7. THE FEWSTON ASSEMBLAGE Is the name given to the sets of skeletal remains and artefacts that had to be removed from the Fewston churchyard in 2009 and 2010 to allow the Washburn Heritage
Centre to be built. Read more…
8. ORIGIN OF THE WASHBURN VALLEY NAME AND THE WASHBURN SURNAME
There are three potential meanings for the name of the River Washburn.
The first reference to the river “Washburn” was in 1173 when
it was recorded as “Walceres burn”. This is an Anglo-Saxon name which
translates as “fuller’s stream”. It may therefore be a reference to
fulling cloth and might be connected with the medieval textile industry in the
area.
However, there is another potential meaning. The Washburn River was the
southern boundary of the ancient royal Forest of Knaresborough. Forests were
only set up after 1066 and were crown hunting lands, but this designation of
the river as a boundary may in fact be very old and stretch back to the post
Roman era, i.e. in the 5th and 6th centuries after the Romans left Britain. In
the charters of Bolton Priory and Yorkshire Inquisitions, the river
“Washburn” is called “Walchburn”. This phrase incorporates
the Anglo-Saxon word “Welsh” which refers to the peoples who were
here before the Anglo-Saxons i.e., Romano-British. The valley may have
therefore been a border area between the Anglian settlers and the
“Welsh”.
Alternatively, the name may simply derive from the Anglo-Saxon word
“Wash”, which means “a force of water”, and the Anglo-Saxon
“burn” which means a brook. In this case Washburn may just mean a
forceful stream.
THE ORIGIN OF THE WASHBURN
SURNAME
On investigating the family name “Washburn”
– there are no Washburns in the Fewston Parish registers going back to the late
1500s.
According to Wikipedia the family name originated in
Devon but then migrated to Worcestershire. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washburn
It seems that many of those with the name Washburn in
the USA are descended from John Washburn, senior, of Worcestershire who sailed
to Plymouth colony in New England in 1631.
There are a few websites which track the Washburn
ancestry from John Washburn of Worcestershire:
Wikitree https://www.wikitree.com/ links a few genealogies of the Washburn
family.
John Washborn is here https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Washburn-80
His great-grandfather John de Wassheburne of Bengeworth (died 1547) is here https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Washbourne-3
This last John Wasshebourne can also be found in the pedigree published in the 1569 Heraldic Visitation of Worcestershire https://archive.org/details/visitationcount02mundgoog/page/n157/mode/1up?q=washborne
There are also a few books freely available online which track different lines in the USA descending from the Washburns of Worcestershire:
My seven sons : the true and amazing story of the seven famous Washburn brothers, as told by the old grandsire, Israel, Sr., and transcribed by his granddaughter, Lilian Washburn
https://archive.org/details/mysevensonstruea00wash/page/n5/mode/2up or https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89062513270&view=1up&seq=9
The American ancestry of Silence Washburn, wife of Jesse Washburn and mother of Daniel Washburn, who escaped the Wyoming massacre https://archive.org/details/americanancestry00stau/page/n5/mode/2up
William Washburn of Long Island
https://archive.org/details/williamwashburno00wash/page/n5/mode/2up
Abiel Washburn and his descendants by William Lewis Washburn https://archive.org/details/abielwashburnhis00inwash/page/n7/mode/2up
The Richard Washburn family genealogy https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89062513098&view=1up&seq=11
Washburn family foundations in Normandy, England, and America
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89062009634&view=1up&seq=7
Washburn, a partial history of the family from the arrival of John Wash
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89088767348&view=1up&seq=1
Other books are free but you need to login and “borrow” the book from archive.org.
The Washburn family in America by Washburne, Brenton P. (Brenton Pomeroy),
https://archive.org/details/washburnfamilyin00wash/page/n3/mode/2up
Or https://archive.org/details/washburnfamilyin00wash
Washburn family, 1591 to 1895 https://archive.org/details/washburnfamily1500slsn/mode/2
7. THE FEWSTON ASSEMBLAGE Is the name given to the sets of skeletal remains and artefacts that had to be removed from the Fewston churchyard in 2009 and 2010 to allow the Washburn Heritage
Centre to be built. Read more…
8. ORIGIN OF THE WASHBURN VALLEY NAME AND THE WASHBURN SURNAME
There are three potential meanings for the name of the River Washburn.
The first reference to the river “Washburn” was in 1173 when
it was recorded as “Walceres burn”. This is an Anglo-Saxon name which
translates as “fuller’s stream”. It may therefore be a reference to
fulling cloth and might be connected with the medieval textile industry in the
area.
However, there is another potential meaning. The Washburn River was the
southern boundary of the ancient royal Forest of Knaresborough. Forests were
only set up after 1066 and were crown hunting lands, but this designation of
the river as a boundary may in fact be very old and stretch back to the post
Roman era, i.e. in the 5th and 6th centuries after the Romans left Britain. In
the charters of Bolton Priory and Yorkshire Inquisitions, the river
“Washburn” is called “Walchburn”. This phrase incorporates
the Anglo-Saxon word “Welsh” which refers to the peoples who were
here before the Anglo-Saxons i.e., Romano-British. The valley may have
therefore been a border area between the Anglian settlers and the
“Welsh”.
Alternatively, the name may simply derive from the Anglo-Saxon word
“Wash”, which means “a force of water”, and the Anglo-Saxon
“burn” which means a brook. In this case Washburn may just mean a
forceful stream.
THE ORIGIN OF THE WASHBURN
SURNAME
On investigating the family name “Washburn”
– there are no Washburns in the Fewston Parish registers going back to the late
1500s.
According to Wikipedia the family name originated in
Devon but then migrated to Worcestershire. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washburn
It seems that many of those with the name Washburn in
the USA are descended from John Washburn, senior, of Worcestershire who sailed
to Plymouth colony in New England in 1631.
There are a few websites which track the Washburn
ancestry from John Washburn of Worcestershire:
Wikitree https://www.wikitree.com/ links a few genealogies of the Washburn
family.
John Washborn is here https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Washburn-80
His great-grandfather John de Wassheburne of Bengeworth (died 1547) is here https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Washbourne-3
This last John Wasshebourne can also be found in the pedigree published in the 1569 Heraldic Visitation of Worcestershire https://archive.org/details/visitationcount02mundgoog/page/n157/mode/1up?q=washborne
There are also a few books freely available online which track different lines in the USA descending from the Washburns of Worcestershire:
My seven sons : the true and amazing story of the seven famous Washburn brothers, as told by the old grandsire, Israel, Sr., and transcribed by his granddaughter, Lilian Washburn
https://archive.org/details/mysevensonstruea00wash/page/n5/mode/2up or https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89062513270&view=1up&seq=9
The American ancestry of Silence Washburn, wife of Jesse Washburn and mother of Daniel Washburn, who escaped the Wyoming massacre https://archive.org/details/americanancestry00stau/page/n5/mode/2up
William Washburn of Long Island
https://archive.org/details/williamwashburno00wash/page/n5/mode/2up
Abiel Washburn and his descendants by William Lewis Washburn https://archive.org/details/abielwashburnhis00inwash/page/n7/mode/2up
The Richard Washburn family genealogy https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89062513098&view=1up&seq=11
Washburn family foundations in Normandy, England, and America
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89062009634&view=1up&seq=7
Washburn, a partial history of the family from the arrival of John Wash
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89088767348&view=1up&seq=1
Other books are free but you need to login and “borrow” the book from archive.org.
The Washburn family in America by Washburne, Brenton P. (Brenton Pomeroy),
https://archive.org/details/washburnfamilyin00wash/page/n3/mode/2up
Or https://archive.org/details/washburnfamilyin00wash
Washburn family, 1591 to 1895 https://archive.org/details/washburnfamily1500slsn/mode/2
