Ancient Origins

The surname Ash is a name whose history on English soil dates back to the wave of
migration that followed the Norman Conquest of England of 1066. The Ash family lived
in close proximity to an ash tree. As such, the name has local references to towns called
Ash in Derbyshire, Surrey, Hampshire, and many other places.

Ancient History

Early records of the name Ash in the chronicles of England show that the ancestors of the bearers of this name were of the Norman race. Researchers used such ancient manuscripts as the Domesday Book, the Ragman Rolls, the Wace poem, the Honour Roll of the Battel Abbey, the Curia Regis, Pipe Rolls, the Falaise Roll, tax records, baptismals, family genealogies, and local parish and church records to establish that the name Ash was first found in the county of Devon in southern England. The first person to settle in the locality was D'Esse Court, a companion of King William, Duke of Normandy who landed in England in 1066 A.D. and was granted lands by his liege lord in the vicinity of Exeter, Devon.

Alternatively the family could have originated in Esh or Ash, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Lanchester in Durham. "The manor gave name, at a very early period, to a family of considerable local consequence, who held the estate, with little interruption, from the middle of the 13th century till the time of Henry VIII." [1]

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list the following: John de le Es, in Norfolk; Roger de le Es, also in Norfolk; Agnes Ate Nasse in Oxfordshire; and Henry de Asse in Warwickshire.

The reference "History of Norfolk" list Joan atte-Eshe in 1345, Roger atte-Ashe, temp. Edward II and John at-Ash, of Bintre, Norfolk in 1349. [3] The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 had only one listing of the family, Robertus del Asch.

Another source notes: "There are places so called in Derbyshire, Surrey, Hampshire, and elsewhere. It seems probable, however, that the name was sometimes adopted from residence near a remarkable ash tree. We find the Atten-Ashe of the XIV. cent. contracted into Nashe soon after."

Early History

The Normans were commonly believed to be of French origin but, more accurately, they were of Viking origin. The Vikings, under their Jarl, Thorfinn Rollo, invaded France in about 911 A.D. After Rollo laid siege to Paris, the French King, Charles the Simple, finally conceded defeat, granting northern France to Rollo. Duke William who invaded and defeated England in 1066, was descended from Rollo, the first Duke of Normandy. The surname Ash emerged as a notable family name in Devon. In 1326 the family were knighted and moved to the southern counties of Suffolk and Sussex where the family also had extensive holdings. The Devon Ashes spread through to Somerset and being a Protestant puritan family during the religious conflicts, they managed to hold their lands and titles. The Ash family of Ashfield in Devon continued to be the senior branch of the family, and the Irish branch in counties Kildare and Dublin continued to be a strong contribution to the family name. For those interested in further research, we would recommend "the Ashe Family of Belfast and Trim" by the Reverend E.T. Martin, printed in Dundonald.

Early Notables

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was John Ashe (1597-1658), an English clothier and politician for Westbury and later for Somerset at various times between 1640 and 1656, upon his death he left a landed estate valued at £6000 a year; Edward Ashe (ca.1609-1656), brother of John Ashe, an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1652; Sir Joseph Ashe, 1st Baronet (1618-1686), an English Whig politician and merchant from Somerset, Member of Parliament for Downton (1670-1681); and John Ashe (1671-1735), an English dissenting minister from Tideswell, Derbyshire. Francis Ash was a "bookseller and bookbinder of the City of Worcester, 1644-1651. The earliest mention of this bookseller is an entry in the Register of Apprenticeships, 1605-1660, at Stationers' Hall, where, under date of December 7th, 1646, it is recorded that Francis Rea, the son of Ann Rea, of Churchill, co. Worcester, had put himself apprentice to Francis Ash for seven years, the indenture bearing date January 6th, 1644. Francis Ash is said to have been a Papist, and to have done a large trade in Popish books and pictures in the West of England. " Andrew Ashe was born at Lisburn in Ireland, about the year 1759. Before he had completed his ninth year he was sent to England to an academy near Woolwich, where he remained more than three years, when his father, having experienced a reverse of fortune, was compelled to recall him to Ireland. Luckily for him, as he stood weeping with the letter in his hand, Count Bentinck, a colonel in the army, who was riding by, learning the cause of his grief, wrote to his father offering to take the boy under his protection. Ashe accompanied his patron to Minorca, where, the love for music which he had already shown at school continuing, he received instruction on the violin. He next went with the Count through Spain, Portugal, France, and Germany, and lastly to Holland, where such an education as would qualify him to become his benefactor's confidential agent in the management of his estates, was provided for him. About 1782 he returned to Ireland, where he was engaged at the concerts given at the Rotunda, Dublin.

Life In Ireland

During the 12th century many of these Norman families moved north to Scotland. Later, in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries England was ravaged by religious and political conflict. The Monarchy, the Church and Parliament fought for supremacy. In Ireland, settlers became known as the "Adventurers for Land in Ireland, "where they "undertook" to keep the Protestant faith, occupying the lands of the Irish. One of the first records of the name in Ireland was John Ash of St. Jon's near Trim in County Meath who died 29th, April 1636. He was originally from Chester. St. George Ashe (1658-1718), born in Roscommon was Bishop of Cloyne (1695), Clogher (1697) and Derry (1717). In 1890, a birth census of English families in Ireland was taken. From that census, it was estimated that there were over 986 people bearing the surname Ashe throughout Ireland; about 27 percent were living in the province of Ulster where the families were found in Antrim. In counties Meath and Kildare, they were amongst the Adventurers for land in Ireland, and the family name still prevails there and many other locations throughout Ireland.

The Great Migration

In North America, settlers bearing your surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Christopher Ash who settled in Virginia in 1623; with his wife and child; Edward Ash settled in Barbados in 1630; George Ash settled in Virginia in 1641; William Ash of Dover, New Hampshire, who settled in that state about 1655. He married in 1667; Mary Bartlett. The Ash and Ashe family also settled in Pennsylvania, California, and Massachusetts in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Motto

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

The motto for the Ash coat of arms displayed here is:

Non nobis sed omnibus

This translates as:

Not for us but for all.

The Asher Tartan

Ireland - County Antrim

Tartan