Wasbroe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Wasbroe

What does the name Wasbroe mean?

Wasbroe is one of the many new names that came to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Wasbroe family lived at Washbourne in Devon. 1 The Domesday Book lists the village as Waseborne 2 and literally meant "stream used for washing (sheep or clothes.)" 3

Alternatively, the name could have originated at Washburn, in Yorkshire or at Great Washbourne or Little Washbourne, parishes in Gloucestershire. 4 The Gloucestershire parishes actually date back to Saxon times when they were collectively known as Uassanburnan in 780. By the time of the Domesday Book both were known Waseborne. 2

Early Origins of the Wasbroe family

The surname Wasbroe was first found in Devon where it is related the family took their name from Waseborne, now Wasbourne in that county soon after the Norman Conquest in 1066. This village was granted to Hermer from Gotshelm. 1

By the end of the 11th century they had branched to Worcestershire where they became a family great consequence. They were generations of knights at the Manor at the Washbournes intermarring with the distinguished families of Zouch, Corbett, Wysham, Blount and the Earls of Warwick. Sir Roger Washbourne is the first on record.

Early rolls reveal Williara de Wasseburn listed in the Pipe Rolls for Worcestershire in 1204. John Washburn was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire c. 1280 and William de Wasshebourn was found in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1333. 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list William de Wassebourn in Huntingdonshire and Anthony Washbourne from Worcestershire was registered at Oxford University (no date given.) 5

Early History of the Wasbroe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wasbroe research. Another 126 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1598, 1599, 1606, 1616, 1631, 1654, 1687, 1759, 1760, 1824, 1829 and 1833 are included under the topic Early Wasbroe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wasbroe Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Washbourne, Washburn, Washborne, Washborn and others.

Early Notables of the Wasbroe family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William Washbourne, High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire in 1631; and Thomas Washbourne (1606-1687), an English clergyman and poet, Canon of Gloucester, best known for his 1654 book Divine Poems. "He was younger son of John Washbourne of Wichenford, Worcestershire. The Washbourne family had been settled in Gloucestershire for several centuries. " 6John Washbourn (1760?-1829), was a local historian, son of John Washbourn (d. 1824?) and was descended from an ancient Gloucestershire family (Burke...
Another 80 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wasbroe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Wasbroe family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Wasbroe or a variant listed above were: Margerie Washborn settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1635 with her two sons, Joe, and Phillip; John Washborne settled in Virginia in 1619; one year before the ".

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print