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![Show Contents]() Howsmen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The Howsmen name was originally an Anglo-Saxon name that was given to a person employed "at the house." In most cases, this was a religious house or convent. The surname Howsmen is derived from the Old English word hus, which means house, and the word man, which means servant. 1 Early Origins of the Howsmen familyThe surname Howsmen was first found in Yorkshire where Johannes Howsman was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. A few years earlier John Houseman was found in Colchester, Essex in 1365. 2 "This surname, early found in Yorkshire, crossed the border and settled in the neighbourhood of Lancaster. A well-known vicar of Lancaster bore this name at the beginning of the century. Two hundred years earlier the name occurs in local Wills." 3 Early History of the Howsmen familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Howsmen research. Another 61 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1365, 1604, 1622, 1630, 1636, 1696, 1714, 1759 and 1838 are included under the topic Early Howsmen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Howsmen Spelling VariationsOnly recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Howsmen has undergone many spelling variations, including Houseman, Housemayne, Houssemayne, Housman, Howseman and many more. Early Notables of the Howsmen familyAnother 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Howsmen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Howsmen familyTo escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Howsmen were among those contributors: William Houseman, who sailed to Barbados in 1635; John Houseman to Virginia in 1699; William Howsman to Nova Scotia in 1749; Henry Houseman to Carolina in 1774.
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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