Tolken Surname, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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Tolken is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Tolken family lived in Kent. Their name, however, is a reference to Touques, Normandy, the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

Tolken Early Origins

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The surname Tolken was first found in Kent where they held a family seat from early times after the Norman Conquest in 1066. They were descended from Le Sire de Touques from Pont-le-Eveque where the castle stood. Wace, the historian, mentions the Baron Touque as amongst the Companions of Duke William, at Hastings in 1066. The ancient family of Touque of Godington of Kent claim descent from this Norman Lord. We would be remiss if we did not address the legendary Friar Tuck. Two royal writs in 1417 refer to Robert Stafford, a Sussex chaplain who had assumed the alias of Frere Tuk. Little more is known about him other than this "Friar Tuck" was still at large in 1429.

Tolken 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 Tolken 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 Tolken include Tooke, Tocque, Took, Touque, Tuck and others.

Tolken Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tolken research. Another 173 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1130, 1175, 1580, 1657, 1615, 1674, 1663, 1673, 1732 and 1698 are included under the topic Early Tolken History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tolken Early Notables (pre 1700)

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Thomas Tuke (c.1580-1657), an English clergyman and controversial writer, of royalist views in later life; Sir Samuel Tuke (c.1615-1674), 1st Baronet, English officer in the Royalist army during the English Civil War and a notable playwright, best known...

Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Tolken Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

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 Tolken, or a variant listed above:

Tolken Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Trine Tolken, who landed in North America in 1832-1849 ^[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Anna Tolken, aged 26, who emigrated to the United States, in 1893

Tolken Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Georg Tolken, aged 21, who landed in America, in 1911
Richard Tolken, aged 31, who emigrated to America, in 1914

Motto

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Militia mea multiplex
Motto Translation: My warfare is manifold.

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Citations

^ 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)

Other References

Bardsley, C.W. A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6).
Elster, Robert J. International Who's Who. London: Europa/Routledge. Print.
Hanks, Hodges, Mills and Room. The Oxford Names Companion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print. (ISBN 0-19-860561-7).
Colletta, John P. They Came In Ships. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1993. Print.
Library of Congress. American and English Genealogies in the Library of Congress. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. Print.
Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Galveston Texas 1896-1951. National Archives Washington DC. Print.
Burke, Sir Bernard. Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry: Including American Families with British Ancestry. (2 Volumes). London: Burke Publishing, 1939. Print.
Bowman, George Ernest. The Mayflower Reader A Selection of Articales from The Mayflower Descendent. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. Print.
Egle, William Henry. Pennsylvania Genealogies Scotch-Irish and German. Harrisburg: L.S. Hart, 1886. Print.
Humble, Richard. The Fall of Saxon England. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-88029-987-8).
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The Tolken Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Tolken Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.

This page was last modified on 7 October 2013 at 13:32.