Early English Gastons

The focus of Gaston historical research has been on Scotland and Northern Ireland because of the family tradition that has Jean Gaston, the reputed patriarch of most US and Canadian Gastons, leaving France in the early 1600s for Scotland, and then his sons, or he and his sons, emigrating to Antrim in what is now Northern Ireland. If all Gastons were genetically related and the name originated in France, we would not expect, according to this legend, to see any Gastons in England much before 1700. However, it is not unreasonable to assume that the Gaston name was adopted by different families at different times and in different countries.

Ancestry.co.uk shows a number of Gastons living in England in the 15th and 16th centuries. For instance, British Chancery Records show a Reynold Gaston living in London in 1486 and an Isobel Gaston in Buckingham between 1493 and 1500. There was also a Simone de Gasten in Bedfordshire: (Suffolk Green Books, Subsidy Lists) 1309-1332. The French flavour of these names reminds us that France and England were controlled by the Normans from 1066 until 1202. As we learn from that infinite source of knowledge, Wikipedia:

One of the most obvious changes [after the battle of Hastings] was the introduction of Anglo-Norman, a northern dialect of Old French, as the language of the ruling classes in England, displacing Old English. Even after the decline of Norman, French retained the status of a prestige language for nearly 300 years and has had (with Norman) a significant influence on the language, which is easily visible in Modern English.

Therefore, although we cannot yet rule out the possibility that John Gaston, listed in the Hearth Money Role in Ballymena, 1669, came from England, it is more likely that the English Gastons cited in these lists are genetically unrelated to him (at least, in the last 1000 years or so).

For more information on Gastons in England, visit the following sites:

http://www.documentsonline.pro.gov.uk/

http://www.ancestry.co.uk

www.ancestry.com

http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl

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