About us
Welcome to the Faulconer family DNA Project Website! This project was started in May of 2007.
The purpose of this project is to verify existing documented genealogical records and to establish new genealogical connections with the help of DNA analysis.
This surname has been spelled many different ways over the years. I am aware of spelling changes within the last few generations in my line and in others. I have seen Faulconer become Faulkner, Falconer become Faulconer etc. Because the changes occurred often, it is not easy to tell which origin your family may have. Hopefully as more people join the project, we can begin to place members into their geographical origins.
Please feel free to email me at faulconer@gmail.com with any additional information on the families below. I will try to add the information to the site as it comes in.
For a brief history on the different surnames this project covers, please click on the links below:
Faulconer/Faulkner
Falconer/Faulkner
Are these families all descendants of the same man?
FAULCONER INFO
Randelph de Lunkyis of France, from whom the Faulconer family is descended, was Royal Falconer of King William, the Lion of Scotland (?-1214). Lunkyis was taken prisoner by the English in 1174 and taken to England. In the time of King Edward II (1284-1327), a grant of arms was made to Sir John Le Faulconer of Derby and Nottingham, England. Branches of this family also held large landed estates in Scotland and Ireland. The name Faulconer has been spelled Faulner, Falkiner, Falkner, Falconer, Faucener, and Fauconier. It is believed to have been given to its original holder because of this love of, or proficiency in, falconry, the sport of kings, which was popular in the Middle Ages.
COAT OF ARMS
Arms: Argent, three falcon close gules
Crest: A Falcon close gules
Motto: Utile dulcis
Authority: Burke's General Armory, 1878 edition, page 342
Tinctures: The shield is of silver; The falcons are red; The falcons are red
The mantle and wreath are red and silver
Notes: This arms is recorded by Burke, best considered of all the published heraldic authorities, as authentic for Faulconer of Leicestershire. The same arms is recorded by Burke for Faulkner with the crest "a lure or between two falcons' wings proper."
The helmet, steel gray; the mantle, the first color and metal used on the shield. The helmet and mantle though not a necessary part of the Coat of Arms, are permitted by Heraldic Law and are added for their decorative effect.
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"FALCONER, a surname derived from the ancient office of keeper of the falcons of the king. The first on record of this name was Ranulph, the son of Walter de Lenorp, falconer to King William the Lion, about 1200. From that monarch he had a charter of the lands of Luthra, now called Luther, Balbegno, and others in the Mearns, which he called Hawkerton (afterwards Halkertoun) from his office, having charge of the king’s hawks. The arms, ancient and modern, of the Falconer family, are relative thereto. He was succeeded by Walter le Falconer, called sometimes de Lunkyr, or Lumgair."
Links:
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/falconer.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lordship_of_Falconer_of_Halkerton
http://members.chello.nl/w.spaak/Spaak/Lords_Halkerton.htm
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The Scottish surname Falconer-
Lords Falconer of Hawkerton and later the Earls of Kintore head of the Keith Clan
The English surname Faulconer - Connected to Sussex, England since the early 1200s.
Are these families connected???
Well, first of all, it seems that both families claim to be descended from the Falconer to King William the Lion of Scotland. Although the spelling was not the same, it seemed that there must be a common root to these stories given that Lunkyis and Lunkyr seemed rather close. I then found this on a site with Scottish location names:
"Lumgair (Kinneff) c. 1220, Lunkyrr; 1651, Lumger; also Lonkyir. Prob. G. lon or lann gearr, 'short meadow.' The letters c or k and g often interchange."
This seemed to suggest that the two surname spellings might be linked to a man that lived and owned land in Scotland and then came to England (possibly by force). I thought it would be interesting to look into the date that the above text had quoted as the time that Randelph was captured by the English. I found this:
"William(the Lion) was a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173–1174 against Henry II. In 1174, during a raid in support of the revolt, William recklessly charged the English troops himself, shouting, "Now we shall see which of us are good knights!" He was unhorsed and captured by Henry's troops and taken in chains to Northampton, and then transferred to Falaise in Normandy. Henry then sent an army to Scotland and occupied it. As ransom and to regain his kingdom, William had to acknowledge Henry as his feudal superior and agree to pay for the cost of the English army's occupation of Scotland by taxing the Scots. This he did by signing the Treaty of Falaise. He was then allowed to return to Scotland."
"On July 8, 1174, Henry II, who had been in Normandy fighting his enemies, landed in England. His first act was to do penance for the death of Thomas Becket, who, murdered by some of Henry's knights three years earlier, had already been canonized as a saint. The day following the ceremony at Canterbury, on July 13, 1174, in a seeming act of divine providence for Henry II, William the Lion and many of his supporters were surprised and captured at Alnwick by loyalists."
It seems that William the Lion of Scotland, who is mentioned as the King that our supposed ancestor worked for, was also captured by the English in 1174.
If these two lines are indeed connected in the late 1100's in Scotland, there should be a genetic connection between the descendants of the two clans.
I must mention that it is very likely that there are many different unrelated families with this surname or variants. Much like Smith or Cooper, this name derives from an occupation. We will likely find multiple separate genetic lines. However, if there is a connection between any of the families, DNA is the only way I know of to find it.
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FAULCONER INFO
Randelph de Lunkyis of France, from whom the Faulconer family is descended, was Royal Falconer of King William, the Lion of Scotland (?-1214). Lunkyis was taken prisoner by the English in 1174 and taken to England. In the time of King Edward II (1284-1327), a grant of arms was made to Sir John Le Faulconer of Derby and Nottingham, England. Branches of this family also held large landed estates in Scotland and Ireland. The name Faulconer has been spelled Faulner, Falkiner, Falkner, Falconer, Faucener, and Fauconier. It is believed to have been given to its original holder because of this love of, or proficiency in, falconry, the sport of kings, which was popular in the Middle Ages.
COAT OF ARMS
Arms: Argent, three falcon close gules
Crest: A Falcon close gules
Motto: Utile dulcis
Authority: Burke's General Armory, 1878 edition, page 342
Tinctures: The shield is of silver; The falcons are red; The falcons are red
The mantle and wreath are red and silver
Notes: This arms is recorded by Burke, best considered of all the published heraldic authorities, as authentic for Faulconer of Leicestershire. The same arms is recorded by Burke for Faulkner with the crest "a lure or between two falcons' wings proper."
The helmet, steel gray; the mantle, the first color and metal used on the shield. The helmet and mantle though not a necessary part of the Coat of Arms, are permitted by Heraldic Law and are added for their decorative effect.
Back to the top
"FALCONER, a surname derived from the ancient office of keeper of the falcons of the king. The first on record of this name was Ranulph, the son of Walter de Lenorp, falconer to King William the Lion, about 1200. From that monarch he had a charter of the lands of Luthra, now called Luther, Balbegno, and others in the Mearns, which he called Hawkerton (afterwards Halkertoun) from his office, having charge of the king’s hawks. The arms, ancient and modern, of the Falconer family, are relative thereto. He was succeeded by Walter le Falconer, called sometimes de Lunkyr, or Lumgair."
Links:
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/falconer.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lordship_of_Falconer_of_Halkerton
http://members.chello.nl/w.spaak/Spaak/Lords_Halkerton.htm
Back to the top
The Scottish surname Falconer-
Lords Falconer of Hawkerton and later the Earls of Kintore head of the Keith Clan
The English surname Faulconer - Connected to Sussex, England since the early 1200s.
Are these families connected???
Well, first of all, it seems that both families claim to be descended from the Falconer to King William the Lion of Scotland. Although the spelling was not the same, it seemed that there must be a common root to these stories given that Lunkyis and Lunkyr seemed rather close. I then found this on a site with Scottish location names:
"Lumgair (Kinneff) c. 1220, Lunkyrr; 1651, Lumger; also Lonkyir. Prob. G. lon or lann gearr, 'short meadow.' The letters c or k and g often interchange."
This seemed to suggest that the two surname spellings might be linked to a man that lived and owned land in Scotland and then came to England (possibly by force). I thought it would be interesting to look into the date that the above text had quoted as the time that Randelph was captured by the English. I found this:
"William(the Lion) was a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173–1174 against Henry II. In 1174, during a raid in support of the revolt, William recklessly charged the English troops himself, shouting, "Now we shall see which of us are good knights!" He was unhorsed and captured by Henry's troops and taken in chains to Northampton, and then transferred to Falaise in Normandy. Henry then sent an army to Scotland and occupied it. As ransom and to regain his kingdom, William had to acknowledge Henry as his feudal superior and agree to pay for the cost of the English army's occupation of Scotland by taxing the Scots. This he did by signing the Treaty of Falaise. He was then allowed to return to Scotland."
"On July 8, 1174, Henry II, who had been in Normandy fighting his enemies, landed in England. His first act was to do penance for the death of Thomas Becket, who, murdered by some of Henry's knights three years earlier, had already been canonized as a saint. The day following the ceremony at Canterbury, on July 13, 1174, in a seeming act of divine providence for Henry II, William the Lion and many of his supporters were surprised and captured at Alnwick by loyalists."
It seems that William the Lion of Scotland, who is mentioned as the King that our supposed ancestor worked for, was also captured by the English in 1174.
If these two lines are indeed connected in the late 1100's in Scotland, there should be a genetic connection between the descendants of the two clans.
I must mention that it is very likely that there are many different unrelated families with this surname or variants. Much like Smith or Cooper, this name derives from an occupation. We will likely find multiple separate genetic lines. However, if there is a connection between any of the families, DNA is the only way I know of to find it.
Back to the top