Wagster History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Wagster

What does the name Wagster mean?

The rather rare surname Wagster is generally thought to have been an occupational name for someone who could brandish a "wag" or "staff" with great effect. 1

However, two other sources claim the name was a "nickname for a wand-bearing official, as a Beadle." 2 3

"Wagstaff is an old English name that six hundred years ago occurred as Wagestaf and Waggestaf in Norfolk and Oxfordshire (H. R.). Since those early times one of the principal homes of the name has been in Warwickshire, the Wagstaffes of Tachebrooke being a distinguished family in the 16th and 17th centuries; but probably they had been much longer in the county of Warwick, since an epitaph relating to one of this family, who died in 1681, informs us that he was "descended from the ancient family of the Wagstaffes of Harbury," a place also in Warwickshire." 4

Early Origins of the Wagster family

The surname Wagster was first found in Leicestershire, England where William Waggestaf was recorded in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1219. Later in Oxfordshire, Robert Waggestaff was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1279 and in Yorkshire, we found William Waggestave in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1301. Walter Waggespere was listed in the Assize Rolls for Lancashire in 1227. 2

Bardsley notes that the Hundredorum Rolls also include entries for Walter Waggestaf, Norfolk; and the aforementioned Robert Waggestaff, Oxfordshire. 5

"It is curious to observe, among the archives of Stratford-upon-Avon, record of proceedings between Richard Wagstaff and John Shakespere, the latter being the poet's father." 1

Early History of the Wagster family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wagster research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1585, 1612, 1618, 1633, 1642, 1645, 1655, 1662, 1677, 1685, 1696, 1697, 1712, 1725 and 1737 are included under the topic Early Wagster History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wagster Spelling Variations

Wagster has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Spelling variants included: Wagstaffe, Waggstaffe, Wagstaff and others.

Early Notables of the Wagster family

John Wagstaffe (1633-1677), an English writer on witchcraft who held an estate at Hasland in Derbyshire; and John Wagstaffe (1618-1697), of Ladybellegate House, Longsmith Street, Gloucester, an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Gloucester in 1685. Sir Joseph Wagstaffe (fl. 1655), English Royalist, born about 1612, was probably the seventh and youngest son of Richard Wagstaffe of Herberbury in Warwickshire. "Joseph was a soldier of fortune, and at the beginning of 1642 was major in an Irish regiment in the service of France. In 1655 the Western Royalists asked for Wagstaffe to be their leader in their intended rising against Cromwell...
Another 126 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wagster Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wagster family

In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Wagsters to arrive on North American shores: Mary Wagstaff settled in Virginia in 1655 with her husband; William Wagstaff settled in Rappahannock in Virginia in 1728; Richard Wagstaffe settled in Annapolis Maryland in 1750..

Sources +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. 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)