Family Surname Christmas Tree

I would like to wish all my readers a very merry Christmas and all the best for 2015...

Surname Saturday - Redwood

Surname Saturday is a regular blog post in which I will discuss the origins and geography of the surnames which appear in my own family tree.

This week's surname is REDWOOD

John & Jane Davidson (nee Redwood)

Variants: Readwood, Ridewood, Redewood, Reedwood, 

Redwood is a locational surname for a person who came from the villages of Redworth in Devon or Durham, or even a lost village by the name of "Redwood". It could also have derived from a person who lived near or close to a red wood.

The highest locational density of Redwood families in 1891 was in London with 17% and Devon and Somerset with 15%

My 3x great grandmother was a Redwood, she was called Jane Redwood and married, John Davidson. Jane was born in Herne, Kent and her family were from various towns along this stretch of the Kent coastline. Many of the men were mariners and worked at sea. (You can read more about Jane and her family at the The Davidson Family - Chapters 5-7)


Information from:
SurnameDB - Redwood
House of Names - Redwood
Ancestry Surname Distribution - Redwood

Surname Saturday - Binns

Surname Saturday is a regular blog post in which I will discuss the origins and geography of the surnames which appear in my own family tree.

This week's surname is BINNS.

Variants: Bins, Binnes, Binn, Binz

The surname is derived from the Olde English binn meaning 'manger' or 'bowl'.

The surname could be:

• Topographical, to describe a person who lived in a hollow or close to a manger
• Occupational, to describe a person who made mangers or troughs
• Locational, to describe a person who lived in a farmstead or a lost village or hamlet called Binns
• Patronymic, from the Middle English given name BINNE or Old English name BYNNI
• Or, an Anglicised version of the German surname BINZ

Manger
(Photo Link - FlickR, Angela (Blondie5000), 21 Nov 2010)

The surname is predominantly located in West Yorkshire around the towns of Haworth, Bradford & Keighley, where there was a small hamlet called High Binns near the village of Oxenhope, West Yorkshire.

The surname is not a common surname is predominantly from Yorkshire. In 1891, 71% of the Binns' families were residing in Yorkshire and 16% in Lancashire, with a small scattering of the others around the country. 

Based on the high percentage of Binns' families in West Yorkshire it is therefore not a surprise to tell you that the Binns's in my family tree are from Cowling nr Keighley in West Yorkshire. My great, great grandmother was Grace Ellen Binns born in c1869 nr Shipley, West Yorkshire. Her father John Binns was born in nr Cowling, West Yorkshire and was a weaver, as was his own father, David Binns c1816, also from Cowling, West Yorkshire.

Information from:

SurnameDB - Binns

British Surnames - Binns

Ancestry.co.uk - Binns

GenForum - Binns

British Surnames - Binns - 1881 census

Surname Saturday - Wright

Surname Saturday is a regular blog post in which I will discuss the origins and geography of the surnames which appear in my own family tree.

This week's surname is WRIGHT.

Variants: Right, Rite, Wraight, Wraighte, Wrate, Wreight, Wrighte, Write or Wryght

Wright is an occupational surname for a person who made things. "Wright" is derived from the Old English wyrhta or wryhta meaning a craftsman. There were different kinds of wrights depending on whether the craftsman had a speciality craft such as:

• Wheelwright - a person who makes wheels
• Shipwright - a person who builds boats 
• Playwright - a person who makes or writes plays

Wright is the 13th most common surname in the UK and the reason behind this is most villages would have had a "wright" - a local village handyman, who was talented at making things with his hands.

In 1891, 14% of the Wright family's were located in Yorkshire, 14% in London and 13% in Lancashire.

As it is a common surname, it is not a surprise that this surname appears in at least two different families in my family tree:

1. My great, great grandmother, Mary Wright, married George Presswood. She was born c1838 in Elksley, Nottinghamshire but I know very little about her background or family...more research to be undertaken.
2. Another of my great, great grandmothers was a Wright (see photo below). Born Lucy Ann Wright she married William Thompson in Leeds. She was the daughter of a groomsman named John Wright and the family originated from the Church Fenton & Ulleskelf area but they also lived in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Chapel Allerton, Leeds and Garforth areas.

My great, great grandparents, William & Lucy Ann, and
 their 3 eldest children, Harold, Cyril & Alice (my great grandmother) Thompson

Information from:

Family tree magazine 131 - Anthony Adolph - July 2013

SurnameDB - Wright

BritishSurnames - Wright

Ancestry.co.uk - Wright

Surname Saturday - Fletcher

Surname Saturday is a regular blog post in which I will discuss the origins and geography of the surnames which appear in my own family tree.


This weeks surname is FLETCHER.

Fletcher - arrow maker
(Image link: www.wikipedia.org, Author: Frank Vincentz,
18 Feb 2011)

Variants: Flescher, Flesher

Fletcher is an occupational surname for a person who made or sold arrows, but also a medieval supply officer who would equip the bowman. The surname is thought to have derived from the Germanic pre 7th century "Fulcher" which means "people's army" and it was probably introduced by the Normans.

It is a common Northern surname with 22% of the family's being recorded in Lancashire on the census 1891 and 16% of the family's in Yorkshire.

My great grandmother was Ethel Fletcher from Mere in Lincolnshire. Her whole family is rooted in Lincolnshire in the area south and south west of Lincoln towards Newark especially in the villages of Long Bennington and Bracebridge Heath. The eldest Fletcher in my tree at present is Robert Fletcher, my great x5 grandfather, who was born c1791 in Leadenham, Lincolnshire. Robart was an agricultural labourer which was the occupation his descendants also followed for at least five generations.

Information from: SurnameDB - Fletcher

Ancestry - Fletcher
Fletcher-online - Fletcher clan history

Copyright © 2013 Ruth Hogan

Surname Saturday - Kay

Surname Saturday is a regular blog post in which I will discuss the origins and geography of the surnames which appear in my own family tree.

This weeks surname is KAY...

Variants: Kaye, Key

Key
(Image link: www.wikipedia.org, Author: Robert Lawton, 2006)

The surname Kay may be derived from:

• the Olde English caeg meaning key and used as an occupational surname for a key-bearer of an aristocratic household or even a key maker. 
• The Old French kaye meaning quay and a topographical surname for someone who resided close to a wharf or quay.
• The Celtic given name, Welsh cai or Cornish key as a patronymic surname.
• The Old Norse ka meaning jackdaw as a nickname for a person.
• The Danish kei meaning left, again as a nickname for a left-handed or clumsy person.

55% of the family's with the surname Kay lived in Lancashire at the time of the 1891 census and 20% in Yorkshire.

76% of the family's with the surname Kaye lived in Yorkshire at the time of the 1891 census.

Two variants of the surname Kay and Kaye are found in my family tree. The latter was my aunts maiden name and the surname Kay goes back a few generations to my great x4 Grandmother Ann Kay born c1804 in Burton Pidsea, East Yorkshire to Ralph Kay born c1775 in Keyingham, East Yorkshire and Hannah Ellis c1775.

To read a little about my Kay family you can read more on The Davidson Family - Chapter 12.

Information from:

Ancestry - Kay

Ancestry - Kaye

SurnameDB - Kay

Copyright © 2013 Ruth Hogan

Surname Saturday - Poole

Surname Saturday is a regular blog post in which I will discuss the origins and geography of the surnames which appear in my own family tree.

This week's surname is POOLE.

Variants: Pool, Pooley, Pole, Pull, Paul, Paule

My great, great Poole grandparents 

The surname is a topographical surname derived from the Anglo-Saxon pol meaning pool which is used to describe a family which live near a pool of water. It can also be a locational surname from the villages around the UK named Pool or Poole, eg Pool in Wharfedale, West Yorkshire or Poole, Dorset. 

In the 1890 census, 10% of the Poole families lived in Lancashire, 7% in Yorkshire, 14% in London and 9% in Staffordshire. 

My grandmother was born Mary Verona Poole in Rawdon, West Yorkshire. Her family was mainly from Shipley and Bradford also in West Yorkshire. I have often wondered whether her surname was derived from the small township of Pool-in-Wharfedale near to the north of Bradford and Leeds. Will need to continue researching to find out. There is a grave to my great, great grandfather and great, great, great grandmother at Nab Wood Cemetery near Shipley, West Yorkshire, which can be found at FindAGrave.com.



Information from: SurnameDB - Poole
Ancestry - Poole

Copyright © 2013 Ruth Hogan

Surname Saturday - Presswood

Surname Saturday is a regular blog post in which I will discuss the origins and geography of the surnames which appear in my own family tree.

This weeks surname is PRESSWOOD.

Variants: Presswood, Prestwood, Preswood

George Henry Presswood, my great grandfather

The surname Presswood is probably derived from "a dweller by the Priest's wood". There is also a village in Buckinghamshire and a place in Sussex both named Prestwood in which the surname could have evolved from.

Presswood is a very rare surname and in the 1891 census there were only 72 families with this surname in England, 29 were found in Yorkshire and 20 in Lincolnshire. Although Prestwood, it's variant surname is more common, there are still only 195 families with this surname in England in the 1891 census. 42 of these families are found in Lincolnshire, 31 in Lancashire, 25 in Shropshire and Glamorganshire. 

My maternal grandmother was born into the Presswood family in north Lincolnshire, which is where her ancestors have dwelled for nearly two centuries working on the land as agricultural labourers. I suspect that most of the Lincolnshire Presswood families are probably distant cousins. The oldest Presswood ancestor to have been researched in my family line is William Presswood born 1806 in Lincolnshire. Sadly he committed suicide aged 35 years old, leaving his wife with seven young children. 

I am currently beginning to write the Presswood family story at The Presswood Story, which you will be able to discover much more about my rural agricultural Presswood ancestors in time.

If you have Presswood ancestors from Lincolnshire or Yorkshire in your family tree I would love to hear from you.

Information from:

Ancestry - Presswood Surname Distribution

Copyright © 2013 Ruth Hogan

Surname Saturday - Holmes

Surname Saturday is a regular blog post in which I will discuss the origins and geography of the surnames which appear in my own family tree.

This weeks surname is HOLMES.

Variant spellings: Holmes, Holme, Hulme, Holm, Holms, Home, Homes

Holmes is both a locational and topographical surname. It is derived from the Old Norse holmr meaning small island or a piece of low lying meadows land surrounded by water and also from the Old English "holegn" meaning holly woods or a person who lived near a holly wood or tree.

The surname is most commonly found in Yorkshire but is a fairly widespread and common surname.

My maternal great, great grandmother was Sarah Ann Holmes and although she settled in Leeds, West Yorkshire she was born in Nottingham, where her father was also born but her grandfather, Joseph Holmes was born in Wittick, Leicestershire. The family were framework knitters until they moved to Leeds, West Yorkshire.


Information from:
Surname database - Holmes
Wikipedia - Holm
Ancestry - Holmes

Copyright © 2013 Ruth Hogan

Surname Saturday - Davidson

Surname Saturday is a regular blog post in which I will discuss the origins and geography of the surnames which appear in my own family tree.

This is the first Surname Saturday post so I am going to start with my maiden surname DAVIDSON

Davidson Crest
(Image link: www.wikipedia.org,
Author: Celtus,  6 Sept 2008)

The surname "Davidson" is a patronymic name and comes from "son of David" or "David's son". The forename David is biblical and means "beloved" so Davidson equals "son of the beloved".

I always assumed I would be a descendant of the Scottish Davidson clan but have not yet found a link to the clan.

Davidson is also known to be a common anglicised Jewish name from "son of King David" from the Bible, so instead of being Scottish perhaps we're Jewish.

The family crest generally used for the surname Davidson is the  Scottish Davidson clan crest and motto "Sapienter si sincere" meaning "Wisely if sincerely".

The surname is much more common in Northern England, Scotland and London than other areas of the UK.

The history of my own Davidson family can be read on The Davidson Family, but I have research back to John Davidson c1800 in London who was a bandsman in the Royal Marines, his descendants were boiler makers working in the ship building industries. The family eventually moved to Hull, East Yorkshire in the late 1870s where they have remained until the present day.

Information from:

Ancestry - surname origins

Dynastree

Copyright © 2013 Ruth Hogan