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Flagg is a name of Anglo-Saxon origin. It was a name given to a streaked or dappled element. The surname Flagg originally derived from the Old English word Fleck. Flagg is an Anglo-Saxon surname which has survived the rigorous course of history to the present day. Emerging from the shadows of time, the records reveal the earliest origins of this distinguished family.
Historians have researched such ancient manuscripts as the Domesday Book compiled in 1086 A.D., by Duke William of Normandy, the Ragman Rolls (1291 – 1296) collected by King Edward 1st of England, the Curia Regis Rolls, the Pipe Rolls, the Hearth Rolls, parish registers, baptismals, tax records and other ancient documents. Researches found the first record of the name Flagg in Norfolk where they were seated from ancient times, some say before the Norman Conquest in 1066.
The name Flagg occurred in many manuscripts and from time to time the surname was spelt Fleck, Flecke, Flegg, Flack, Flacks, Flick, and Flicke, with these changes in spelling occurring even between father and son. In the 16th century even literate people such as William Shakespeare varied the spelling of the own names. There are many reasons for these spelling variations, for instance official court languages such as Latin and French had their influence on how a name was recorded. In general, church officials and scribes recorded a name as it was told to them, rather than follow any spelling rules or conventions.
The ancestors of the Flagg surname are thought to have been of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of ancient Britain. These founding cultures settled in England in about the 5th century A.D., displacing the ancient Britons who populated the area in Roman times. The Angles and the Saxons established several independent kingdoms, Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Kent, Essex, Sussex and East Anglia, collectively known as the Heptarchy. All of these rival kingdoms were unified in the 9th century by Egbert, King of Wessex.
In 1066, the relative peace which the country had been existing under was shattered. The Norman invasion from France and their victory at the Battle of Hastings meant that many Anglo-Saxon landholders lost their property to Duke Williams and his invading nobles. Under oppressive Norman rule, many families decided to move north to Yorkshire and beyond the border to Scotland.
The Flagg family emerged as notable Englishmen in Norfolk. The Fleck surname, also spelt Flick and Flack is derived from the nickname “fleck” meaning streaked or dappled. The name was found in both England and Scotland from an early period but the main branch of the family was well established in Scotland in the early 1400’s. One group settled in the border counties while another group moved gradually northward settling lands in Edinburgh and as far north as Inverness. The Fleck family was listed as one of the prominent Scottish families in Edinburgh in 1605. The Flecks who acquired land in Angus were distinguished by Andrew Fleck who was appointed minister of Dundee in 1650. In 1657 the Flecks of Lanarkshire settled additional estates in 1657. Robert Fleck headed the southern branch of the family from Dumfriesshire in 1679 and in Kirkcudbrightshire. John Fleck made his home in the parish of Urr in the same year. Distinguished members of the family at this time include Fleck or Flegg of Norfolk.
Throughout the Middle Ages the Flagg family flourished and contributed to English society. Later, during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries England was devastated by religious and political conflict. Conflicts between religious sects and between parliamentary and royalist forces created an unstable society. Many families were banished by the prevailing powers for dissention; other families chose to leave the turmoil behind.
In Ireland, Protestant settlers and soldiers in Cromwell’s army were granted lands which had been confiscated from the native Catholic owners. Eight heads of families of Fleck settled in Ulster. In Ireland the name was more commonly spelled Flack.
Upheaval at home forced some families to risk the perilous journey to the New World in order that the might build a better future for themselves. Members of the Flagg family were among the settlers who boarded ships bound for Canada, the United States, Australia and the other colonies held by the British crown.
Settlers bearing the surname Flagg, or a variable spelling of that family name include John Fleck who purchased land in Philadelphia in 1731. Henry Fleck was appointed Deputy Governor of Pennsylvania in 1755. By the mid-19th century the Fleck family were to be found in New York, South Carolina and Maryland. Jacob Fleck settled in Philadelphia in 1741; and many more. Fancis Flack settled in Maryland in 1739; John Flack settled in Virginia in 1733; John and Samuel Flack landed in Philadelphia between 1849 and 1868.
Some of the newly settled Americans left for Canada after the British conquered the territory in 1763, and around the time of the American War of Independence, many who chose to remain loyal to the crown fled to Canada. From recent history, distinguished bearers of the Flagg family name include Sir Alexander Fleck (1899-1968), Baron Fleck, Scottish industrial chemist, who became chairman of ICI in 1953 and was chairman of the committee which investigated the nationalized coal industry in Britain; and Bertram Anthony Flack, H.M. Diplomatic Service, and Canadian National Defense College.
The coat of arms found for a bearer of the Flagg surname did not include a motto. Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Reference: Swyrich Corporation, 1998-2007; www.4crests.com
Since earliest times, men have sought out feelings of acceptance and a need to belong. The hunters and gatherers formed groups in order to survive and prosper. As the population increased, members would branch out and form new groups.
With the advent of archeology, discoveries were unearthed that showed groups would decorate and make their pottery in unique ways from any other group. Historians and archeologists have argued that these pottery shards are in fact the first documented coats of arms.
By the time of the rise of nations it was a general custom to adopt some symbol by which they could be distinguished from another. This custom reached its fullest development by the Middle Ages. The carrying of personal armorial insignia on shields and banners began widespread in feudal times. A knight had his face covered with the visor from his helmet and as such, had to be recognized at a distance. During the Crusades these marks and colors were worn outside their coat of mail on their surcoat and hence the expression coat of arms.
Insignia were not hereditary at first and knights were free to choose their own symbols, as were wealthy individuals, families, towns, lordships, abbeys and other groups who had gained the favor of the reigning monarch. As confusion and duplication grew so did the complexity of these symbols. What had started out as a simple form of identification and pride had risen to a complex system of inherited social status. The problem became so widespread that in 1484 the Herald's College was established in Britain to oversee all claims of subjects to armorial rights. No arms were considered legal unless recorded in the College.
Beginning in 1528, officers of the Herald's College began making visitations throughout the country. Their purpose was to find out which Coat of Arms were in use and make a record of the genealogies of the families using these arms. If there was a person who desired to use arms, but could not prove a right of descent to them, they could make a petition to the local Earl Marshall. If this was granted then the Earl Marshall issued a warrant to the officers of the College to grant arms to him.
The genealogies collected throughout these times are mostly still in existence today as well as the continual granting of arms by the College. And though the Herald's College was formed to handle Britain's Coat of Arms; the use, pride and recording of special insignia has been around as long as mankind.
From: http://www.historicalnames.com/origins.htm
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