Origin of Curtis of Sutton Courtenay

[RobertHauteville]

The Curtis family can be found at Sutton Courtenay from the earliest PRs until more recent times but does anyone know their origin? A William Courteys was living at Sutton as early as 1373 (under #296 ROGER SON OF RICHARD DE STANLAK @ https://www.british-history.ac.uk/inquis-post-mortem/vol13/pp255-272 but did they come over from France with the Courtenay family in the C12th? The Curtis name can be found in various early Norman and Gascon records.

Also were the Sutton Curtis linked to:-

* Lord John Curteys, Master of St Johns Hospital @ Wallingford in 1383 (#762 Boarstall Cartulary)
* John Curters, Groom of Queen Isabella's Spicery in 1311/12 (Household Book of Queen Isabella)

[Watson]

P.H. Reaney in his Dictionary of English Surnames gives a few 12th century references to Curtis and variants, in English counties, from Pipe Rolls, etc..

[RobertHauteville]

Thanks. Were any in the Berks/Oxon area?

[Watson]

No.

[RobertHauteville]

Thanks.

The earlyish English Curtis families I have seen come from:-

• Cornwall
• Gloucs/Oxon border
• Sutton Courtenay
• East Anglia

I guess the Gloucs/Oxon & Sutton Courtenay may be the same due to proximity. As the Courtenay family settled in both Cornwall and Sutton Courtenay perhaps the Curtises of both are also linked?

Also, about 80% of early Curtis records are for "le Curtis/Courteis", etc but about 20% are for "de Curtis/Courteis". Two different orgins for the same modern name or clerical errors?

[Vance Mead]

There are legal records (King's Bench, Common Pleas, Chancery, etc.) indexed on WAALT (Wiki for Anglo-American Legal Tradition). The indexes go back to the 14th century while the earliest unindexed images of documents are from about 1200 (http://aalt.law.uh.edu/IndexPri.html ). If you search for Curteys or Courteys you will find hundreds: 170 indexes containing Curteys, each with multiple items. They are from all across England, Cornwall to Norfolk, so I think this surname must have had multiple origins.
https://waalt.uh.edu/index.php/Main_Page

I did find one from Sutton Courteney, from 1437.
Index:
https://waalt.uh.edu/index.php/CP40/705

Original, second item:
http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no705/aCP40no705fronts/IMG_0439.htm
In Easter term 1437 Thomas Bekynton, clerk, was suing John Curteys, of Sutton Courteney, laborer, for trespass breach of close at Sutton Courteney and taking goods and chattels worth 40 shillings.

There may be more from Sutton Courteney, but I didn't check them all.

[Vance Mead]

There are also some in "The Poll Taxes of 1377, 1379 and 1381" by Carolyn C. Fenwick, volume 1, page 51.

1381 assessment, Sutton Hundred, Sutton Courteney with Sutton Wick and Hawkridge:

John Curteys, Agnes his wife: 2 shillings
William Curteys, Agnes his wife: 2 shillings

[RobertHauteville]

Thanks Vance,

The charming [!!!] 1373, 47 Edw III, CIPM entry for "Roger son of Richard de Stanlak, an idiot" mentions that Isabel widow of Richard remarried William Courteys of Sutton Courteneye

and Parliamentary Writs list William Curtis as manucaptor of Thomas Bone, Burgess of Wallingford back in 1318.

It seems they were in the area for at least 500 years..

[RobertHauteville]

Incidentally, the usual explanation for the Curtis surname is that it was given to someone that was courteous and a lot of early Curtis records are listed as "le Courteis" or similar. But others are listed as "de Courteys", etc so they may not all have the same origin.

As pronunciation changed with time is it possible that "Courteney" changed to a "Courteneys" and then to a "Courteys"?