Horkewithy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Horkewithy is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in one of two similarly-named places. The parish of Hawksworth is located eight miles from Newark in Nottinghamshire. The township of Hawksworth is in the parish of Arncliffe in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The surname Horkewithy belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Horkewithy family

The surname Horkewithy was first found in Nottinghamshire where Laurence de Houkeswurda was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1194. Later we found Robert de Hauekeswrth in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1226 and later again, John Hawkesworth was listed in the Assize Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1395. 1

The family were strongest in the West Riding of Yorkshire at Hawksworth, which "comprises by computation 2000 acres, chiefly the property of F. Hawkesworth Fawkes, Esq., who is Lord of the Manor." 2

The parish dates back to Saxon times when it was known as Hafecesweorthe c. 1030. 3 By the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, the parish was known as Hauocesorde. 4

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed: Johannes de Haukesworth, wright; Willelmus de Haukesworth, wright; and Anabilla de Hewkesworth, vidua. 5 In each case, the occupation of the entry appeared after the surname.

Early History of the Horkewithy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Horkewithy research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1606, 1715, 1744, 1746, 1749, 1761 and 1773 are included under the topic Early Horkewithy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Horkewithy 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 Horkewithy family name include Hawkesworth, Hawksworth, Hawkeworth and others.

Early Notables of the Horkewithy family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Walter Hawkesworth (d. 1606), an English dramatist, the second son of Walter Hawkesworth of Hawkesworth, Yorkshire, by his wife Isabel, daughter and coheiress of Thomas Colthurst of Edisforth in the same county. 6John Hawkesworth (c.1715-1773), was an English writer. He was commissioned by the Admiralty to edit Captain James Cook's papers relative to his first voyage. He was of humble origin. In his youth he was 'a hired clerk to one Harwood, an attorney in Grocers' Alley...
Another 85 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Horkewithy Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Horkewithy family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, 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 Horkewithy surname or a spelling variation of the name include : John Hawksworth settled in Barbados in 1680; along with William, and his servants; Charles and Thomas Hawksworth arrived in Philadelphia in 1860; Thomas Hawkesworth settled in Boston in 1635.

Citations +

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.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print