CONTENTS:
 |
Custom Search
Visitor Count To Date
Follow the links! This site has more than 34,079 pages with 34,079 individuals and 11,331 families and over 2152 images.
Click here for our Genealogy Names Index.
Welcome to our site.
Please checkout our Patriarchs of Hotchkiss Lines and our updated Grave Gallery features.
|
|||
| site search by freefind |
Cornelius Hotchkiss (10 Mar 1858 - 31 Mar 1930, right) and Christina Hotchkiss nee Ferguson (23 Feb 1855 - 23 Aug 1931, left) were married 31 Dec 1878, Bothkennar Parish, Carronshore, Scotland, and immigrated to the United States in 1880, eventually settling in Burlingame, Kansas, along with most of his parent's, Edward and Margaret's, descendants. Cornelius (my gg-grandfater) owned one of the large coal mines in Burlingame at that time.
______
Washington Coal Mine 1913, Burlingame, Kansas. The family of Edward Hotchkiss and Margaret Hotchkiss nee Ferguson came from Carronshore, Scotland to Burlingame, Kansas in order to start mines to supply Kansas City with coal. There they joined others, including the Washingtons, who are also documented on this site. My great-grandfather, James Washington, is among those in this picture. These men, their faces still covered in coal dust, appear to be on lunch break.
______
Carronshore home of Edward Hotchkiss & Margaret Hotchkiss nee Penman. The writing is that of Mary Washington nee Hotchkiss. Mary and very likely most of the other nine children of this family, including my gg-grandfather Cornelius, were born in this house.
______
Origin of the Hotchkiss Name
The Hotchkiss name appears to have originated in Shropshire, England during the Norman times. The history of the Hochkys (later Hotchkiss) surname weaves together linguistic evolution, medieval spelling conventions, and connections to important religious sites, all centered around a piece of family land known as "Holy Cross Wood."
Originally, the land was referred to as HoXwode, with the X serving as a medieval scribal abbreviation for "Cross" or "Christ." The Chapel of Holy Cross was likely located in or near the wood which extended across the family's holdings in Northwode. Over time, the name of the land shifted, moving from "Holy Cross Wood" to "Hawkes Wode," reflecting both linguistic drift and pronunciation changes.
Ownership of the land eventually passed to a man named Roger of Hawkeswood. The name Rodgers itself originated from those who went to war armed only with a rod. In early times, when men were called to war, their society came with them. Their officers were the same lords and knights who ruled them in peace time, and when the lords were called to bring their men, they brought all their men who could carry a weapon, from young teens to old men. If a battle were lost, the village could be without men. When the men were called, they brought their own weapons. If they had armor or a shield, or a horse, they brought them. If they had no weapon, they were told to go into the "forest" and cut a rod to make a weapon, such as a spear, pike, staff, or bow and arrow. These were the rodgers. In addition, at that time in England, men were also required to practice daily with the longbow.
In Old French Norman, Roger would have been pronounced "Hrodgé" with "Hr" representing a Parisian "R" sound. This sound was difficult for Anglo-Saxons to pronounce, causing it to soften into something closer to an "H."
Roger, as a personal name, developed the diminutive form "Hodge," which became a popular pet name, so that alternatively, you get to the same place with "Hodge's Wood."
Once Roger owned the woods, it would have been called "Roger's Wood," or in the likely Old French Norman pronunciation, "Hrodgé'ss Wod," with a deliberate double "s" to preserve the final "s" sound, something that French pronunciation often dropped, or Hodge's wood if you like.
Additionally, the -ys or -is suffixes in medieval naming practices served both as diminutives and possessives. In many surnames originating from Norman, like Atkiss, Tompkiss, and Watkiss, endings "Kiss" or "Kins" were used to mean "son of".
The first recorded reference to the name appears in Norman Church Latin as "Johannis filius Rogeri Hochkys" or " John, son of Roger Hochkys"
Adding even stronger confirmation to the theory, historical records mention Thomas Hochekys of Monks' Foriet in Salop (modern-day Shropshire). Thomas served as a keeper of the Church of Holy Cross and the Chapel of St. Giles in the Foriet. His association with "Holy Cross" solidifies the familial and place-based connections underlying the surname's origin. I would suggest that the name "Church of Holy Cross and the Chapel of St. Giles in the Foriet" likely disappeared during the Reformation, but "St Giles Ter, Bridgnorth, UK" is 6 miles from "Hawkswood House, Billingsley, Bridgnorth".
Through the careful tracing of land names, linguistic transitions, and historical roles, the evolution of "HoXwode" to "Hochkys" emerges as not just plausible, but deeply rooted in the real social and linguistic transformations of medieval England.
______
Origin of Related Names
As the Hotchkiss name spread across counties, borders, and accents, it began to shift in surprising ways. Some variants were accidental and temporary, others became distinct branches — all rooted in the same family tree.
Hodgecase
My line of the Hotchkiss family appears to have arrived in the area near Carronshore in the mid-1700's, as the earliest Scottish Hotchkiss in our line, Cornelius (23 Apr 1739 - 28 Apr 1789), was born in Madeley, Shropshire, England, and died in Airth Parish, Stirlingshire, Scotland, where he had been a coal miner. One theory is that he and his family came to Scotland to help improve the mining methods there, after the British conquest in 1746.
Tom Paterson's site used the following extract from an article by Hamilton on the Scottish Mining website regarding the start up of Carron Iron Works, founded in 1759:
A beginning was made in securing skilled men in June, 1759, when Dr. Roebuck engaged "a clever founder or furnaceman who was used to working with pit coal as well as wood fuel." His wages were to be 50 pounds a year. As soon as this expert was definitely engaged, the bellows for the blast furnace were to be ordered and an experienced man was to be sent to supervise the building of them. "A set of masons and bricklayers and millwrights and bellows makers" who were in the habit of working for all the experienced ironmasters of England were next secured. These experts undertook to teach Scots, and so it was hoped that after the first furnace was built, English labour might be dispensed with.It was likewise necessary to engage English experts to take charge of the smelting operations. In June, 1759, Roebuck provisionally engaged a skilled furnaceman. This man, who was one of the principal workmen at Coalbrookdale, set out for Scotland in September. Soon more men were engaged with whom an agreement was made to teach Scots.
At the beginning of 1760 Garbett engaged one Robert Hawkins, a relative of the Darbys of Coalbrookdale, whose family had a long connection with furnaces in England. He was a very valuable acquisition to the Carron staff and was to receive a salary of 100 pounds per year, his task being to teach Scotsmen the art of boring cylinders and grinding sad irons. Garbett hoped to secure the services of another highly skilled expert - the man who had charge of the cylinder and engine department at Coalbrookdale. In March a skilled charcoal burner and various other workers were brought from England, and in May several ironstone miners were secured in Shropshire.
The Carron partners had also to look to England for most of their building materials. The hearth stones, a shaft for the water wheel, the boards and leather for the bellows and the necessary ironplates for a furnace were ordered in July, 1759, and it was hoped to have them shipped from Bristol by the end of August. But these hopes were not to be fulfilled. The materials which had been purchased could not be sent down the Severn on account of the drought while the greatest difficulty was experienced in securing a tree of sufficient dimensions for the axle shaft though three men had been employed nearly two months to look out and purchase them. By the beginning of October Garbett was able to announce that he had at last secured the shaft and the other necessary timber, though the former which they hoped would have been 27 feet long and 30 inches in diameter, fell short of these requirements. The goods were probably despatched from Bristol in the same month, but the ship was lost at sea, and so all the labour of Garbett went in vain; and in March, 1760, a man was sent to Yorkshire to procure another set of bellows boards. In the meantime other materials were purchased - 20,000 Stourbridge bricks, 100 tons Stourbridge clay, 20 tons pig iron from Coalbrookdale, 30 tons of the best pig iron from Madeley Wood, and 10 tons of timber. These goods were sent down the Severn from Bewdley and shipped from Bristol in February. Further supplies of timber were purchased in Yorkshire, and these with pots for making bricks, baskets, shovels, etc., were despatched from Hull. More timber and iron were obtained in Norway and from Gothenburg.
On arriving in Airth, the local priest apparently had not previously heard the name, and wrote it as he thought he heard it, as "Hodgecase". Remember that most people didn't write at this time, and the priests kept most of the records. This spelling seems to have only lasted about as long as that priest, before it reverted to the more normal spelling of "Hotchkiss". This phenomenon has resulted in many different spellings for the name which are pronounced about the same.
Hopkis
I have recently discovered that Hopkis appears to be a variant of Hotchkiss, where at least initially people would misread the old text "tch", where the first two letters were scrunched together, and the "h" comes down in a tail as a "p." It may have been that some local accents also preferred to replace the sound with a "p". Some earlier records, within about 5 miles of Hawkeswood or Hotchkiswood, actually refer to Hopkis of Hopkiswood. All of these records are now included in the tree, where they fit nicely—with ongoing entries through later centuries. Most recently, I have identified Archdeacon David Hopton of Exeter (d. 1492), listed under surname variant Hopkins with Church alias Hopton, as definitly a Hotchkiss/Hoskins family member—brother of Sir John Hotchkiss—whose clerical role likely influenced later family settlement in the West Country. This connection may explain why Beaminster, where David held a prebend, later became a major hub for the Hoskins family, with over 80 individuals from the extended line recorded there.
Hodgkins and Hodgkiss
Hodgkins and Hodgkiss are basically the same as Hotchkins or Hotchkiss. It's just a preferred spelling and slightly softer sound used in some of the counties just northwest of London.
Huskie
The surname Huskie originates with a distinct line of the Hotchkiss family that settled in Scotland in the mid-1700s. Though once believed to be part of another Hotchkiss line, later records confirm it descends from Emanuel Hotchkiss, a coalminer born in 1750 in Madeley, Shropshire. Emanuel migrated to Airth, Stirlingshire, around 1760, likely alongside other Hotchkiss relatives. A church court record from 1773 documents an incident involving Janet Penman, resulting in the birth of twin sons — one of whom, John (b. 1773), would carry forward the Huskie name in Scotland. The variant spelling Huskie likely emerged due to Scottish pronunciation patterns, which often softened or dropped final consonants. Over time, John's descendants continued the line under this new spelling, with the name Emanuel also recurring in tribute to their forebear. Meanwhile, Emanuel himself appears to have returned to England, settling in Deane by Bolton, Lancashire, where he married a woman named Ellen and had five daughters. While its beginnings were unusual, the Huskie name represents a resilient and independent branch of the broader Hotchkiss family — one that established deep roots in Stirlingshire and beyond.
Hoskins
There is one name, written as either Hoskins or Hoskis, which appears to actually be the same name as Hotchkiss, but pronounced differently under some of the old accents in London and elsewhere. This has led to some confusion. It was so prominent in fact that I was able to go back and work all the early occurrences, through 1570 so far, of Hoskins into the Hotchkiss tree. These are definitely the same name. I have fit in the earlier knightly records and found well to do Hotchkisses who seem to have retired to the south coast and registered their wills there, for instance Sir Thomas Hotchkiss abt 1460 - 1554 my own 15-great grandfather. The Hoskins name does not represent a separate branch, but rather a consistent re-spelling of Hotchkiss as family members moved beyond the Shropshire Marches. It likely reflects a conscious choice — an adaptation to southern and urban pronunciation habits. In effect, the family unified these mispronunciations under a new spelling to maintain identity in areas where "Hotchkiss" was difficult to say or write. While I looked in various places to see if there is any early genealogy published by the Hoskins line. So far, I found two things:
1. Historical Connection to Wales: A writeup describing Hoskins history, which refers to a relationship to Wales, which we know exists in that the Hotchkiss family was involved in the Marcher castles on the Welsh border and in the relationship to ap_Engion or Benyon, a royal Welsh line with the following Hotchkiss marriages: John Hotchkiss 1607 of the Whitchurch line, Katherina Hotchkiss 1577, John Hotchkiss of Tussingham 1590, and Samuel Hotchkiss Gent. 1652 of the Whitchurch line. and
2. Genealogical Charts (FamilySearch / WikiTree): There is a discovery person page in the Morman site, www.familysearch.com and some work on www.wikitree.com. This seems interesting except many of the source records and dates are very vague. The main source seems to be a chart from a visitation of 1683 for Hoskyns of Harwood. I have found the initial people from this chart on my tree, although the dates are quite different.
As part of my ongoing work, I have reviewed and incorporated all Hoskins records available to me up through the year 1570, and many much later, tracing their connections to the broader Hotchkiss family. If you are researching the Hoskins line, I invite you to explore these records and compare them to your own findings. If you’re aware of any additional early records or have corrections or insights to share, I would greatly appreciate hearing from you.
Hawkesworth
When Hugh le Mon de Hokswod's grandson Adam Hotchkiss de Haukesgarth made his way to York, he hadn’t yet adopted the Hotchkiss name. Instead, he used "de Hawkeswood" — which the scribes of York stylized into a variety of poetic woodland names:
Haukesgarth – "hawk’s protected grove"
Haukeswell – "hawk’s woodland spring"
Hawkesworth – "hawk’s wooded farmstead"
Hawkeswold – "hawk’s windy wood": open, highland woodland — chilly, windswept, and exactly where you’d expect a hawk to rule the skies.
These weren’t just pretty names. Adam was a cutler, and the next few generations earned their place as Freemen of York — mercers, weavers, merchants, all respected in their guilds. This branch didn’t chase titles — they built their legacy with skill, trade, and a sharp eye for opportunity.
Hodgkinson
This surname didn’t start with a declaration — it likely started with a shrug and a scribe asking, “What’s your father’s name?” Somewhere in Yorkshire, Richard Hotchkiss / Hodgkinson of Bishpthorpe, a wealthy shipman and chapman (a type of traveling merchant), introduced himself, and the clerk recorded his name simply as Hotchkisson. No one made a fuss. But over the next few generations, the spelling softened, shortened, and eventually became Hodgkinson — a whole new surname.
Richard’s son John followed in his father’s footsteps as a chapman and corn trader. His five sons took up similar trades, but after Richard’s death, the younger three returned south to London as merchants, while the older two continued trading on the road. Hodgkinsons would go on to be found all over — especially in records tied to trade, guilds, and merchant ventures. They weren’t knights or nobles, but they were sharp, savvy, and always on the move.
Hankeford / Haukeford
A regional and scribal variant of Hawkins, found in Devon and Wiltshire during the 14th–15th centuries. It likely arose from clerks misreading “wk” as “nk” and adapting suffixes to fit Anglo-Norman norms—errors that became fixed in knighthood and legal records for Sir Richard Hawkins/Hankeford and Sir William Hawkins/Hankeford.
These forms appear only with their direct descendants, especially in connection with estates like Annery and Milton Damerel. The variant faded after the extinction of these male lines, with properties passing to other Hawkins kin or through female heirs with different surnames.
Despite the altered spelling, Hankeford and Haukeford are not separate surnames but reflect the same family line. Researchers should treat them as interchangeable with Hawkins in this context.
Hawkins
The Hawkins name is essentially Hoskins, just without the first "s" sound. This sounds much like Hokeswode, one of the early versions of the name of the Hawkeswood manor.
Short Summary Documentary Film: "Hawkins - The Spanish Armada, The British Navy: from longships to ...".
Short Summary Documentary Film: "HAWKINS, Sir John. Two manuscript estate indentures...1582 ...".
Short Summary Documentary Film: "Hawkins - QUEEN ELIZABETH I & THE SLAVE TRADE - hardly a golden age!".
I researched the Hawkins family and discovered the early portion of their lineage was cloaked in controversy. There was an attempt to claim an Osbert de Haveringes, who lived in the time of Henry II (1154–1189), and had held the manor of Hawkinge under the Baron of Averenches, but whose line had died out. They pushed him forward by several centuries — or invented entirely new descendants — to claim he fathered Andrew, the first Hawkins listed in the 1619 Visitation of Kent. People even tried to claim this visitation document was not authoritative. After piecing together their entire line from that visitation and numerous online genealogies and records, I discovered everything held on how the family manor, Nash Court, part of Hawkinge, came into their possession. That trail leads to the next owners of Hawkinge, the de Fleghs — whom I believe to be John de Northwod, de Hoxwode, "de Fleg" [~1225 - <1310], also the grandfather of Roger, the first Hotchkiss and his son William de Hokeswod, "de Flegh" [~1245 - ]. Of course they didn't make this trip alone. They were probably accompanied by retainers and their cousins the FitzPaens. As to how this could have come about, I have detailed in the following theory: 'Origins of the Hawkins Family at Nash Court, Kent'. This means that Andrew Hawkins [abt 1270 - bef 3 Jul 1320] would now have his ancestry and descendants detailed as coming from the same line as Hotchkiss.
The Three Hawkins Branches
The Hawkins family is like a pirate's three cornered hat — sturdy, weathered, and stretched across some of England’s most storied corners. All three lines come from the same big family back in the 1200s, but they quickly spread out — to Kent, Devon, and the trade routes to York, each creating their own spot in the world.
1. The Hawkins Kent Line — Lords, Lawyers, and a Family Manor
This branch began when John Hawkins, "de Fleg" [~1225 - <1310] and William Hawkins, "de Flegh" [~1245 - ] were trusted to manage the transfer of the manor of Hawkinge on behalf of Dover Castle. Over the course of twenty years, they readied it for donation to the Church. In return, they retained Nash Court, which became the Hawkins family seat. This line was recorded in the 1619 Visitation of Kent, which means it included some powerful knights and nobles. All of these were descended from Andrew Hawkins [abt 1270 - 1320].
2. The Hawkins Devon Line — Knights, Courts, and Privateers.
Two of the least-known Hawkins knights in Kent, who happened to be at the very start of the visitation of Kent chart: Sir Richard of Whitstable in Kent & Milton Damerel in Devon [~1332 - ~1400] and his nephew Sir William, King's Sergeant & Justice of the King's Bench [~1370 - 1422] were hidden in plain sight as they were assigned in Devonshire and their names there were recorded as Hankeford or Haukeford, which it seems was the Devonshire version of Hawkins with the "w" miscopied as an "n". Both men married and had a son, but neither son lived to pass on the family name. With both widows and sons deceased, the properties fell into legal limbo and landed in probate court — not in Devon, oddly, but Wiltshire. Eventually, after years of court wrangling and waiting for heirs to come of age, the estate passed to William Hawkins [~1420 - ~1483], who quickly died and left it to his son Captain John Hawkins Esq., Father of a Privateer Dynasty, [later Vicar 1501–1506] [~1454 - ~1506]. This line includes many interesting people, such as Captain William Hawkins, MP, of Tavistock [abt 1485 - abt 1555], privateer, pioneering merchant and member of Parliament. His son was Sir Admiral John Hawkins [abt 1532 - 1595], who with his 2nd cousin, Sir Francis Drake, as privateers, brought England into the slave trade, and as Admiral modernized the British Navy for the fight with the Spanish Armada. Four generations of this family were sea captains and took part in defeating the Spanish Armada, organizing the English Navy and unfortunately pioneering the slave trade. Many were knighted and were friends of the King and Queen.
3. The Hawkins Merchant Line — York and the Long Road North
While the Kent and Devon Hawkins families focused on titles and property, Stephen Hawkins [abt 1280 - 1350] and his descendants took to the roads and rivers. They headed north to York, embracing life as shipmen, merchants, goldsmiths, butchers, and even bailiffs to the King. These Hawkinses spread out along the trade routes between York and London, gaining freedom of the city and recognition in various guilds. Some even stylized their names — a very York-ish tradition — but the core remained the same: practical, proud, and deeply tied to their family roots.
Scribal Naming of Manor Servants and Kin-Retainers
The practice of manorial inheritance by the eldest son left a place for other sons and daughters or maybe cousins and nephews, who wanted to stay with the family. These people became the trusted right hand of the heir - their man or woman. Occasionally, this may also have been a close friend or servant who became trusted over a lifetime of service. During the late medieval and early Tudor periods, scribes seem to have developed a way of denoting this, through a straight forward formula for their surname records. I'm reconstructing this, rather than reading it from an instruction manual, but initially, it seemed to be create an abbreviation for the owners name by taking the first two letters plus one more characteristic of how they thought the first syllable of the name sounded, and follow by an abbreviated form with 2 letters of the second syllable. Then follow it by the suffix -man. For example Hotchkiss and Hawkins might become Ha-w-ks-man or Ha-c-ks-man. This was later expanded to allow more complete first syllables, like Hodge-man or Hotch-man. We gained a few extras from the modern transcribers who had trouble reading secretary hand. For instance, when writing "Ha" with a quill, it seems that many scribes didn't manage to get the ink flowing well for the initial circular part of the "a", and the modern transcribers only picked out the line on the right side. Thus, current transcriptions often say Hicks instead of Haks or Hawks.
These names were typically assigned to younger sons, daughters, or close relatives who remained with the family estate, often managing property or serving as stewards while the principal heir or patriarch was away. These names could persist for a generation or more and, in some cases, became stable surnames over time. They offer a rare glimpse into how landed families operated and how younger kin maintained a place in the world, not through inheritance, but through enduring service.
So far in my research I have found very little need to look at some of the very closely related English names, such as Hodges. These may have had a common origin, but appear to have remained separate, for the most part, since early times. I've found a few examples, which appear to have been mis-recorded, such as where only one normally appears in a parish, but then the other appears once, with the same names which are otherwise reported as Hotchkiss. Sometimes, on finding the actual image, the writing was such that it was hard to tell the difference, and the original transcriber appears to have got it wrong.
______
Image of Holdgate Castle from CastleFacts.info, one of the earlier sites where we find one of our ancestors.
A word about the older genealogy records on this site.
I've now included all of the available records that I have going back from 1640's all the way to the 1200's, and even before that, when the name didn't exist yet, and fit them into the family tree. It should be noted that the records before 1600 are somewhat different than those which came after. Prior to Queen Elizabeth and King James, the church was not required to keep records and often didn't. It did so more often for the gentry. When it did, they were not as helpful. For example, there are many baptismal records with only the child's name. If the parents were recorded, they might include only the father. Even a marriage record might include only the husband's name. Thus putting them together is much more like putting together a jigsaw puzzle and much less a sure thing. None the less I have gone under the assumption that most people managed to get recorded at least once in their life, and used all of the clues available, such as proximity to put them together into a family tree. When you get into the 1400's and earlier, you leave parish records behind altogether, and have only various legal documents, such as deeds to look at, which allows you only to look at what is presented and guess at the rest. When we get to this time, we sometimes have a parent-child relationship and other times, the best we can do is to just have a person representing that generation. I find that putting all the records together makes them much more accurate and useful, than looking at them separately, as you quickly find that if you put them together wrong, the next record will often force you to move the incorrect one to a better place. Thus I have managed to put all the records prior to 1640 together and for the first time united them all into a single tree. They all fit and go back to around 1280. Please take this with a grain of salt. There may be records missing which could change things around. I'm sure as I make more passes through the records, I will find those which have been misplaced. Two John's may have their death dates or even their wives mixed up. Certainly, those children baptized without their parents listed may be with the wrong parent, even though I've tried to pick those parents shown to be living in the correct location and having children at the correct time. It is a bit of a fantasy, complete with knights, and clergy, and other gentry. There is even a great mystery involving Richard III. Enjoy.
______
Mystery of the Hotchkiss Arms
The Arms of Hotchkis are given as—"Party per pale gules and azure, a chevron engrailed or between three lions rampant argent."
The Crest is "a cock's head erases or between two wings displ. pellettee."
The Arms presented in 1663 were not allowed, being said to be the Arms of Hoskins. All turned out well, as those rejected had been the great-great grandson's.
The Hotchkiss arms were also presented in the 1663 visitation and rejected as belonging to Hoskins. This didn't actually make them invalid as it turns out that they actually presented the newer arms of the great-great grandson of the original knight, and all was straightened out as I verified. The presentation stated that they were from a Hotchkiss knight dubbed by King Richard III, and came down by the standard rules along with the manor. So far I've only found one Hotchkiss, John Hotchkiss of Pulverbatch, recorded as being alive during Richard III (reign Jul 1483 to Aug 1485), although I've also now found two brothers who could have been as well. Now it should be noted that arms are passed down father to son, and there is only one son who is entitled to the arms under hereditary rules. However, if other relatives are also knighted, their arms are usually created from those of their ancestor knight but with some minor change, such as to the crest in this case.
Property Ownership in the Medieval and Early Modern Period
In feudal society, land ownership was the foundation of wealth, influence, and noble identity. Estates were often held through complex layers of feoffment, where vassals held land from lords in exchange for service, and in turn granted portions to their own subtenants. Families like the Baskervilles, Hotchkiss, and Hawkins acquired property through inheritance, royal favor, marriage alliances, or military service—especially in the volatile Marches. A noble house's status was tied not just to the land it held, but to the continuity of that ownership across generations. The table below reflects these dynamics, tracing the layered control and enduring value of key estates from the 12th to 17th century.
Feudal Property Ownership Table for de Baskerville, de Northwode, Hotchkiss and Hawkins
I've now traced Hochkyswood Manor back to Roger Hochkys, father of John Hochkys in a document dated 1328. Note that at the time, especially prior to 1600, "y" was often used in place of "i" especially for the last "i" in a name, even though there were no real spelling rules and certainly no standard spellings for names.
We go through several generations, some of whom were residents of castles and participating in keeping the peace in the Marches. Some were recorded giving away tracts of land. Please note that the Barons, who were the Marcher Lords had the power and duty to dub knights, and I doubt the records for all of these exist.
______
The Four Main Hotchkiss Family Branches after Sir John Hotchkiss of Pulverbatch (b. abt. 1440)
Eventually we get to John Hotchkiss of Pulverbatch (abt. 1440 to after 1506). This John lived during the reign of Richard III. This John's wife Margaret was daughter and heir of Thomas Heynes of Wyldyrley, and is recorded giving land in Castle Pulverbatch to one of her sons in 1506. In 1515 John received a pardon from the King. Could this have been for fighting on the losing side under Richard III in the War of the Roses? Please note that the supposedly complete listing of Knights of England makes a reference to Richard III knighting many more gentlemen without naming them.
Short Summary Documentary Film: "War of the Roses".
Series of Short Films: "Who Was Richard III".
Richard III Documentary (last battle, skeleton found) "The Last English King to Die in Battle".
John Hotchkiss of Pulverbatch had a son Roger (b. abt 1480). Roger had a son John Hotchkiss of Goze Bradeley abt 1512-1557. John Hotchkiss of Goze Bradeley had a son Roger Hotchkiss (abt 1533 - Feb 1573). Roger had a son William Hotchkiss of Hawkeswood abt 1556 to after 1608, apparently born in London as Hodgkins. William Hotchkiss of Hawkeswood (or Hocheswood) was incorrectly said to have married Jane Bromely, widow of Sir George Bromely, knight and chief justice of Chester, and daughter and heir of John Wannerton, esq, of Wannerton. However this was actually the cause of a messup in recording of the line owning Hawkeswood, because what really happened is that the true owners of Hawkeswood rented out the manor while spending most of their time in London after John Hotchkiss of Pulverbatch was knighted and the succession of both the knighthood and the manor followed the same people. Thus Jane Bromely became acting lady of the manor of Hocheswood by rental from the Hotchkiss family. It appears the wife of William Hotchkiss was in fact Jane Northwood of Northwood, Shropshire, a neighboring manor, as Norman/English gentry seemed to like to use the names of their estates for surnames. William Hotchkiss's son Richard (abt 1595-1645) was also born in London as Hodskyns. It seems that people in London were recording the name as Hoskyns or some varient, as Hotchkiss to this point was mostly used in the Marches of Shropshire. I've documented several cases of Shropshire Hotchkiss sons in London, doing things like going to Oxford, and recorded as some spelling of Hoskyns. Richard had a son George (b.abt 1625). George was present for the 1663 visitation of Shropshire and most likely presented the Hotchkiss pedigree chart found there.
The branches stemming from Sir John Hotchkiss of Pulverbatch reflect a larger historical transition — from medieval feudal structures to the emerging forces of industrialization and global commerce. While one branch maintained estate coordination in traditional roles, others adapted to the rise of guilds, early industrial enterprise, and transatlantic expansion. What begins with landed knighthood evolves into wool merchants, innkeepers, London tradesmen, and global innovators. This chart not only tracks family descent, but marks the gradual shift from feudal obligation to professional identity — a transformation mirrored throughout English society.
______
The Hoskins Arms
The Arms of Hoskins (Oxted, co.Surrey) are given as—"Per pale gules and azure, a chevron engrailed or between three lions rampant argent."
The Crest is "a cock's head erased or, pellettee, combed and wattled gules between two wings expanded of the first.
Motto from North Perrott Manor, Sommerset Arms: "Finem Respice" (Look at the End)
The earliest Hoskyns with similar arms was knighted in 1605 at Windsor Castle and was Sir Thomas Hoskins of Oxted, Surrey, which is just south of London. The only reasonable christening I could find for him was 11 September 1562 in London, which does not show parents. Sir Thomas had 8 children with Dorothy Aldersey from 1602 to 1618. The only difference between his arms and the Hotchkiss arms is a slight change to the crest, where the cock's head and wings are treated differently. Sir Thomas's pedigree was recorded in the 1623 visitation of Surrey. Sir Thomas apparently died in 1615 and the pedigree was given by two nieces. They gave his parents and grandparents, but the grandparents were very vague. Also an "Inhabitants Of London & Family Units" Census/Survey was filled out by his father in 1550 and seems to have somehow gotten all the information included up until 1601. I started with the earliest available Hoskins records, and eventually worked them into the Hotchkiss tree. This provided the actual records for his family and shows that he is in fact the great-great granson of the earlier Hotchkiss knight.
______
.png)
The Hodgkis of Amphil Shield
The Arms of Hodgkis of Amphil are reported in the Visitation of Bedfordshire as-"Sable, a chevron or between three giffin's heads erased aregent." The crest is recorded as "A cubit arm erect in a coat of mail argent, garnished or, holding in the hand proper a griffin's head erased of the second, beaked azure." I couldn't find this image for sale, so I used a tool to create the shield, but could not find one for the crest.
The earliest Hotchkiss given in the visitation was Sir William Hodgkis of Petton This line is also known as Hotchkiss of Whitchurch and is the line which leads to the early US imigrant to New Haven, Connecticut, Samuel Hotchkiss from which so many in the United States are decended. I'm not sure who the original knight for this line was and would like to find that history. However, it also appears to go back to the same original Hotchkiss knight, Sir John Hotchkiss of Pulverbatch, as perhaps his grandson, which would be Sir William Hodgkis of Petton.
______
Example Museum of London image of a different but possibly similar diamond ring dated 1501 AD - 1625 AD from the "Cheapside London Hoard"".
Mystery of the Lord Mayor's Ring
There is also a story from the will of Margaret Hart Hotchkiss dated 3 Apr 1875, later in this same line, of a ring given by Richard I to a relative of the family (not necessarily a Hotchkiss and it could have been from the Harts) who was Lord Mayor of London, and was also being passed down the male line of the family. As there was only one Lord Mayor during Richard I, this would have been Henry FitzAilwin, who was not Norman, despite the name. However, if she actually meant Richard III, there would have been a bit more choice including Sir Thomas Hill, who was said to have dined with the King, shortly before dying of the plague, and who’s father appears to be from Hodnet, Shropshire and his mother from Malpas, Cheshire, both of which are near locations which relate to the Hotchkiss family. It should be noted that Lord Mayors are also commonly knighted.
______
Hochkyswood or Hokeswode or Hawkeswood - near Sidbury (sometimes called Sudbury), in Shropshire, England (This picture from Stuart Hotchkiss, VP of the Hotchkiss Family Association). The oldest Hotchkiss record found so far concerns this manor which belonged to what may be our oldest known common ancestor, Roger Hochkys. This story reminds me of Miss Havisham in Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. Hochkyswood was once the manor house under another Hotchkiss line, which split from my own with the sons of Sir John Hotchkiss of Pulverbatch (1440 - 1506), which line came to Scotland in the mid-1700's. Note that Scotland finally formally united with England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain on May 1, 1707, through the Acts of Union. After the Jacobite Rebellions and the defeat of "Bonnie Prince Charlie" at Culloden in 1746, which I was surprised to learn the English label as entirely peaceful, apparently many English came to Scotland for various reasons. There seem to have been 3 separate Hotchkiss lines which made such a migration: Two, those of my own ancestor Cornelius Hotchkiss/Hodgecase of Madeley (1739 - 1789) and Emanuel Hotchkiss of Madeley (1750 - >1803) came from the coal mines of Madeley. James Hotchkiss of Hawkeswood, and of Sudbury (1715 - 1786) apparently sold the estate and moved to Edinburgh, as writer signat to the King, where in 1751, he married Elizabeth Cleghorn, the daughter of a wealthy brewer. There the "Roll of Edinburgh Burgesses and Guild Brethren, 1761-1841" from the Scottish Record Society, shows that on 27 June 1769, he was a merchant and brewer, a burgess of Edinburgh and Guild Brother in or by right of his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Cleghorn, merchant, burgess of Edinburgh and Guild Brother. James Hotchkiss' sons John and Thomas also carried on this profession. There was a family diamond ring in this line said to be given by King Richard the 1st to one of the Family who was "Lord Mair" of London. This was last recorded as given in the will of Margaret Hotchkiss nee Hart, the wife of James Hotchkiss, Esq. to their son Dr. Richard James Hotchkiss in 1876 "to go down in straight male line".
The oldest records from our forebear Roger Hotchkiss of Hawkeswood, first of the surname Hotchkiss and his ancestors, the de Northwoods, listed the name of the Hawkeswood manor as Hokeswod (1280) and Hoxwode (1310). Roger's name is the first given as Hochkys, which seems very similar to Hokes of Hokeswod. His father Hugh le Mon de Hokswod and his grandfather John fitz Nicholas de Northwod et de Hoxwode both were referred to as "de Hoxwode" at least some of the time, but his great-grandfather Nicholas de Northwod always appeared as "de Northwod".
______
de Baskerville Arms - Eardisley Castle, County Heriford, of Norman origin, settled in Herefordshire soon after the conquest.
Shield: Argent (silver) a Chevron gules (red) between three hurts (blue roundels).
Crest: A wolf's head erased (torn off) argent (silver) holding in its mouth a broken spear, staff or (gold), head argent (silver) imbrued gu (red).
Motto: "Spero ut fidelis" (I hope to be faithful).
______
Famous Baskerville movie: "Sherlock Holmes - The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)".
Documentary on Hastings: "1066: Why The Battle Of Hastings Is So Important | Line of Fire | Chronicle".
Of Two Great Women: de Baskerville to Northwode to Hotchkiss
Northwode is not named after the famous Northwood family of Kent and near London. Rather, it seems to be a reference to the famous forest which separated Wales from the Marches, and perhaps that this portion in Shropshire was north of the portion in Herefordshire, where its earlier owners lived. This woods was described in early writing as impenetrable, with tall oak trees and thick undergrowth, perhaps such as the hedgerows common there now and with the addition thorns and vines, which required a great amount of work to cut paths through. However, the current forests there look overworked and sparse, and most of the ground is sheep meadows.
Nicholas de Northwod's parents were Walter de Baskerville, Lord of both Vills, Eardisley & Pickthorn and his 2nd Cousin Ysolda de Northwode and de Baskerville. Ysolda's parents were Sir Ralph de Baskerville, lord of Eardisley by marriage to Sybil De Braose. Now Sybil was the heir to not just Eardisley, but all of Northwode in Shropshire, including Pickthorn. This is the earliest that a de Baskerville seems to have actually came to be Lord of Eardisley, although it is possible that they may have been knights here earlier under the de Lacy family, giving them a feeling of belonging to this place. However, it couldn't have been much earlier as it would appear that the Welsh were still fighting against it under De Braose before then. Sir Ralph may have initially held Eardisley under Adam de Port who was Sybil's later husband after she was widowed. Sybil had previously been married to Sir William de Ferrers 3rd Earl of Derby, whose death date had also been given separately as 1189. However, I am guessing they either mis-transcribed 1179 as 1189 or picked up the date from her marriage to Adam de Port, as Sir William de Ferrers had six children with Sybil from 1166 to 1176, and then nothing until his death, meaning Sir William de Ferrers was not available for making children during that time. As it turns out, Sir William de Ferrers died in the Crusades, so this would represent when he was gone to the Crusades, which were in the period where Saladin was uniting the Muslims and beginning to make progress against the Kingdom of Jerusalem and King Baldwin IV, resulting in many casualties.
Documentary The Leper King: "The Leper King | Defender of Jerusalem | Baldwin IV".
Sybil would have had to marry Sir Ralph by at least early 1180 for Thomas to be of age in 1201. Accepting this makes Thomas the oldest of the six by Sir Ralph and sets the rest of the births within very narrow ranges, in order for them to have their children when they did. Since Sir Ralph de Baskerville held a knights fee in 1165 of Adam de Port, in Eardisley, and was apparently loyal to him and likely a friend, I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that he may have decided to help Sybil and her family, leading to her receiving his inheritance as well. It is interesting that we never hear her children by Sir William de Ferrers mentioned with her name after his death. I'll number Sybil's de Baskerville children by birth order here, to help keep track:
Their son, (1)Thomas de Baskerville, at the age of 10 witnessed the murder of his father Sir Ralph and upon coming of age challenged the killer to a dual and became Lord of Pickthorn after avenging his his father's death at the hand of Roger Fitz William.
After Sir Ralph was killed, Eardisley apparently passed on to his remaining sons, (3)Sir Walter de Baskerville and (4)Sir Roger de Baskerville when they became of age.
Another son, (5)Sir Robert de Baskerville, married Agnes verch Owain, daughter of Nesta verch Rhys, daughter of Rhys ap Gryfudd, Prince of South Wales. This marriage caused many de Baskerville genealogists to become confused, citing many with similar names as wives of earlier de Baskervilles, apparently attempting to extend backward their recorded tenure as lords of Eardisley. By this I would guess that he may have also stayed at Eardisley.
Coming to their daughters, (6)Nesta was married to Howell fitz Adam though they appear to have had no children. Her father Sir Ralph is said to have enfeoffed her in Lawton before his decease. In 1211 we accordingly find Nesta de Baskerville among the Tenants of Shropshire Serjeantries. Her duty was to provide one serving-man with a lance for the King's army of Wales.
This leaves (2)Ysolda, the most important to the Hotchkiss family, for last. Her husband Walter, apparently held rights to the above lands through his wife. It appears that as the second born of Sybil her mother, she retained a good portion of Northwode. I infer from the deeds recorded that much of the land left as dowers or inheritance for women was held to be used for rental income, should they outlive their husbands. Ysolda passed these lands on through various deeds to their children, calling them de Northwode, as she did so. This included Nicholas de Northwode. For some reason, those reviewing these deeds have said that these de Northwode's receiving the lands were various unrelated persons, and the original de Baskervilles slowly disappeared. However, this looks in the face of the very obvious traditions of the Norman and Frank forebears of the de Baskervilles, who always divided their lands among their children, and actually have a long history of even fighting wars over the results.
Walter and his family were also occasionally known as Botterell. After a bit of study, I believe I can say that this in fact was not a reference to the famous family of that name, but rather to the fact that they actually lived in nearby Aston-Botterell. Ysolda was apparently mixed up by de Baskerville genealogists with her sister-in-law Iseult Plantoff de Saint Amand, as Ysolda's name is shown in many references with Plantoff and de Saint Amand. That woman, with her 5 husbands, was either the most unlucky bad girl of all time, or the most lucky murderess. I suspect the latter.
Ysolda's son, Hugh de Baskerville seems to be a special case. As the firstborn son, he seems to have been groomed to inherit from his father Walter and had already received lands under the name de Baskerville and thus seems to have kept on with that name, while the rest of his siblings took on the name de Northwode. I have found no evidence of Juliana or Helwise having husbands or children, but they appeared under both Northwode and Baskerville. Paen, the youngest, was not mentioned much, but appears to have had only one daughter, who actually married a grandson of Hugh de Baskerville. That leaves only Nicholas de Northwode carrying the de Northwode name. His son John de Northwod and de Hoxwode also is the first mention of Hoxwode, so although it takes two more generations for the surname Hotchkiss to appear, and Northwoods do eventually show up in the area, I'm not sure if anyone actually continued the name Northwode. it was definitely not the same family as the Northwoods of Kent and near London.
______
Right: Equestrian statuette of Charlemagne, 9th century, Louvre.
______
Following our all male line back from the first Hotchkiss to the Battle of Hastings, Geoffrey Martel de Baskerville, half 2nd cousin, 2 times removed and reputed friend of William the Conquerer was at the battle of Hastings. This opens up a whole world of known genealogy. Following this back leads us through the Normans and then the Franks, whom it turns out were also from Denmark, just like my Y DNA, though at a much earlier date than the Normans, while the Roman Empire was still present. Our line includes the de Carolus dynasty leading back to Charlemagn, all the Frank Kings, including the Merovingian Dynasty going back to Teutomer in about 310 AD, before things start fading out. It includes many Kings and queens, such as Clovis and Saint Clotilda, who always seemed to split their land among their sons, who then fought to bring their countries back together, and then retired to become saints. There was much murder and treachery, and similarly they created great and glorious countries.
Documentary on Charlemagne: "Charlemagne, the True Story of the Warrior King".
Documentary on the Merovingian Kings: "250 Years of Thugs & Miracles: Kingdom of the Franks".
______
Of Families and Surnames and DNA
…, And God blessed them and God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply,….
Genealogy traces the generations of extended families. This is usually done by looking at records. Couples conceive and raise children. In 95% of cases, the DNA of the children matches the parents and family members may or may not be aware when it doesn't. There are various reasons for those that do not match, such as: Parents adopt a child. Someone, male or female is widowed and remarried, and the new spouse adopts the child. Godparents take on the care of a child. A woman cheats with another man and the woman doesn’t tell her husband. This last is truly a sin as it robs the husband of his chance to procreate. I also found at least one case where husband left without divorcing and after 7 years the woman took a lover but gave the children the same name. All of these can make the DNA not match, yet these are still our children and are normally loved and raised as family.
DNA can tell if the children were actually made by the couple. It can also give you hints on relatives you haven’t yet found, but after about a half dozen or so generations, it becomes fairly useless for that under most circumstances. The problem is that the number of ancestors in each generation doubles. By the time you reach 30 generations back at 28-great grandparents (parents and grandparents count too), you have over 1 billion ancestors in just that generation. Judging by the population of the world at that time (maybe 250 million), some of those have repeated, with multiple of their children reaching the ranks of your ancestors. There are 64 4-great grandparents by just 6 generations, and for ancestry.com, their descendants, or your 4th cousins, is as far as they go with suggestions. At this point, most of the DNA is just random, so far as finding relatives.
However, there are two types of DNA which can go back much farther: Y-chromosomes and mitochondria. The first only works for the all male line and the second only for the all female line.
Mitochondria is found in the outer portion of the egg, comes from the woman’s body, from the division of her cells, is used to process cell energy and takes much longer to mutate, to the point where it lumps you with huge segments of the population, but can be used to trace your all female line, and the lines of direct female ancestors. It is also very hard to trace this line beyond a certain point by means of records as current surname practices tend to hide that line in most countries. Despite some women wanting to keep their parent’s name, most don’t. It happens that when women marry, many would like to lose their previous suiters and others, so that changing their name and moving away is considered an advantage. There are some countries, such as Scotland, which manage to make tracing records much easier, by always recording women by their maiden names in things like marriages, and childbirth. Then there are places like old England, where the women often aren’t even named in their marriages or the birth of their children. In fact some birth records look something like “on this date John X had a child baptized.”
Thus, in an old extended family like ours there are usually several Y DNA haplogroups. My I-M253 Y DNA haplogroup apparently goes back about 2500 years to Scandinavia where it was a mutation which formed after its predecessor group spent the ice age in Spain to avoid the glaciers. The particular variety of my chromosome tells me that it is from Denmark, which makes sense because my research takes the line back to the Normans. It also means that if I find some research indicating some other lineage, I’ll probably look very close at that. As it turns out my research led to the Franks, before the Normans, which it turns out also come from Denmark. The Hotchkiss, Hoskins, and Hawkins DNA projects all show R-M269 as the most common Haplogroup, and also both have a significant portion of I-M253, my Haplogroup. They all have a similar mix and appear very closely related.
The nature of names, we have noticed, changes over time and place. Researchers must keep this in mind when looking at old records. Not everyone uses last names as long lasting surnames. In China, the surnames come first. In Scandinavia patronymics are still used, such as Neal Johanson or Anna Johansdotter. We have seen the same with other prefixes or suffixes in many other countries: ap and verch in Wales, Mc or Mac in Scotland, Fitz or the final “s” in the Normans. These names usually are based on the first name of the father and change with each generation, unless they change to true surnames. The Normans also used place names from the lands that they owned, such as de Baskerville and de Northwode and even de Hokeswode or maybe Over-the-hill, or in-the-dale. These often eventually turned into surnames. They also use attributes, such as the-tall or the-baker. Thus when looking for someone’s father or child, you have to understand what kind of name you are looking at and that prior to true last names, the same person may have used more than one variety at different times or in combination.
Also, with Normans, not only are all these naming attributes in force, but it is necessary to understand that when disbursing land as when a person gets older or dies, for the Normans, but also for almost anyone, that land normally goes to their children or close relatives. Looking at early Normans, I have thus far not seen any wills. Instead they seem to either give their land via deeds or trust someone to do it for them after they die. Thus, if you look at a large piece of land being disbursed among a group of people, it is very likely they are a family.
______
James Arthur Hotchkiss(6 Dec 1914 - 14 Jan 1991) and great-granddaughter in 1986. My grandfather, known as Jimmy, had genealogy as a hobby. I used to help him with this when I was young, and promised to continue his work when he was gone.
ADS:
vvvvvvvvvvvvv