Grossen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Grossen is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the village of Gresham in the county of Norfolk.

Early Origins of the Grossen family

The surname Grossen was first found in Norfolk at Gresham, a parish, in the union of Erpingham, hundred of North Erpingham. "Gresham gave name to the family of which Sir Thomas [Gresham] (c. 1519-1579), the founder of the Royal Exchange and of Gresham College, was a member." [1] The same Sir Thomas is again mentioned in the same source in Battisford, Suffolk. "The framework of the late Royal Exchange, London, erected by Sir Thomas Gresham, was made here; Sir Thomas residing in the adjoining parish of Kingshall, and having considerable property in this." [1] Another family seat was found at Barnby-Upon-Don in the West Riding of Yorkshire. "The church [of Barnby-Upon-Don] is a well-built structure of very ancient date, with a chancel the property of the Gresham family, which contains some handsome monuments to their ancestors and others." [1]

Early History of the Grossen family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Grossen research. Another 186 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1537, 1776, 1549, 1495, 1556, 1485, 1549, 1519, 1579, 1627, 1696, 1649, 1709, 1660, 1718 and 1626 are included under the topic Early Grossen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grossen Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Grossen family name include Gresham, Gressam and others.

Early Notables of the Grossen family (pre 1700)

Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir John Gresham (1495-1556), an English merchant, courtier and financier who worked for King Henry VIII of England, Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell, Lord Mayor of London and founded Gresham's School, Holt, Norfolk; Sir Richard Gresham (c.1485-1549), an English mercer, Merchant Adventurer, Lord Mayor of London, and Member of Parliament who was descended from an ancient family which long resided in the village...
Another 71 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Grossen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grossen migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Grossen surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Grossen Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Fr William Grossen, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1850 [2]

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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)