Tesche History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

This name is derived from the Middle English phrase "at asche," meaning at, or near the ash tree.

Early Origins of the Tesche family

The surname Tesche was first found in Suffolk where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. They are believed to be of the same line as the Tascher of Normandy who were elevated to the nobility in 1667 in Normandy.

Early History of the Tesche family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tesche research. Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1327, 1599, 1680, 1718 and 1719 are included under the topic Early Tesche History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tesche 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 Tash, Tache, Taque, Tashe, Tacheau, Tassh and others.

Early Notables of the Tesche family

Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Tesche Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tesche migration to the United States +

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 Tesche name or one of its variants:

Tesche Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Catrina Tesche, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1786-1808 2
Engel Tesche, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1786-1808 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Tesche (post 1700) +

Leora Tesche Yarboro, American Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Virginia

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)