Rokesbey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Early Origins of the Rokesbey family

The surname Rokesbey was first found in Yorkshire at Rokeby, a parish, in the union of Teesdale, wapentake of Gilling-West. "This place belonged to the Rokebys, a Saxon family, who had a fortified mansion here, which was almost wholly destroyed in the incursion made by the Scots after the battle of Bannockburn. The owner of Rokeby having become proprietor of Mortham, in the parish, by marriage with the heiress of the Manfields, built a dwelling there about the beginning of the reign of Edward III." 1

"The Rokebys of Rokeby held that estate uninterruptedly from the era of the Conquest till the fall of Charles I." 2 Rokeby Hall was built by Sir Thomas Robinson in 1735. The church in the parish of Little Sandall has an interesting story to tell. "The church contains a curious monument to the memory of John Rokeby, a native of this place, and Archbishop of Dublin, who directed his body to be buried here, and his heart and bowels at Halifax." 1

Over in Warwickshire, the market-town and parish of Rugby was "anciently called Rocheberie, afterwards Rokeby, and in the reign of Elizabeth by its present name, is supposed to have been one of those fortresses which Stephen, expecting Matilda's invasion, permitted his nobles to erect upon their estates." 1

Early History of the Rokesbey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rokesbey research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1318, 1327, 1356, 1406, 1407, 1408, 1411, 1412, 1418, 1506, 1512, 1515, 1521, 1527, 1573, 1596, 1631, 1650 and 1699 are included under the topic Early Rokesbey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rokesbey Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Rokeby, Rokesby, Rookesby and others.

Early Notables of the Rokesbey family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Ralph Rokeby (c. 1527-1596), was Master of Requests and the second son of Thomas Rokeby of Mortham, Yorkshire. John Rokeby (died 1573), English canonist, probably second son of Sir Robert Rokeby of Rokeby Morton. 3 Sir Thomas Rokeby, (died 1356) was Justiciar of Ireland and probably son of Thomas de Rokeby, who died in 1318. "He first comes into notice as the squire who, having been a prisoner with the Scots and released by them, was able to earn the reward of 100l. per annum offered by the young king, Edward III, in July...
Another 120 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rokesbey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Rokesbey family to Ireland

Some of the Rokesbey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 73 words (5 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 Rokesbey family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: John Rokeby who arrived in New York State in 1822.

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print