LUNSFORD
Coat of Arms ~ Family Crests
~ Family Surname Origin ~
The Ancient History of the Distinguished Surname
Lunsford
The Saxon Chronicle, compiled by monks
in the 10th century, now reposes in the British Museum. It is a history of the Saxon settlement in England.
History researchers have examined reproductions
of such ancient manuscripts as the Domesday Book (1086), the Ragman Rolls
(1291-1296), the Curia Regis Rolls, The Pipe Rolls, the Hearth Rolls, parish
registers, baptismals, tax records. They
found the first record of the name Lunsford in Sussex, where they were seated from
the Middle Ages. Throughout the
centuries your name, Lunsford, occurred in many records, manuscripts and
documents but not always with your exact spelling. From time to time the surname was spelt
Lunsford, Lunsforde, Lansforde, Lansford, and these variations in spelling
frequently occurred, even between father and son. Scribes and church officials frequently spelt
the names phonetically. As a result the
same person would be recorded differently on birth, baptismal, marriage and
death certificates.
The Saxon race gave birth to many
English surnames not the least of which was the surname Lunsford. The Saxons, invited into England by the
ancients Britons of the 4th century, were a fair skinned people
their home was the Rhine valley. They were led by two brothers,
General/Commanders Hengist and Horsa.
The Saxons settled in the county
of Kent, in southern England. During the next four hundred years they
forced the Ancient Britons back into Wales and Cornwall in the west, and Cumberland to the north. The Angles occupied the eastern coast, the
south folk in Suffolk,
north folk in Norfolk. Under Saxon rule England prospered under a series of
High Kings, the last of which was Harold.
In 1066, the Norman invasion from France occurred
and their victory at the Battle of Hastings.
In 1070, Duke William took an army of 40,000 north and wasted the
northern counties, forcing many rebellious Norman nobles and Saxons to flee
over the border into Scotland. The Saxons who remained in the south were not
treated well under hostile Norman rule, and many also moved northward.
Nevertheless, this notable English
family name, Lunsford, emerged as an influential name in the county of Sussex,
where the family held estates from the Middle Ages and established a prominent
presence in local affairs. From the late
Middle Ages through to the industrial revolution the family was witness to a
chain of historical events which remade the face of England. The 14th century was a time of
social upheaval marked by the spread of the Black Death and a peasant rebellion
led by Wat Tyler. The next century was
dominated by the War of the Rose, which pitted the red rose of the House of
Lancaster against the white rose of the House of York in a bitter struggle over
control of the crown. By the 1500s
however, England
was a state in transition from mediaeval to modern organization and it emerged
as the leading naval power in the world.
But political discord erupted during the 17th century as the
English Civil War between the Crown and Parliament shook the nation before it
entered the industrial age. During these
turbulent times the family in Sussex
gave rise to several prominent figures, such as Sir John Lunsford who was
knighted in 1609 and Sir Thomas Lunsford who was knighted in 1641. By this time they had branched to Wales, where
Sir Henry Lunsford was recorded as a prominent government official in Monmouth
in 1945. Later, they branched to
Warwickshire, with John Lunsford being recorded as a resident of Hoterley early
in the 19th century. Notable
amongst the family at this time was Sir Henry Lunsford, the Governor of
Monmouth in Wales
in 1940s.
During the 15th, 16th,
17th and 18th centuries England was ravaged by plagues,
famine, and religious conflict. Protestantism
the newly found political fervour of Cromwellianism and democratic government,
and the remnants of the Roman Church rejected all non believers. The changing rule caused burnings, hangings
and banishments of all sects and creeds.
Many families were freely "encouraged" to migrate to Ireland, or to
the "colonies". Some were
rewarded with grants and lands, other were banished.
The families who migrated to Ireland became
known as the Adventurers for land in Ireland. Protestant settlers "undertook: to keep
their faith, being granted lands previously owned by the Catholic Irish. No record of this family branching to Ireland was
found, however this does not preclude the possibility of individual or
scattered migration.
The New World
offered better opportunities and some migrated voluntarily. Some left Ireland disillusioned with promises
unfulfilled, but many left directly from their home territories. Some also moved to the European continent.
Members of the family name Lunsford
sailed aboard the huge armada of three masted sailing ships known as the
"White Sails" which plied the stormy Atlantic. These overcrowded ships such as the Hector,
the Dove and the Rambler, were pestilence ridden, sometimes 30% to 40% of the
passenger list never reaching their destination.
Amongst the first settlers in North America, which could be considered a kinsman of the
surname Lunsford, or a variable spelling of that family name was William
Lansford who sailed to Virginia
in 1954.
From the port of entry many settlers
made their way west, joining the wagon trains to the prairies or to the west
coat. During the American War of
Independence, many loyalists made their way north to Canada about 1790, and became known
as the United Empire Loyalists.
Contemporary notables of this surname,
Lunsford, include many distinguished contributors, such as Doyle Lansford, a
prominent American physician.
Research has determined the above Coat
of Arms (top-right "The Ancient Arms of Lunsford") to be the most
ancient recorded for the family surname Lunsford.
© Copyright
1994, The Hall of Names Inc.
Return to Crests Index
Return to Links Index
Return to
Genealogy Index
Return to Home Page
E-Mail
© Deborah Lunsford Yates, 2000 - 2016
Last
Updated Friday, September 30, 2016, 11:13:20 PM CST
