Pynecent is a name that was carried to
England in the great wave of migration from
Normandy following the
Norman Conquest of 1066. The Pynecent family lived in
Devon. Their name, however, is a reference to
Mont-Pincon, in Calvados, in the arrondissement of Lisieieux,
Normandy, the family's place of residence prior to the
Norman Conquest of
England in 1066.
Early Origins of the Pynecent family
The surname Pynecent was first found in
Devon where they held a
family seat anciently as Lords of the Manor. The name originally was the Norman Mont-pincon or pincun from the barony and castle in
Normandy. Ralf de Montpincon was the Norman noble dapifer who was granted lands in
Devon for his assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. Meanwhile in
Normandy, the head of the family, Hugh de Monte Pincon held the service of three knights from Montpincon Castle in 1172. Burton Pynsent House is a historic country-house in the parish of Curry Rivel,
Somerset. It was built in 1765 for William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, after he inherited the estate from Sir William Pynsent (1642-1719.) "It was the property of Sir William Pynsent, Bart., and, with other estates, was left by him to the great Earl of Chatham, in testimony of respect for his character."
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print. Pynsent Column stands on Troy Hill, a spur of high ground about 700 m north-east of the house.
Early History of the Pynecent family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pynecent research.
Another 197 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1094, 1642, 1719, 1689, 1679, 1765, 1765, 1790, 1859, 1818, 1864 and 1850 are included under the topic Early Pynecent History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Pynecent Spelling Variations
Before the last few
hundred years the English language had no fixed system of spelling rules. For that reason,
spelling variations occurred commonly in Anglo Norman surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Pynecent were recorded, including Pinson, Pincon, Pinsent, Pensent, Pensons, Pinsons, Pinser, Pincer, Poinson, Poincon, Pynson, MontPinson, Montpinson, Mountpinzo, Mompesson, Pinsun, Montepinson, Montepesson, Montepinsun and many more.
Early Notables of the Pynecent family (pre 1700)
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir William Pynsent or Pinsent, 1st
Baronet (1642-1719), of Urchfont,
Wiltshire, an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Devizes in 1689; and his son, Sir William Pynsent, 2nd
Baronet (c.1679-1765)an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Taunton, unfortunately the title...
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pynecent Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Pynecent family to the New World and Oceana
The unstable environment in
England at this time caused numerous families to board ships and leave in search of opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad in places like
Ireland,
Australia, and particularly the New World. The voyage was extremely difficult, however, and only taken at great expense. The cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels caused many to arrive diseased and starving, not to mention destitute from the enormous cost. Still opportunity in the emerging nations of Canada and the United States was far greater than at home and many went on to make important contributions to the cultures of their adopted countries. An examination of many early immigration records reveals that people bearing the name Pynecent arrived in North America very early: William Pinsen who settled in Virginia in 1623; Joseph Pinson who settled in Virginia in 1663; Roger Pinson settled in Jamaica in 1665; Samuel Pinson settled in Barbados in 1685.