Does any one know of a town, Keep, or likewise in the UK?

Question

I am looking for any information on my family Sir's name Pugsley

Answer 1

Hi David,

First of all the word is surname, not Sir's name. I'm not having a go at you, just explaining the correct word so you will know in future. Important if you are going to start researching your family names history.

I've had a look on one of the old Census's for 1891 and found that 90% of the Pugsley's living in England then were all from the County of Devon! So its obviously a local surname for that part of the country.

I know Devon quite well having lived there for a good number of years and don't know of anywhere actually called Keep, although there are several castles in the county. Totnes has one with a terrific Keep. If you Google for Totnes Castle it'll give you info on it.

If you want to check out the Census's for Pugsleys yourself the best free place to look is http://www.freecen.org.uk/. You can search from 1841 to 1891. It also has links to freereg where you can search the birth, marriage & death records from about 1550 to 1850 & freebmd where you can find birth, marriage & death (BMD) records from 1850 to about 1974.

There are lots of websites available to help with your search. Just Google for family history or genealogy and you can go from there.

Good luck with your search.

UPDATE:

Since posting the above I have since found this very interesting snippet.

WG Hoskins wrote in his 'Local History in England' The following.

Pugsley is another distinctive Devon family name, originating in one farm of that name in a North Devon parish. ... ... ... the fact that there is only one farm of this name indicates that all the Pugsleys in Devon, or anywhere else, originated in a common ancestor some six or seven centuries ago.

The parish referred to is Warkleigh, an ancient parish next to
Chittlehampton

Fascinating isn't it? Seems you have a very original surname David. I've also found you a link to pics of the the Pugsley Farm as it is now, see below. Plus a map of the area showing all the adjoining farms & villages etc. even the fields are named. This will be very useful if you get into studying the Pugsley name in Devon. When it loads just click on the little magnifying glass and then on the map a couple of times to enlarge it to a readable size. You'll find the Pugsley Farm on the right edge about a quarter of the way down.

Crossing the Atlantic to your side of the 'pond' there is an area in New Yorks Bronx named after Pugsleys. Pugsley Avenue was named for the Pugsley Family. The land that is now Haviland Avenue was a part of the Pugsley Farm from 1770 until 1854. Pugsley Creek once crossed Haviland Avenue where it meets Virginia Avenue. The Pugsleys were major landowners in Cow Neck, which remained almost entirely rural until the 20th century. One Talman Pugsley was listed in 1794 as owning 200 acres of Cow Neck, and a section of that property became part of present-day Parkchester. As the outer boroughs were developed, it was common for entrepreneurs to confer the names of prominent local families on the new neighborhoods and streets.

Of course you realise that once you get started on this adventure you will find yourself hooked in no time at all - I'm living proof of that as you can tell!

Answer 2

There are hundreds of keeps in UK, look at any castle
Keep Pugsley, sounds like a film title. There are no place names and I have never heard of the surnames Keep or Pugsley. Sorry mate

Answer 3

Since a Keep in English history is the center most strengthened part of a castle, most references will be to a place with an adjective McKenzie Keep. I can't see a town thinking Keep is distinctive enough to keep it as a name.

Answer 4

This site: http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/Fact.aspx?&fid=10&fn=&ln=pugsley
confirms that Pugsley is from Devon and says it is from a place near Warkleigh shown in this old map here:
http://www.devon.gov.uk/etched?url=etched/ixbin/hixclient.exe&_IXP_=1&_IXR=110457
(it's just above and to the right of Warkleigh)
No keep is marked on the map though so I can't help you there.
This site looks quite good for genealogical research: http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/Warkleigh/

Answer 5

i am certain pugsley was part of the adams family...cheerio!