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![Show Contents]() Hollcroft History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The present generation of the Hollcroft family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in the area of Holcroft in Lancashire. [1] [2] Early Origins of the Hollcroft familyThe surname Hollcroft was first found in Lancashire where one of the first record of the name was Robert de Holecroft, who was listed in the Assize Rolls in 1246. A few years later, John Holecroft was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327. [3] "Lytham [a parish in Lancashire] is mentioned in the Domesday Survey from 1086 under the name of Lidun. It early belonged, by gift of Richard Fitz-Roger, to the monks of Durham, and after the Reformation was granted to Sir Thomas Holcroft, whose descendant, Sir John, is said to have sold the property in 1606 to Sir Cuthbert Clifton, ancestor of the present lord of the manor." [4] Early History of the Hollcroft familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hollcroft research. Another 183 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1270, 1692, 1425, 1644, 1629, 1693, 1650, 1662, 1656, 1640, 1648, 1745, 1809 and 1745 are included under the topic Early Hollcroft History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Hollcroft Spelling VariationsUntil the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Hollcroft include Holcroft, Holcrofte, Howcroft, Hocroft and others. Early Notables of the Hollcroft family (pre 1700)Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir Henry Holcroft, from West Ham in Essex and his son, Francis Holcroft (c.1629-1693), an English Puritan divine. "He is said to have been born at West Ham in Essex. Tillotson, afterwards archbishop of Canterbury, was his 'chamber-fellow' at Clare Hall, Cambridge, about 1650. Holcroft eventually formed a church on congregational principles, and, after being ejected in 1662 from Bassingbourne, became a bitter opponent of Episcopalianism." [5]
John Holcroft (died 1656), was an English politician, sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1648, fought in the Parliamentary army in...
Another 123 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hollcroft Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Hollcroft familyThousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Hollcroft were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Thomas Hocroft, who sailed to Virginia in 1684; William Holcroft, who settled in Philadelphia in 1828; Thomas Holcroft, who settled in Philadelphia in 1835.
- Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
- Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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