the manor from Henry VIII." 1

Early History of the Forness family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Forness research. Another 113 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1150, 1200 and 1691 are included under the topic Early Forness History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Forness Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Fawns, Fawnes, Faunesse, Faunes, Faughnes, Fowns, Fawn and many more.

Early Notables of the Forness family

More information is included under the topic Early Forness Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Forness family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Robert Fawn settled in Barbados in 1685; George Fawne settled in Jamaica in 1685; John Fawne settled in Barbados in 1680; John Fawne settled in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630. William, Thomas and Mary Fawne settled in Virginia in 1635..

Contemporary Notables of the name Forness (post 1700) +

Fred W. Forness Jr. (1873-1964), American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from Cattaraugus County, 1923, 1927; Mayor of Olean, New York, 1934-37, 1940-41; Defeated, 1937, 1943 2

Sources +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html