This name has an extra-ordinary pedigree. It is a name of English origin 'The Hall (halh) in the Forest', but is not found in England except in the case of families who emigrated from Ireland! The original Forstalls came to Ireland in 1170 as part of Henry II's invading army, and were prominent in the activities of County Kilkenny and County Wexford through the 17th Century. The name holders were prominent in the various Irish rebellions of the period and were prominent Catholics. They were declared outlaws in 1691 and persecuted to the point where today the name is now rare in Ireland. The Bishop of Kildare (1676 - 1683) was Doctor Roger Forstall, other developed spellings include Jeffory Forrestal of Burnley (1738) and Catherine Forrestill who married Arthur Collican at St. Nicholas Church, Liverpool, on March 14th 1870. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Geoffrey le Forrestal, which was dated 1297, recorded as a landholder of County Kildare, during the reign of King Edward I, The Hammer of the Scots, 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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