| ![Show Contents]() Tresilian History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
England
Etymology of TresilianWhat does the name Tresilian mean? Cornwall, one of the original six "Celtic nations" is the homeland to the surname Tresilian. A revival of the Cornish language which began in the 9th century AD has begun. No doubt this was the language spoken by distant forebears of the Tresilian family. Though surnames became common during medieval times, English people were formerly known only by a single name. The way in which hereditary surnames were adopted in medieval England is fascinating. Many Cornish surnames appear to be topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees, many are actually habitation surnames. The name Tresilian is a local type of surname and the Tresilian family lived in Cornwall, at the manor of Tresilian, in the parish of Newlyn. Early Origins of the Tresilian familyThe surname Tresilian was first found in Cornwall where they were Lords of the Manor of Tresilian in Newlyn, in Cornwall. One of the first records of the family was Sir Robert Tresilan (d. 1388), Chief Justice of the King's Bench, "was no doubt a native of Cornwall, in which county he held the manors of Tresilian, Tremordret, Bonnamy, Stratton, and Scilly. " 1 We found another passage clearing up the fate of Robert Tresilian. "The manor of Tremoderet, [in the parish of Duloe, Cornwall] now generally called Tremadart, belonged at a very early period to the family of Hewis. By an heiress of this family it was carried in marriage to. Sir Robert Tresilian, chief justice of the King's Bench, who was executed at Tyburn in 1338, for recommending arbitrary measures which his sovereign had not power to execute. His widow, who afterwards married Sir John Coleshill, made interest to have the previous forfeiture of her lands, on the death of her former husband, revoked." 2 Early History of the Tresilian familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tresilian research. Another 149 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1350, 1388, 1450, 1515, 1590, 1735, 1757 and 1820 are included under the topic Early Tresilian History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Tresilian Spelling VariationsCornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly, spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of Cornwall and the rest of England. The Cornish spoke a unique Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Tresilian, Treysilian, Trasilian, Tresylian and many more. Early Notables of the Tresilian family- Sir Robert Tresilian, Chief Justice of England. John Tresilian (c.1450-1515) was a master smith that worked for Edward IV of England
| Tresilian migration to the United States | + |
An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Tresilian or a variant listed above:
Tresilian Settlers in United States in the 17th Century- Katherine Tresilian and her husband who settled in Virginia in 1643
- Kather Tresilian, who landed in Virginia in 1643 3
| Contemporary Notables of the name Tresilian (post 1700) | + |
- John Tresilian, Architect
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
- Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
- 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)
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