The name Pross is
Anglo-Saxon in origin. It was a name given to a
priest having derived from the Old English word
preost, which means priest. It was also a
nickname given to a person with a priestly character, and probably also given to a person with the exact opposite character. A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nickname surnames referred to a characteristic of the first person who used the name. They can describe the bearer's favored style of clothing, appearance, habits, or character.
Early Origins of the Pross family
The surname Pross was first found in
Hertfordshire, where they held a
family seat before the Middle Ages.
Early History of the Pross family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pross research.
Another 327 words (23 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1379, 1615, 1557, 1579, 1621, 1645 and 1735 are included under the topic Early Pross History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Pross 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 Pross include Preost, Priest, Prest, Preist, Prestt, Press and many more.
Early Notables of the Pross family (pre 1700)
Notables of the family at this time include Agnes Prest (died 1557), an English Protestant martyr burned at the stake at Southernhay in Exeter; Degory Priest (ca. 1579-1621), A London...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pross Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Pross family to Ireland
Some of the Pross family moved to
Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 117 words (8 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Pross family to the New World and Oceana
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 Pross were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:
Pross Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Francs Pross, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1771 [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Pross Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Hubert Pross, who arrived in America in 1842 [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
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) - August Herbert Pross, aged 29, who arrived in Missouri in 1845 [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Contemporary Notables of the name Pross (post 1700)
- Gordon Allen Pross, American Democrat politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Washington 4th District, 1998 [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html