Willcockson History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe name Willcockson is tied to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of England. It comes from William or Wilhelm. Tracing the origin of the name further, we found the name Willcockson was originally derived from the Germanic elements will, meaning resolve, helm, meaning protection, and cock or cox, an affectionate or diminutive suffix commonly used in ancient times. With the additional suffix, cox, the name was taken to mean the son of little William. 1 Early Origins of the Willcockson familyThe surname Willcockson was first found in Lancashire where one of the first records of the name was listed simply as Wilcok with no personal name in the Assize Rolls of that shire in 1246. Wilcoc was listed in the Assize Rolls of Cheshire in 1286 and William Wylecok was listed in Somerset in the Assize Rolls of 1254. Quite of few of the family were found in Yorkshire as shown by John Wilcokes who was listed there in 1316. 2 By the time of the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379, there were numerous entries for the name including those with the "son" extension: Richard Wilokson; Adam Wylkokson; Raddulfus Wycok; and Willelmus Wilkocson. 3 Further to the north in Scotland, entries for the family were later. "Adam Willicok was admitted burgess of Aberdeen in 1578, and Alexander Willicok in Fechill was bewitched in 1597. " 4 Early History of the Willcockson familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Willcockson research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1480, 1515, 1541, 1549, 1558, 1562, 1566, 1585, 1588, 1600, 1608, 1673, 1723, 1724, 1736, 1756, 1791 and 1929 are included under the topic Early Willcockson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Willcockson Spelling VariationsOnly recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Willcockson has undergone many spelling variations, including Wilcox, Wilcocks, Willock, Wallock and others. Early Notables of the Willcockson familyDistinguished members of the family include Nicolaus Wollick (c. 1480-1541), English music theoristRobert Willcox (1558-1588), was an English Catholic martyr (one of the Oaten Hill Martyrs) who was hung, drawn and quartered; he was beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1929.John Willock (or Willocks or Willox) (c. 1515-1585), was a Scottish reformer, a native of Ayrshire and was educated at the University of Glasgow. In 1562 he became rector of All Saints Church, Loughborough in Leicestershire. 5Thomas Wilcox (1549?-1608), was an English Puritan divine, born about 1549, and was 'fellow or scholar... Migration of the Willcockson family to IrelandSome of the Willcockson family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. Migration of the Willcockson familyTo escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Willcockson were among those contributors: John Willcocks was a shoreman of St. John's, Newfoundland, who had settled there in 1754; John Wilcock settled in Brigus, Newfoundland, in 1801; John Wilcocks was Master of the ".
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