WELCOME,MY NAME IS FRANCIS { FRANK) PENSTON,I LIVE IN ATHLONE CO. WESTMEATH, IRELAND. I HOPE YOU WILL ENJOY VIEWING  MY FAMILY TREE. I BELIEVE THE IRISH PENSTON'S ARE RELATED AND STEM FROM WEXFORD.IRELAND
The name Penston was brought to England by the Normans when they conquered the country in 1066. The  ancestors of the Penston family lived in Devon. Their name, however, is a reference to Mont-Pincon,  in Calvados, in the arrondissement of Lisieieux, Normandy, the family's place of residence prior to  the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.The surname Penston was first found in Devon where they held  a family seat anciently as Lords of the Manor. The name originally was the Norman Mont-pincon or  pincun from the barony and castle in Normandy.
 Ralf de Montpincon was the Norman noble dapifer who was granted lands in Devon for his assistance  at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. Meanwhile in Normandy, the head of the family, Hugh de Monte  Pincon held the service of three knights from Montpincon Castle in 1172.

Migration of the family from Normandy to England continued for centuries as seen by Richard Pynson  (died 1530) who was a Norman by birth, but was naturalized on 26 July 1513. He became a printer in  London. "From his method of working it is clear that he learnt the art in Normandy, probably in the  office of Guillaume le Talleur.
 The surname of PENSTON was a  also locational name ( PENSTON, a collier village in  Gladsmuir.)SCOTLAND

The barony of PENSTON, lying around the village, belonged towards the close of the 13th century to

William de Balliol, nephew of John Balliol of Barnard Castle, the father of King John Balliol; and

passed to his descendants, the Baillies of Lamington.  has been famous, since the 14th century,

for excellent coal; (yielded coal, in the time of Oliver Cromwell, under a yearly rental of £400.)

TENENTS OF THE VILLAGE TOOK ON THE NAME OF THE VILLAGE, (ie) PENSTON. Penston refers to a coal  mining 
 village located in the Parish of Gladsmuir in Scotland. 
 Included in the Stories section of this website is an item entitled 'Penston, East Lothian,  Scotland'. This story includes some maps and descriptions of the area.

SOME PENSTON'S MOVED TO ENGLAND AND THEN TO WEXFORD. The name was taken to Ireland by settlers.In  times when literacy was uncommon, names such as Penston were transliterated based on how they were  heard by a scribe when people's names were recorded in government records. This could have given  rise misspellings of Penston. Understanding misspellings and alternate spellings of the Penston  family name are important to understanding the history of the name.

PENITONE (without surname) was documented in the Domesday Book of 1086, and appears to be the

first of the name on record.

PENYSTONE (without surname) appears in the year 1167, and Richard Paynestone was recorded in the

year 1305, County Devon.Walter Penstone of County Somerset, was documented during the reign of 

Edward III. (1327-1377) and Joann Penstone of Yorkshire, appears in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379.

THE PENSTON NAME HAS HAD MANY SPELLINGS  OVER THE YEARS (ie) PENESTON/PENSTONE.PENITONE AND  PENYSTONE.



THERES IS A GEORGE PENSTON BORN 1695 DIED 1749 AND JAMES PENSTON  BORN 1710 DIED 1780.BOTH BURIED

IN COURTOWN,GOREY,CO.WEXFORD COULD THEY BE THE START OF THE IRISH PENSTONS ??

RESEARCH HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETED ON ALL THE GENERATIONS SO A NUMBER OF 'BLANKS' ARE PRESENT( It has

mistakes and not all of the data has been verified.)

SO I INVITE EVERYONE WITH THE PENSTON AND ATKINSON NAME(THE FAMILY TREE INCLUDES MANY SURNAMES  OTHER THEN' PENSTON' BUT THEY ARE ALL BRANCHES OF THE TREE.) TO ADD OR CORRECT ANY DETAILS WHICH  ARE
 DOUBTFUL OR INACCURATE, WHILE MUCH EFFORT HAS BEEN PUT INTO MAKING THIS FAMILY TREE AS ACCURATE AS

POSSIBLE ITS ALWAYS POSSIBLE THAT THERE ARE ERRORS WITHIN IT.

I WOULD TO THANK NUALA RODON nee PENSTON AND ELIZABETH DONLEY FOR ALL THEIR HELP AND INFORMATION.  FRANK