Rastrick History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Rastrick family

The surname Rastrick was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire where the earliest record of the name was found as Rastric (Rastrick) in the Domesday Book. There we found two entries for the place: the first in Morley Wapentake and the second in the West Riding. (both entries are referring to the same place) 1 Rastrick is now a "chapelry, in the parish and union of Halifax, wapentake of Morley." 2

Today Rastrick is a village in the West Riding near Brighouse and Huddersfield where remains of an ancient fort have been found at Castle Hill. The name was derived from the Old Scandinavian word "rost" + the Old English word "ric" and probably meant "raised strip or ridge with a resting place" 3 The earliest record of the family was found in this parish where Roger de Rastric was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of 1212. 4 5 John de Rastrik was listed at Wakefield in 1274 and the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 include an entry for Katerina Rastrik (Rastrike). 4 6

Early History of the Rastrick family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rastrick research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1212, 1274, 1379, 1650, 1660, 1674, 1687 and 1727 are included under the topic Early Rastrick History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rastrick Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Rastick, Rastich, Raistrick, Raistrich, Rasticke and many more.

Early Notables of the Rastrick family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

These and some other irregularities were reported by his churchwarden at a visitation, and Rastrick was summoned before the spiritual court at Lincoln...
1687 Rastrick resigned his living, intending to profit by the liberty announced in the royal declaration...

Rastrick migration to Canada +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Rastrick name or one of its variants:

Rastrick Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

F. J. Rastrick, who was on record in the census of Ontario, Canada of 1871

Rastrick migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Rastrick Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

George Thomas Rastrick, English convict from Southampton, who was transported aboard the "Anna Maria" on March 6, 1848, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Rastrick (post 1700) +

John Urpeth Rastrick (1780-1856), English civil and mechanical engineer, founder of Foster, Rastrick and Company, the locomotive construction company that built the Stourbridge Lion in 1829

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Anna Maria voyage to Van Diemen's Land or Port Phillip, Australia in 1848 with 190 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/anna-maria/1848