Show ContentsFreeston History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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  • England
Freeston Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Early Origins of the Freeston family

The surname Freeston was first found in South Lincolnshire, where the name is generally thought to have originated in Frieston, a parish, in the union of Boston, wapentake of Skirbeck, in parts of Holland. 1 Alternatively the name could have been "a modification of Frithestan, the Anglo-Saxon personal name." 2

Early History of the Freeston family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Freeston research. Another 152 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1394, 1415, 1420, 1455, 1487, 1510, 1552 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Freeston History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Freeston Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Freeston has been spelled many different ways, including Freston, Freeston, Freestone, Freeson and others.

Early Notables of the Freeston family

  • the Freeston family of Yorkshire

Freeston migration to Australia +

Freeston Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. George Freeston, (Freestone), English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Fame" on 9th October 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 3

Freeston 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:

Freeston Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Miss Alice Freeston, (b. 1856), aged 18, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Dorette" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 14th April 1874 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Freeston (post 1700) +

  • John Freeston, British businessman, known by the locals of Altofts and Normanton, West Yorkshire and known for the founding of Freeston Business and Enterprise College in 1592. A lock of his hair remains in Normanton's church
SS Yongala
  • Mr. E. H. Freeston, Australian crew member aboard the ship "SS Yongala" when she went missing in a Cyclone on 23-24 March 1911 everyone was presumed dead
  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
  4. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html

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