Hosfelt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Hosfelt

What does the name Hosfelt mean?

The name Hosfelt is an old Anglo-Saxon name. It comes from when a family lived near a stable or horse pasture. The surname is derived from the Old English words hors, which means horse, and falod, which means enclosure or field. Hosfelt may have also been given as an occupational surname to someone who worked at such a place. Early places names include: Horsford, Norfolk, 1 2 Horsford in East Worlington, Devon, and Horsforth in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 3

Horsford, Norfolk and Horsforth, Yorkshire both date back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where they were recorded as Hosforda and Horseford respectively. 4

Early Origins of the Hosfelt family

The surname Hosfelt was first found in Yorkshire where Nigel de Horsford was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1209. John Horsfall was recorded in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 3

Other Poll Tax entries include: Johannes de Horsford; Robertus de Horseforth, of Horseforth; Alicia de Horseforth, of Horseforth; and Robertus de Horsford. 5

Norfolk records include an entry for James de Horsford, clerk, Norfolk and William de Horsford, who was Burgess in Parliament for Norwich, 4 Edward III (during the fourth year of King Edward III's reign.) 6

Early History of the Hosfelt family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hosfelt research. Another 61 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1682, 1751, 1759, 1768, 1771, 1773, 1817, 1818, 1837, 1840, 1859 and 1885 are included under the topic Early Hosfelt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hosfelt Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Hosfelt were recorded, including Horsfield, Horsefield, Horsford, Horseford and many more.

Early Notables of the Hosfelt family

Thomas Horsfield (1773-1859), American naturalist, born at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, on 12 May 1773. His parents were Moravians, and he remained throughout life a member of that religious body. 7 Thomas Walker Horsfield (d. 1837) was an English topographer, who was for some years minister of a dissenting congregation meeting at the Westgate Chapel at Lewes, Sussex, and more popularly known as the "Bull Meeting." 7 General Sir Alfred Hastings Horsford (1818-1885), son of General George Horsford, a distinguished West India officer, once Lieutenant-Governor of...
Another 84 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hosfelt Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hosfelt family to Ireland

Some of the Hosfelt family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 54 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hosfelt migration to the United States +

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Hosfelt family emigrate to North America:

Hosfelt Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Andrew Hosfelt, aged 29, who arrived in Mobile County, Ala in 1844 8

Sources +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)