Show ContentsWasson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Wasson family

The surname Wasson was first found in Cornwall where they held a family seat. The name, taking many forms, predominated in Cornwall before the Conquest, dating back to 1000 A,D, as Wasso, Wasce, Wazo, Gazo, Gasche, (all pronounced approximately the same) and in the next two centuries they proliferated along the south coast of England into Somerset, Hampshire, Essex, Cambridge and as far north as Lincolnshire.

Wace (fl. 1170), the famous chronicler, was born in Jersey, probably about 1100. His parents' names are unknown; his mother was a daughter of Toustein, Chamberlain to Robert I, Duke of Normandy. He is best known for his poem 'Roman de Rou,' a work, as reconstituted by modern French criticism. [1]

At the time of the taking of the Domesday Book in 1086, a census taken by Duke William of all his taxable estates, the name was represented by Robertus filius Wazonis, a Latin version of the surname. The spelling of Gace is pronounced Wace, just as Guilliam is William.

Early History of the Wasson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wasson research. Another 93 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1379, 1627, 1672, 1690, 1691, 1694, 1695, 1738, 1750, 1757 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Wasson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wasson Spelling Variations

Cornish 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 Wace, Waison, Wayson, Wasson, Wash, Waze, Waize, Waice, Gaish, Gash, Gason, Gasson, Gaze, Ways, Wasso, Waso, Gace, Gaco, Wass and many more.

Early Notables of the Wasson family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Christopher Wase (1627-1690), an English scholar, author, translator, and educator, Architypographus of Oxford University Press. William Wasey (1691-1757), was an English physician, the son of William Wasey, an attorney, who resided at Brunstead in Norfolk. He...
Another 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wasson Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wasson Ranking

In the United States, the name Wasson is the 3,504th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. [2]

Ireland Migration of the Wasson family to Ireland

Some of the Wasson family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 51 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Wasson migration to the United States +

Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Wasson were

Wasson Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Isabel Wasson, who arrived in New England in 1735 [3]
  • William Wasson, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 [3]
Wasson Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Alexander Wasson, who settled in Ohio sometime between 1809 and 1852
  • Archibald Wasson, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1866 [3]
  • H.P. Wasson, aged 47, who landed in America, in 1894
  • Fred Wasson, aged 20, who immigrated to the United States, in 1895
Wasson Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Albert J. Wasson, aged 40, who landed in America from Belfast, Ireland, in 1908
  • Alice S. Wasson, aged 34, who immigrated to the United States, in 1909
  • Aggie Wasson, who settled in America, in 1909
  • Harold Wasson, aged 22, who settled in America, in 1919
  • Abigail Wasson, who landed in America from Everton, in 1919
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Wasson migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wasson Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Miss. Margaret Wasson, aged 8 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Syria" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle in October 1847 [4]
  • Mrs. Sarah Wasson, aged 42 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec but died on Grosse Isle on 29th June 1847 [4]
Wasson Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century
  • Dola Wasson, aged 36, who settled in Victoria, Canada, in 1912

New Zealand Wasson migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Wasson Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. William Wasson, (b. 1856), aged 18, Irish farm labourer, from Antrim travelling from Greenock aboard the ship "Nelson" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 31st December 1874 [5]

West Indies Wasson migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. [6]
Wasson Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Edward Wasson, who settled in Barbados in 1678

Contemporary Notables of the name Wasson (post 1700) +

  • David Atwood Wasson (1823-1887), American minister and Transcendentalist author, an essayist and poet
  • Isabel Bassett Wasson (1897-1994), one of the first female petroleum geologists in the United States
  • Jeremiah Richard Wasson (1855-1913), the first native-born American to be honored with an award of the Order of the Rising Sun
  • Thomas Campbell Wasson (1896-1948), American diplomat
  • Ernie George Wasson (b. 1950), American gardener, horticulturist and author
  • David "Dave" Wasson, American television producer, director, screenwriter, and art director
  • Gus Wasson (b. 1974), American former NASCAR driver
  • Erin Wasson (b. 1982), American model and occasional stylist and designer
  • Craig Wasson (b. 1954), American actor
  • Daniel Wasson (b. 1984), American soccer player
  • ... (Another 18 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Halifax Explosion
  • Mrs. Bessie  Wasson (1871-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who survived the Halifax Explosion (1917) but later died due to injuries [7]


Suggested Readings for the name Wasson +

  • Genealogy of the McCullah-Wasson Families by Willis Austin McCullah.
  • Wassons by Nellie Mae Conklin.
  • Through Generations: A Genealogy of the Coffin Family..Shockney Family..Wasson Family.. by Judith Stoleson.

  1. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. 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)
  4. Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 59)
  5. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  7. Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance


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