Capp Ancestry

“We will remember them.” – Remembering a fallen Capp ancestor.

cappancestry — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:34:03 +0000

On 24th August 1914, Pte William James Capp, age 28, was killed fighting in France during WW1.

He was part of the 21st South Lancashire Regiment and entered the war on 14th Aug 1914 as part of the British Exploratory Force, only 10 days prior to his death.

William was born in North Kensington, London in 1886 and prior to the war worked as a skilled labourer.

He was survived by a wife; Annie L Capp nee Smith and four children, James William, Ivy, Lily(twins) and Charles.

The British Army WW1 Medal Roll has William listed as being awarded the 1914 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

Medal Roll Index Card for Pte Capp,William 7542

1914 Medal Trio

William is honoured at the La Ferte-Sous-Jouarre Memorial near Paris in France. His name is listed along side many other soldiers that died at the early stages of the campaign.

He is also remembered on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, which has a memorial certificate listed. Memorial Certificate for Private William Capp

His wife Annie remarried after the war to another soldier who served in WW1, by the name of Percy Monsell.

According to a family story, William’s brother Charles Harry Capp joined up with the Army in Nov 1914 after the war had started and also became a private in the South Lancashire Regiment. The story goes that Charles actually joined up with the intention of finding William in France. However, unknown to him at the time, his younger brother William had already been killed. Charles survived the war and was discharged in 1918 as “being no longer physically fit for war service”, he was most probably was suffering from shell shock, he died in 1948.

If you are a descendant of William James Capp through his four children, James William b. 1909, Ivy and Lily(twins) b. 1911 and Charles b.1913, we would very much like to hear from you.

Or, if anyone has any information about 21st South Lancashire Regiment and their involvement in the early stages of WW1 we would also very much like to hear from you.

“We will remember them”

Capp Surname data.

cappancestry — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:31:22 +0000

Follow this link for some interesting Capp surname related data.

Click on the tabs along the top for further information.

http://www.britishsurnames.co.uk/surnames/CAPP/

Distribution of Capp Families in the UK

cappancestry — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:41:08 +0000

Here is an interesting page on Ancestry.com, it details the distribution of Capp families in England and Wales.

This page also has links to other interesting Capp related facts.

Please select link below:

http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Capp-family-history-uk.ashx

Origin of the name: Capp

cappancestry — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:02:03 +0000

This long-established surname is of early medieval English origin, and is either a metonymic occupational name for a maker of caps and hats, or a nickname for a wearer of some kind of noticeable headgear. The derivation is from the Middle English word “cappe”, cap, headgear, ultimately from the Olde English pre 7th Century “caep”, reinforced by the Old Norman French “cape”, introduced into England after the Conquest of 1066. Job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary, and nicknames were given with reference to personal characteristics such as physical attributes or peculiarities, and to habits of dress. One Alward Cappe was noted in the 1178 Pipe Rolls of Kent, and a Roger Caps appears in the 1327 Subsidy Rolls of Somerset. The final “s” attached to the name indicates the patronymic, and is a reduced form of “son of”. In the modern idiom the surname takes the forms: Capp, Cape, Capps, Caps and Capper, the “-er” of Capper being an agent suffix. On February 3rd 1556, Thomas, son of Steve Capp, was christened at St. Benet Fink, London. A Coat of Arms granted to the Capp family depicts three gold spurs on a black shield, the Crest being a gold winged spur; another held by the Cappe family is a red shield with a silver fesse dancettee, in chief three caps of the last. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Cappa, which was dated 1111, in “Early London Names”, during the reign of King Henry 1, known as “The Lion of Justice”, 1100 – 1135. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax.

Source: http://www.surnamedb.com/

In the United States, Capp is also an Americanised spelling of the German name Kapp, that doesn’t mean to say that all Capp families in the US are of German origin. http://kappgenealogy.com/