Gascoen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Gascoen reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Gascoen family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Gascoen family lived in Yorkshire. Their name, however, is not a reference to this place, but to the family's place of residence prior their emigration to England, Gascony, a French province which was occupied by the English from 1152 until 1453.

The family was "a native of Gascony, the French province, which being in the possession of England, during a portion of the XIV. cent., supplied this country with many new families and names. The heads of the family were all Williams, the courageous Chief-Justice who sent Prince Henry to prison being one." 1

The surname was introduced to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066, as was the wine for which the area was known. Geoffery Chaucer's Old English poem Piers Plowman makes reference to "reed wyn of Gascoigne."

Early Origins of the Gascoen family

The surname Gascoen was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire as Saxton, a parish, in the Upper division of the wapentake of Barkstone-Ash. "The parish comprises by computation 4030 acres, and is chiefly the property of the daughters and co-heiresses of R. O. Gascoigne, Esq." 2

"The Gascoignes were for many generations settled at Gawthorpe in Yorkshire, where their old hall stood by the side of the lake, about two hundred yards south of Lord Harewood's present house. It had come to them early in the fourteenth century, through the marriage of William Gascoigne with its heiress, Mansild de Gawkethorp." 3

Indeed, the family produced a long list of notables dating back to 1026 in Northumberland where Bernard Gascon was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1206. Two years later, William le Gascum was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Yorkshire in 1208. 4

From these earliest listings the family spread throughout ancient Britain including: Philip le Gascoyn in Shropshire in 1266. The Hundredorum Rolls has two listings: Peter Gascoying in Devon in 1274; and Geoffrey Gascoyne, in Norfolk in 1275. 4

"In the 15th century and later, Gascon occurs as Gaskin, Gascogne, Gascoigne, which some believe may be due to the influence of Gascogne 'Gascony'. Some of the above forms are certainly from the adjective." 4

Other early listings include: Robert de Gascoin, Assize Rolls for Somerset in 1243; Nicholas de Gascoigne in 1340; and William Gascoigne in the Feet of Fines in 1389. Johannes Gascone was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls in 1379. 5

Early History of the Gascoen family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gascoen research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1350, 1381, 1404, 1419, 1458, 1507, 1514, 1516, 1525, 1535, 1537, 1558, 1572, 1577, 1579, 1593, 1596, 1602, 1610, 1614, 1623, 1637, 1644, 1659, 1661, 1662, 1686, 1687, 1698, 1716, 1718, 1723 and 1778 are included under the topic Early Gascoen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gascoen Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Gascoigne, Gascoyne, Gascoine, Gascoin, Gaskoyne and others.

Early Notables of the Gascoen family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William Gascoigne (c.1350-1419), Chief Justice of England during the reign of King Henry IV, eldest son of William Gascoigne, by Agnes, daughter of Nicholas Frank, was born at Gawthorpe, Yorkshire; Thomas Gascoigne (1404-1458), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University; John Gascoigne (fl. 1381), an English lawyer and author; George Gascoigne (c. 1535-1577), an English poet, soldier and unsuccessful courtier; John Gascoigne (c.1537-1602), of Parlington, Yorkshire, an English...
Another 72 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gascoen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Gascoen family to Ireland

Some of the Gascoen family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Gascoen family

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Gascoen name or one of its variants: Thomas Gaskoyne who settled in Virginia in 1619 before the "Mayflower"; Saville Gascoyne settled in Virginia in 1635; Stephen Gascoyne settled with his wife and servants in Barbados in 1680.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)