About Us

I had been making slow progress in researching my family history, when in early 2005, while idly ‘surfing the net’, I came across a reference to Bruce ISTED and his ‘ISTED one-name study’. After making contact with Bruce, I was soon able to add a number of generations of hitherto unknown ISTED ancestors to my family tree (who were mainly settled in the East Sussex parishes of Ashburnham, Ninfield & Bexhill). This also opened up further lines of research. Since then, I have tried to add to the collective knowledge of Isted family history and make it available to others who may be interested. The establishment of this website is a part of that process.

Bruce, who is a joint collaborator in this project, is my probable distant cousin in more senses than one - separated by 9/10 generations (our closest common ancestor is John ISTED, born 1626/7, Warbleton) and thousands of miles. Indeed, Bruce, a 2^nd generation New Zealander, could hardly be further away from our ancestral roots in East Sussex without leaving the planet. Nevertheless, over the last 20 plus years - registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies (GOONS) since 1993 he has acquired over 20,000 records/references including: indexes of General Register Office (GRO) BDMs 1837-2002, Census Records 1841-1901, Probates (Wills and Administrations), Directories, Phonebooks, International Genealogical Index (IGI), etc. These records have helped him compile 100s of ISTED family trees. Over time, some of this information, and/or their references and how you may be able to access them, will appear on this website. In the meantime, you can contact Bruce by email at bruce@isted.info, who will be pleased to provide help and advice with your research into ISTED family history. He will also be pleased to receive any information you may be able to offer towards his ISTED one-name study. NB Bruce’s ancestors were mainly settled in the East Sussex parishes of Warbleton, Wartling, Herstmonceux and Hailsham. It was his grandfather (Egbert Thomas ISTED 1903-1996) along with his great-grandfather (Spencer ISTED 1867-1932) who emigrated to New Zealand in 1910.

The earliest known record of any ISTEDs, and known variants of the name, are of William, John and Emma de ISTEDE/YSTEDE (alternative surname spellings in the same document), who appear in the Custumals for Mayfield, Sussex dated c1285. A paper on these people is included on this website. There are other ISTEDs who appear in scant references in 14^th century documents for the same area (also included on this website). However, our earliest ISTED ancestor with whom we can establish a direct link with a degree of probability was Laurence ISTEDE of Framfield. We know little about Laurence, except that: he lived in Framfield; owned a small parcel of land in Ashburnham; had reached his majority before circa 1470s?; had died before 1486; and his heir was John ISTEDE of Framfield. We believe this John ISTEDE was the father of Richard ISTED, Ironmaster of Mayfeld died 1541/2 and John ISTED, MP, Bailiff and Jurat of the Cinque Port of Hastings died 1556/7, who both held land in Framfield. It was the descendants of the younger John ISTED who acquired the ISTED Coat of Arms, by 1634. A memorial containing the Coat of Arms can be seen in the parish Church of All Saints in Lewes. (A paper on the ISTED Coat of Arms is included on this website.) It was around this time that the legend of the family having moved from Scandinavia in the 14^th century was first recorded. (A paper on the origins of the ISTED family and its name, is included on this website.) It was this branch of the family which established a large estate in and around Framfield. It was also one of the younger John’s descendants (his 3xgt-grandson) – Thomas ISTED, born 1677, in London; died 1731, in Ecton - who established a legal practise in Middle Temple, London where he became friends with Samuel PEPYS, the famous diarist, who sponsored Thomas’s membership of the Royal Society in 1698. It was also this Thomas who acquired a large estate in and around Ecton, Northamptonshire at the beginning of the 18^th century and started the process of disposing of his property in East Sussex. This branch died out in the late 1800s.

Down the centuries ISTEDs have worked in many professions and occupations in many strata’s of society. However, most ISTEDs, in common with most people in England worked the land, until the 19^th century, when the industrial revolution greatly accelerated the drift of population to town from country. However, while ISTEDs have spread to many parts of the world, the largest concentration is still in East Sussex and the surrounding counties. This can be clearly seen by comparing the distribution of the Isted name from 1881 to 1998 at www.spatial-literacy.org , which contains a lot of useful information concerning the distribution of British surnames and patterns of regional economic development, population movement and cultural identity.