Hello Fellow Listers, Thought the this might be of interest re: the origin of the WOOD surname. It was posted sometime ago on another List. Regards, Jack Jesse Lee "Jack" WOOD,III Powell, Ohio, USA (Formerly from TX) jwood1@mindspring.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Home: Surnames: Wood Family Genealogy Forum Wood Family name Origins Posted by D. Wood on May 08, 1999 at 13:38:33: I know I have posted this before, but I get great stories and I can't resist from making this request again. Can everyone share the stories you have heard of the origins of our family name? Country, background etc. I have received information that we are Dutch, English, Irish, Scot, Norman, from Denmark, Norway, (Viking). I think I'm getting close to discovering my roots. Not! See below, It's very interesting. Thank you Donald L. Wood. THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE DISTINGUISHED SURNAME WOOD The chronicles of England, though sometimes shrouded by the mists of time, reveal the early records of the name WOOD as a Norman surname which ranks as one of the oldest. The history of the name is interwoven into the colorful fabric as an intrinsic part of the history of Britain. Careful research by professional analysts using such ancient manuscripts as the Domesday Book (compiled in 1086 by William the Conqueror), the Ragman Rolls, the Wace poem, the Honour Roll of the Battel Abbey, The Curia Regis, Pipe Rolls, the Falaise Rolls, tax records, baptismals, family genealogies, and local parish and church records, shows the first record of the name WOOD was found in Dumfriesshire where they had been seated since about 1150 after losing their previously held lands in Thorpe Arnold in Leicestershire under the Earl of Leicester. They were descended from Ernald de Vosco, a Norman knight. Many alternate spellings of the name were found. They were typically linked to a common root, usually one of the Norman nobles at the battle of Hastings. Your name, WOOD, occurred in many references, and from time to time, the surname included the spellings of WOOD, WOODS, WODE, WOULD, WOID, VOUD,VOULD, AND many more. Scribes recorded and spelled the name as it sounded. It was not unlikely that a person would be born with one spelling, married with another, and buried with a headstone which showed another. All three spellings related to the same person. Sometimes preferences for different spelling variations either came from a division of the family, or, had religious reasons, or sometimes patriotic reasons. The family name WOOD is believed to be descended originally from the Norman race. They were commonly believed to be of French origin but were, more accurately, of Viking origin. The Vikings landed in the Orkneys and Northern Scotland about the year 870 A.D., under their Chief, Stirgud the Stout. Later, under their Jarl, Thorfinn Rollo, they invaded France about 940 A.D. The French King, Charles the Simple, after Rollo laid siege to Paris, finally conceded defeat and granted northern France to Rollo. Rollo became the first Duke of Normandy, the territory of the North Men. Duke William who invaded and defeated England in 1066, was descended from the first Duke Rollo of Normandy. Duke William took a census of most of England in 1086, and recorded it in the Domesday Book. a family name capable of being traced back to this document, or to Hastings, was a signal honor for the most families during the middle ages, and even to this day. The surname WOOD emerged as a notable English family name in the county of Dumfries and later, by 1350, in Peebles. They are generally believed to be a branch of the Boyce or Bosco clan, following the train of King David into Scotland. They were the Lords of Bretuil in Normandy. By the 15th. century they had branched north to Largo, in Fifeshire and the Laird was John Wood of Largo. Both the Boyce(Bosco) and the Woods were affiliated with the Douglas Clan, and were tenants of their lands in the 14th century. They were registered as a border clan with a Chief in Peebles with Scottish Parliament in 1597. By the late 16th century their territories on the border in Peebles had expanded and they a border clan to be reckoned with. They also held lands in Lancashire and in Yorkshire, south of the border, and their main branches were at Brownhill, Swanwick, Singleton Lodge and Hollin Hall. They held estates at Freeland; Gatton Park, Surrey; Grangehaugh in Lancashire, and Potters Park in Surrey, and business in Glasgow. The latter five branches all registered with Scottish Parliament in 1672. Sir John Wood of Bonnytown was head of the clan in 1666 re-establishing the close knit nature of the clan. Of note amongst the family at this time was Sir John Wood of Bonnytown. The surname WOOD contributed much to local politics and in the affairs of England or Scotland. During the 12th century many of these Norman families moved north to Scotland, following Earl David of Huntingdon who would become King of Scotland. Later, in the 16th, 17th and 18thcenturies, England and Scotland were ravaged by religious and political conflict. The Monarchy, the Church and Parliament fought for supremacy. The unrest caused many to think of distant lands. Setters in Ireland became known as the (Adventurers for land in Ireland). They undertook to keep the protestant faith, and were granted lands previously owned by the Irish. For a clan so large very few were moved to northern Ireland, only 14 heads of families, indicating they were predominantly of the Roman Catholic religion in those times. The news of attractions of the New World spread like wildfire. Many sailed aboard the fleet of sailing ships known as the (White Sails). In North America, migrants could be considered kinsmen of the family name WOOD, or variable spellings of that same family name included Thomas Wood and his family who had settled in Virginia before the (Mayflower) in 1620 and within the next 50 years other Wood and Woods had settled in Boston, Maryland, Salem, and the Barbados, Widow Wood and her children settled in Quidi Vidi, Newfoundland in 1676. Later arrivals were recorded at Quebec. >From the port of arrival many settlers joined the wagon trains westward. During the War of Independence some declared their loyalty to the Crown and moved northward into Canada and became known as the United Empire Loyalists. Meanwhile, the family name was prominent in the social scene. There were many notables of this name, WOOD, the Earl of Halifax; Clement Wood, American writer; Grant Wood, American painter. In the process of researching this distinguished family name we also traced the most ancient grant of Coat of Arms from the branches which developed their own Arms. The most ancient grant of a Coat of Arms found was: An Oak tree, fructed on a silver background. The Crest was: An Oak Tree. The ancient family Motto for this distinguished name was: Defend.