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Halse History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Halse History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Halse is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived on a neck of land in Devon. A neck of land is a narrow piece of land between two rivers near where they flow into the ocean, or a narrow piece of land that connects an isthmus or peninsula to the mainland.

"The family of Hals, or Als, are said to have been an ancient British tribe, so denominated from Alsius Duke of Devonshire, the father of Orgar; unless we credit another account, which states them to have descended from John de Als, lord of the barton of Als, now Alse, in the parish of Buryan." 1

Early Origins of the Halse family

The surname Halse was first found in Devon and Cornwall.

"The manor of Laneseley, [in the parish of Gulval, Cornwall] from which the parish derived its name, belonged at a very early period to the family of De Als, who are said to have taken their name from a manor called Alsa or Als, in the parish of Buryan. In 1266 Simon De Als gave this manor to the priory of St. Germans, for the health and salvation of his soul, that of his wife, and those of his ancestors and relations. It was a bargain with the prior and his canonical brethren, for the eternal happiness of the whole family. From this period until the dissolution, the prior and his successors claimed this manor, and with it the ecclesiastical income of the rectory, throughout the parish. But at the time of the Reformation, this property being seized by the crown, the manor was granted to Beaumont and Barry, from whom it passed to the family of Tripcony about the year 1565. By a descendant of this family it was mortgaged to Sir William Hals, of Fentongollan, who was lineally descended from De Alsa, its ancient possessor, and who was ancestor of Hals the historian. In this family it became the subject of much litigation and trouble, in consequence of some mortgages and sales, that led to a suit in chancery; after which it was purchased by the Onslow family, in whom it is still vested." 1

Early rolls revealed: Alfris Halls c. 1100; Robert Hals in the Pipe Rolls for Devon in 1182 and then later as a Knights Templar in Lincolnshire in 1185. 2

In Somerset, the following were found listed 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign): Richard atte Halse; John de Halse; and John de Halse. 3

"Halse was the name of an eminent family of Kenedon in Sherford parish, near Kingsbridge, during the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries; to this family belonged a Justice of the Common Pleas and a Bishop of Lichfield, both of whom lived in the reign of Henry VI. Matthew Halse was a churchwarden of Littleham, Exmouth, in 1730, and the name still occurs in the town. Halse is a Somerset parish, and an old Taunton family bore the name in the 16th century." 4

"Kennedon, in the [parish of Stokenham, Devon], in the fifteenth century became a seat of the family of Hals. Here lived John Hals, Justice of the Common Pleas in 1423, and here was born his son, of the same name, who, in 1450, was made Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry." 5

Early History of the Halse family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Halse research. Another 94 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1320, 1423, 1530, 1600, 1605, 1608, 1636, 1649, 1655 and 1737 are included under the topic Early Halse History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Halse 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 Halse family name include Halse, Hals, Halls and others.

Early Notables of the Halse family

Notables of the family at this time include

John Hals, who was appointed one of the Judges of the Common Pleas in 1423, and who built a mansion in Kenedon, Devon; and William Hals, the celebrated historian, who was the son of James Halse, the M...
Sir Nicholas Halse (d. 1636), was an inventor and son of John Halse or Halsey of Efford, near Plymouth. "He acquired considerable property in Cornwall during the reign of Elizabeth, was knighted by Ja...

Halse 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 Halse surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Halse Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Abraham Halse, who landed in Maryland in 1663 6
Edward Halse, who arrived in Maryland in 1679 6

Halse Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Halse, who settled in Boston in 1765

Halse Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

R Halse, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 6

Halse migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Halse Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Edward Halse, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Rapid" in 1838 7
John Halse, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Pakenham" in 1849 8
Henry Halse, aged 21, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1853 aboard the ship "Olivia" 9

Halse 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:

Halse Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Halse, who landed in New Plymouth, New Zealand in 1840 aboard the ship Amelia Thompson
Henry Halse, who landed in New Plymouth, New Zealand in 1841 aboard the ship Amelia Thompson
Mrs. Harriet Halse, (b. 1822), aged 36, Cornish settler from Cornwall travelling from London aboard the ship "Strathallan" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st January 1859 10
Mr. Henry Halse, (b. 1822), aged 36, Cornish farm labourer from Cornwall travelling from London aboard the ship "Strathallan" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st January 1859 10
Mr. Henry Halse, Jr., (b. 1846), aged 12, Cornish settler from Cornwall travelling from London aboard the ship "Strathallan" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st January 1859 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Halse (post 1700) +

Sir Reginald Charles Halse CMG KBE (1881-1962), English prelate, Bishop of Riverina (1925-1943), Archbishop of Brisbane (1943-1962)
Harold James Halse (1886-1949), English football forward for the England National Team in 1909
George Halse (1826-1895), English sculptor, novelist, and poet
Kristian Halse (b. 1926), Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party
Clive Gray Halse (1935-2002), South African cricketer who played in three Tests in 1964
Arne Halse (1887-1975), Norwegian silver and bronze medalist javelin thrower at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Percival Halse Rogers (1883-1945), Australian jurist and 10th Chancellor of the University of Sydney (1936-1941)
Laurie Halse Anderson (b. 1961), American writer from Potsdam, New York, best known for children's and young adult novels, awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 2010
William Halse Rivers (1864-1922), English anthropologist
Halse Rogers Arnott (1879-1961), Australian medical practitioner, company director and chairman of Arnott's

Citations +

Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Worth, R.N., A History of Devonshire London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G., 1895. Digital
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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) RAPID 1838. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1838Rapid.gif
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The PAKENHAM 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Pakenham.htm
South Australian Register Tuesday 15 November 1853. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Olivia 1857. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/olivia1853.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html