Shaxton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England
• Ireland

Etymology of Shaxton

The Shaxton name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in Saxton, a parish, in the Upper division of the wapentake of Barkstone-Ash in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 1 This place-name was originally derived from the Old English Seaxe + tun, collectively meaning Saxon village. 2 The parish was recorded as Saxtun in the Doomsday Book of 1086. 3

Another source postulates the name could have originated in Cambridgeshire at Saxton Hall and/or Saxon Street. 4

The Sexton spelling denotes the office of " 'the sacristan,' now sexton or verger of a church. This, without doubt, has added to the modern directories. Although my instances are few, I suspect it is the parent of many of our Saxtons and Sextons." 5

"'Sexton', [was] originally 'the officer in a church in charge of the sacred vessels and vestments', not, as now, the grave-digger." 4

Early Origins of the Shaxton family

Early History of the Shaxton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shaxton research. Another 129 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1485, 1537, 1540, 1556, 1610, 1631, 1732, 1773, 1808, 1838 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Shaxton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shaxton Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Shaxton has undergone many spelling variations, including Saxton, Saxon, Sefton, Sephton, Septon, Sexton and others.

Early Notables of the Shaxton family

• Nicholas Shaxton (1485?-1556), Bishop of Salisbury, born probably about 1485, a native of the diocese of Norwich. He may have been a younger brother of one Thomas Shaxton of Batheley (or Bale) in Norf...

Migration of the Shaxton family to Ireland

Some of the Shaxton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 106 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 Shaxton family

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Shaxton were among those contributors: Giles Saxton, who came to Salem Massachusetts in 1630; John Sexton, who came to Virginia in 1635; Richard Sexton, who was on record in Boston Massachusetts in 1635.