Week 2 of 52 Ancestors comes with the prompt of ‘Origins’. I thought long and hard about what I would focus on for this prompt, as it encompasses such a broad topic. Ultimately, I decided to focus on something I haven’t examined before: the English origins of the Starr surname.
The most ancient Starr ancestor that has been verified is one Comfort Starr, born circa 1550-1560 in East Sussex. Researchers have been unable to narrow down when he might have been born, as his first appearance is at the baptism of his son James in 1580 at Whatlington, East Sussex. We don’t know how old Comfort was at the time of his son’s birth, or whether James was his first and only child. So Comfort may well have been born earlier than the 1550-1560 timeframe. Perhaps one day through the answers to these questions can be verified.
Easier to answer are questions about the County of East Sussex. East Sussex is located in the south east of England, and it’s souther border faces the English Channel. Unsurprisingly, East Sussex has historically been an important entry point for those wishing to invade the English continent. Indeed, it was through this area of England that William the Conqueror commenced his invasion. Looking at maps of the ares, you can see how close France and the European Continent is to Sussex and you can see why it would have been a favoured entry point. East Sussex also features the historically significant town of Hastings, where the famous 1066 Battle of Hastings took place.
Given these facts about Sussex, it would be interesting to know the origin of the Starr family in Sussex. They could have been in the area prior to the arrival of William the Conqueror or they could just as easily have come with William’s armies from the European continent. Perhaps one day we will know more about the origins of the Starr family in England.
NB: I would like to acknowledge
Min Tamsitt who dedicated many years to researching the Starr family and made her information available to fellow researchers of the family. She also published the first volume of “A Galaxy of Starrs: A Starr Family History”.