Forstall History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
England

The Anglo-Norman Conquest of Ireland lead by Strongbow introduced the first non-Gaelic elements into Irish nomenclature. These Anglo-Normans brought some traditions to Ireland that were not readily found within Gaelic system of hereditary surnames. One of the best examples of this is the local surname. Local surnames, such as Forstall, were taken from the name of a place or a geographical feature where the person lived, held land, or was born. These surnames were very common in England, but were almost non-existent within Ireland previous to the conquest. The earliest surnames of this type came from Normandy, but as the Normans moved, they often created names in reference to where they actually resided. Therefore, some settlers eventually took names from Irish places. Originally, these place names were prefixed by "de," which means "from" in French. This type of prefix was eventually either made a part of the surname, if the place name began with a vowel, or was eliminated entirely. The Forstall family originally lived near a paddock, which is a small grassy enclosed area in which horses can graze and exercise. The surname Forstall is derived from a dialectical word which means paddock. The surname Forstall belongs to the large category of Anglo-Norman habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Forstall family

The surname Forstall was first found in Kent, where they held a family seat as Lords of the manor of Forstall, and were granted the lands by William the Conqueror for their assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Forstall family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Forstall research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1359 and 1682 are included under the topic Early Forstall History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Forstall Spelling Variations

Medieval scribes and church officials spelled the names as they sounded, so a name was often spelled many different ways during the lifetime of a single person. The investigation of the origin of the name Forstall revealed many spelling variations including Forristal, Forristall, Forrestal, Forrestall, Forrestell, Forestal, Forestel, Forestall, Forestell, Forstal, Forstall, Furstal and many more.

Early Notables of the Forstall family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was

Richard Forstall of Kilkenny

Forstall migration to the United States +

Ireland experienced a dramatic decrease in its population during the 19th century. This was in a great measure, a response to England's imperialistic policies. Hunger and disease took the lives of many Irish people and many more chose to leave their homeland to escape the horrific conditions. North America with its promise of work, freedom, and land was an extremely popular destination for Irish families. For those families that survived the journey, all three of these things were often attained through much hard work and perseverance. Research into early immigration and passenger lists revealed many immigrants bearing the name Forstall:

Forstall Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Catherine Forstall, who landed in Maryland in 1679 1

Forstall Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Josephine and Pauline Forstall, who settled in New Orleans La. in 1820 with their family headed by Charles Edward Forstall

Forstall 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. 2

Forstall Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Richard Forstall, who settled in Barbados in 1680 with his servants

Contemporary Notables of the name Forstall (post 1700) +

Scott Forstall, American software engineer, best known for leading the original software development team for the iPhone and iPad
Roger Forstall Sweetman (b. 1862), Newfoundland merchant and politician who represented Placentia and St. Mary's (1832 to 1836)

The Forstall Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: In corda inimicorum regis
Motto Translation: In the King's enemies

Citations +

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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies