Isen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The present generation of the Isen 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 parish of Isham in the county of Northampton near Kettering. "The church is an ancient edifice with a tower, and contains four Norman arches, and a curious monument." 1

Early Origins of the Isen family

The surname Isen was first found in Northamptonshire at Isham, a Saxon village and civil parish that dates back to 974 when it was listed as Ysham. By the Domesday Book of 1086, the place name had evolved to the present spelling of Isham. 2 3

The place name literally means "homestead by the River Ise," having derived from the Celtic river-name + the Old English "ham" or "hamm." 4 The local church is an ancient edifice with a tower, and contains four Norman arches.

The earliest record of the family was found here "where an elder branch of the existing family, Isham of Lamport, were seated soon after the Conquest." 5

Later, Henry de Isham was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for Northamptonshire in 1206. 6

Early History of the Isen family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Isen research. Another 150 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1416, 1582, 1590, 1610, 1617, 1621, 1622, 1625, 1627, 1651, 1656, 1658, 1671, 1673, 1675, 1676, 1680, 1681, 1687, 1690, 1694, 1697, 1705, 1711, 1713, 1726, 1730, 1737, 1755 and 1772 are included under the topic Early Isen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Isen Spelling Variations

Until 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 Isen include Isham, Ison, Isom, Ipsam and others.

Early Notables of the Isen family

Distinguished members of the family include Gregory Isham of Orlingbury; John Isham (1582-1651), High Sheriff of Northamptonshire, created Baronet Isham of Lamport on 30 May 1627; Sir Justinian Isham (1610-1675), 2nd Baronet Isham, English scholar and royalist politician, who was a Member of Parliament; Sir Thomas Isham II (1656-1681), 3rd Baronet of Lamport, best known for his diary which he wrote from 1671-1673 of his observations as a teenage member of the English aristocracy; Sir Justinian Isham II (1658-1730), 4th Baronet of Lamport, Member of Parliament; Sir Justinian Isham (1687-1737), 5th Baronet of Lamport; Sir Edmund Isham (1690-1772), 6th Baronet of...
Another 136 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Isen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Isen migration to the United States +

Thousands 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 Isen were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Isen Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Conrad Isen, aged 30, who arrived in New York, NY in 1849 7

Isen 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:

Isen Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Benjamin Isen, aged 23, a tailor, who arrived in Bluff, New Zealand aboard the ship "Christian McAusland" in 1875

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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)
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)