Winshell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Early Origins and Etymology of Winshell

The surname Winshell was first found in Berwickshire, Scotland where they held a family seat from very ancient times at Winscheill near Duns, 12 miles west of Berwick on Tweed, in that shire. 1 Notable in Berwickshire is Duns Castle.

Further to the south in England, Robert de Winchelsea (d. 1313) was "Archbishop of Canterbury [and] derived his name from Old Winchelsea in Kent, where he was probably born. A confusion of him with a namesake, John Winchelsea, has led to the improbable assertion that he was a fellow of Merton College. " 2

Today, Winchelsea is an ancient town in Sussex. 3 Dating back to at least 1130, the town literally means "island by a river bend." from the Old English "wincel" + "eg." 4

The Assize Rolls of Northumberland recorded Hawis Wenchel in 1203 and later, the Assize Rolls for Cheshire listed Puncok le Wenchill. 5

Early History of the Winshell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Winshell research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1280 is included under the topic Early Winshell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Winshell Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Winchell, Winchel, Winshell, Wynchell, Wynshell, Wynchel, Wynchil and many more.

Early Notables of the Winshell family

More information is included under the topic Early Winshell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Winshell family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Joe Winchell settled in New England in 1635 with Elizabeth his mother; Robert Winchell settled in Virginia in 1653; Nicholas Winchel arrived in Philadelphia in 1752..

Sources +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)