The Dorset Ansteys

Ansteys in Dorset consist of three principal and independent major Anstey sub-branches (all of which descend from the medieval Ansteys and all of which are thoroughly documented in ‘Anstey: A Complete History From the Norman Invasion to World War One‘), being:

• the Dorset (I) Anstey sub-branch;
• the Dorset (II) Anstey sub-branch; and
• the Dorset (III) Anstey sub-branch.

The position of these three Dorset sub-branches in the Anstey pedigree are illustrated nicely in the below schematic.

The Dorset (I) Anstey sub-branch

In the third edition of ‘ANSTEY: Our True Surname Origin and Shared Medieval Ancestry‘ we document the Dorset (I) medieval Anstey sub-branch, descendent from John (I) de Anstey, which went Anstey-extinct in c1350.

In response to a question recently about why we so are confident that modern day Dorset (II) Ansteys are NOT descendent from the Dorset (I) medieval Anstey sub-branch, Anstey researcher Gary gave the following reply:

“Everything points to the medieval Dorset (I) Ansteys going ‘Anstey extinct’ in c1350. As such, I am very confident indeed (but of course not certain) that modern day Dorset (II) Ansteys are NOT directly descendent from the medieval Dorset (I) Ansteys, but are descendent from the Sussex Ansteys. One of the principal reasons for this conclusion is the total and complete lack of clues regarding ‘Anstey’s in Dorset between c1350 and c1515, at which time the modern Dorset (II) Anstey sub-branch first appeared…. hence by far the best way of disproving my conclusion is to find ANY clues of Ansteys in Dorset during the period 1350-1515.“

Anybody who has any evidence or clues whatsoever regarding Ansteys in Dorset between c1350 and c1515 please contact us at research@theansteystory.com.

The Dorset (II) Anstey sub-branch

The Dorset (II) Ansteys are very likely a sub-branch of the Sussex (I) Ansteys – they are almost certainly NOT a sub-branch of the Dorset (I) Ansteys (see above). The Dorset (II) Anstey sub-branch began in 1514 when “James Anstey husbandman” appeared in Tarrant Crawford; hence Tarrant Crawford is the principal and root Anstey sub-branch of the Dorset (II) Ansteys. James had a son Richard who married the unusually named ‘Warborough’ in Tarrant Crawford, and their male Anstey descendants spawned the various Dorset (II) Anstey sub-branches in existence today, which are dealt with on the Tarrant Crawford Ansteys page.

Currently we have begun uploading information on the following Dorset (II) Anstey sub-branches:

• Tarrant Crawford Ansteys
• Blandford Forum Anstys
• Buckland Newton Anstys
• Dorchester Anstys
• East Stoke Ansteys
• Garnish, Fortune Bay Ansteys
• Gussage Ansteys
• Newcastle, NSW, Australia Anstys
• Poole Ansteys
• Sixpenny Handley Ansteys
• Tarrant Keyneston Anstys
• Twillingate Ansteys
  • Back Harbour, Twillingate Ansteys
  • Bluff Head Cove, Twillingate Ansteys
  • Exploits, Twillingate Ansteys
  • Lewisporte, Twillingate Ansteys
  • Little Bay, Twillingate Ansteys
  • Paradise Cove, Twillingate Ansteys
  • Purcell’s Harbour, Twillingate Ansteys
  • Springdale, Twillingate Ansteys
• Utica, NY America Ansteys

The Dorset (III) Anstey sub-branch

The Dorset (III) Ansteys are a sub-branch of the Stow Quy Anstys of Cambridgeshire. The sub-branch began in c1550 with Thomas Anstey (HP 1), who became Rector of Witchampton and later Parson of Hampreston, where the family settled. Hence Hampreston is the principal and root Anstey sub-branch of the Dorset (III) Ansteys. Thomas Anstey had a son Nicholas Anstey (HP 2), whose sons spawned the various Dorset (III) Anstey families, which are dealt with on the Hampreston Ansteys page.

The Dorset (III) Anstey sub-branch went Anstey-extinct in 1734.

Also see ‘Anstey: A Complete History From the Norman Invasion to World War One‘.

Anybody who finds any mistakes on this page, please contact us at research@theansteystory.com and we will correct them.