Tesh 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 Tesh family

The surname Tesh 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 Tesh family

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

Tesh Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Tesh are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Tesh include Tash, Tache, Taque, Tashe, Tacheau, Tassh and others.

Early Notables of the Tesh family

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

Tesh migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Tesh, or a variant listed above:

Tesh Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

George Tesh, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1848 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Tesh (post 1700) +

John Tesh (b. 1952), American musician and television personality

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)