Minson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Minson

What does the name Minson mean?

The Minson name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in the parish of Minshull, which was located five miles from Nantwich in the county of Cheshire. This parish dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was known as Maneshale. 1

The place name literally means "shelf or shelving terrain of a man called Monn", from the Old English personal name + "scelf." The "church" prefix as in "Church Minshull" was originally "cirice," in Old English. 2

Early Origins of the Minson family

The surname Minson was first found in Cheshire at Minshull Vernon. "The manor belonged anciently to the Vernons, from whom it passed to the family of Aldeton, sometimes called Oldington and Oulton; it was subsequently divided among the Starkies, Newtons, and Minshulls." 3

Later some of the family were found at Alsager, again in Cheshire. "The manor [of Alsager] was at an early period in the possession of the Vernon family, and subsequently in that of the family of Minshull." 3

Early History of the Minson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Minson research. Another 104 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1359, 1560, 1594, 1608, 1611, 1612, 1617, 1618, 1627, 1638, 1643, 1662, 1668, 1674, 1686, 1728 and 1821 are included under the topic Early Minson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Minson Spelling Variations

Only 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 Minson has undergone many spelling variations, including Minshull, Minshall, Minshaw, Mynshawe, Mynshewe and many more.

Early Notables of the Minson family

Notables of the family at this time include Richard Minshull or Minshall (died 1686), an English academic, Master of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (1643-1686); and John Minsheu (or Minshew) (1560-1627), English lexicographer who taught languages in London, his dictionary "Guide to Tongues" provides equivalents of eleven languages and is a valuable reference for the study of Elizabethan English. Elizabeth Mynshull (1638-1728), the niece of Thomas Mynshull, a wealthy apothecary and philanthropist in Manchester married John Milton (1608-1674), the famous English poet and man of letters on 24 February 1662. She would be his third and final wife despite she being 31...
Another 187 words (13 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Minson Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Minson migration to the United States +

To 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 Minson were among those contributors:

Minson Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Robert Minson, who arrived in Virginia in 1666 4
Humphry Minson, who arrived in Virginia in 1697 4

Minson Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Robert Minson, who landed in Virginia in 1702 4

Minson Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Miss Ethel Minson, (b. 1872), aged 20, Cornish settler, from Truro, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Alaska" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 20th June 1892 en route to Chicago, USA 5
Mr. W.L. Minson, (b. 1870), aged 22, Cornish settler, from St Ives, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Alaska" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 20th June 1892 en route to Chicago, USA 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Minson (post 1700) +

Sofia Ruth Minson (b. 1984), Contemporary New Zealand painter

Sources +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf