Shekleton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Shekleton surname was a habitational name from Scackleton, a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire. 1 The village is mentioned three times in the Domesday Book as Scacheldene or Scachelsey. 2

The place name probably means "valley by a point of land," from the Old English scacol + denu. 3 Another source claims the word "scacol," describes a "tongue of land."

Early Origins of the Shekleton family

The surname Shekleton was first found in Lancashire where Hugh Schacheliton was listed in the Assize Rolls for 1246. Hugh Shakeldene was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1302. 1

"The Shackletons were one of the most notable Quaker families in Ireland. Their famous school at Ballitore, Co. Kildare, where Edmund Burke was educated, was founded by Abraham Shackleton, a native of Yorkshire, in 1726. His son Richard Shackleton and his grandson Abraham Shackleton carried on the school with success. His daughter, Mary Leadbeater (1726-1826), the author of poems and essays, left a valuable account of rural life in the eighteenth century. Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922), the Antarctic explorer, was of the same Co. Kildare family." 4

The Shackell variant has the same root and "is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Shakell'; compare the local Shackleton." 5 The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 include Willelmus Shakelle. 5

In Norfolk, The Vicarage of Corpesty, Norfolk, 'was sold by Heydon to Thomas Jecks and John Shakle, and by them to the Bacons, 1611.' 6 "This form still remains in Norfolk, Shackle being found in the Modern Domesday Book for that county." 5

Early History of the Shekleton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shekleton research. Another 128 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1246, 1280, 1302, 1597, 1601, 1602, 1697, 1726, 1728, 1761, 1771, 1792, 1826, 1862, 1874 and 1922 are included under the topic Early Shekleton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shekleton Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Shackleton, Shackle, Sheckleton and others.

Early Notables of the Shekleton family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Abraham Shackleton (1697-1771), English schoolmaster, the youngest of six children, was born at Shackleton House, near Bingley in the West Riding of Yorkshire. His parents were Quakers. He moved to Ireland, and became a tutor to the children of...
Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shekleton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Shekleton family to Ireland

Some of the Shekleton family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 124 words (9 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 Shekleton family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Margaret Shackleton, a bonded passenger, who arrived in America in 1751; Edward Shackleton, a bonded passenger, who arrived in Maryland in 1758; Thomas G. Shackleton, on record as a British Alien in America in 1810.

Contemporary Notables of the name Shekleton (post 1700) +

Vincent Shekleton (1896-2000), American National Football League player who played with the Racing Legion during the 1922 NFL season as a center
Cameron Shekleton, South African cricketer who made his first-class debut for Gauteng in the 2018–19 CSA 3-Day Provincial Cup
John Shekleton (1795-1824), Irish doctor and anatomist, born in Dundalk, Ireland

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. 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)
Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print