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![Show Contents]() Fulson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The Ancestry of the Fulson name lies with the Norman Conquest of England. This Norman name was used for a person who had a limp, or a malformed leg. The name was originally derived from the Old French fol, which means foolish, and jambe, which means leg. Such names are often attributed to people in jest. A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nicknames often referred or alluded to a physical feature. Unfortunately, on some occasions the tradition emphasized a physical deformity or injury in a way that would be considered cruel today, however, at the time this practice was meant only to identify a person by a distinguishing characteristic. Early Origins of the Fulson familyThe surname Fulson was first found in Derbyshire where by the early 11th and 12th centuries the name was already well established in the Peak District and was one of the marauding families of the East Cheshire and Derbyshire forests which were controlled by Sir George Vernon, known as the 'King of the Peak'. In the 13th century, Sir Thomas Foljambe was Bailiff of the High Peak. These Cheshire and Derbyshire families provided the core of Knights and fighting men for the wars in France during that time. Sir Godfrey de Foljambe (1317-1376) was a prominent landowner and politician from Derbyshire, the fourth son of Sir Thomas de Foljambe. At that time, the family were Lords of the Manor of Tideswell and also held lands at Darley Dale. Godfrey rose to become an Irish judge and served as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. His tomb can still be seen at All Saints Church, Bakewell. Foulsham is a village and civil parish in Norfolk that dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Folsham and literally meant "farmstead of a man called Fugol" from the Old English personal name + ham. 1 The village gave its name to a family of Puritan dissidents who fled England to America to settle in Hingham, Massachusetts, where they frequently changed their name to Folsom. Early History of the Fulson familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fulson research. Another 86 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1622, 1626, 1633 and 1640 are included under the topic Early Fulson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Fulson Spelling VariationsNorman 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 Foljambe, Foljambes, Folgambe, Folgambes, Folyambe, Folyambes, Fuljame, Fuljames, Fulgambe, Fulgambes, Fulljames, Fullgames, Folljames, Foliambe, Fuliambe, Foliam, Fuliam, Foliams and many more. Early Notables of the Fulson familyAnother 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fulson Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Fulson familyMany 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 Fulson or a variant listed above: William Foliam who landed in North America in 1763; William Foljambe, who was naturalized in Allegheny Co. PA in 1854.
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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