Viking origins - the Organ family of Gloucestershire and Australia
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| The Great Heathen Army, 865AD. |
Contents
- Origins
- Vikings
- References
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1. Origins
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| Gloucestershire, England. |
Like most surnames, origins are often intriguing, and Organ is one such example. Where did it come from? What race? Is the word English or another language? Does it refer to, for example, the internal structure of the body, or perhaps musical instruments? How far back does it go? All such questions have intrigued the septuagenarian writer since his youth. An attempt to answer them will be made within the present article.
Oral tradition exists that the Organ name is of Viking (Danish) origin, deriving from a family who settled in the Gloucestershire region of Anglo Saxon England around the time of Danish rule between 870-878, and/or the second phase between 1016-1035 (Organ 1984).
Gloucestershire is located on the western coast of England, cut in part by the Severn River. Known Organ family settlement since the 1200s has been on land located to the east of the Severn River in the vicinity of Berkeley, North Nibley and Dursley. Berkeley Castle is an historic feature of the local landscape.
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| North Nibley, Dursley & Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England, Google maps. |
The earliest identified direct ancestor of the present writer is the similarly named Richard Organ (1511-1559), being the 13th generation grandfather of the present writer. More precisely, it is the Organ family of North Nibley and Dursley from which came those who migrated to Australia in the 1830s and the writer claims descent. The story of that family is contained in the author's 1984 book Pioneers of the Illawarra - The Story of the Family of Elias Organ in Wollongong 1835-1865. Material from Andrew Plaster's Facebook site Organ family history of Berkeley & North Nibley and its worldwide branches, along with conversations with that author, has provided additional information.
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2. The Vikings
The Viking invasion, occupation and rule of Anglo-Saxon England occurred in a number of phases, beginning with initial raids along the east coast between 789-793, followed by the arrival of the so-called Great Heathen (Danish) Army in 865 - the first to reach the Gloucestershire region in the west. The Great Heathen Army was a coalition of Norse warriors, originating from Denmark, Norway, Sweden who came together under a unified command to invade the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that constituted England and avenge the death of Ragnar Lothbrok in AD 816.
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| Viking invasion, 865AD. |
This was followed by the Danelaw between 878-886 and the North Sea Empire under Cnut the Great between 1016-1042. Viking occupation of England came to an end with the defeat of Harald Hardrada in 1066, just prior to the Norman Conquest of that year.
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3. References
Great Heathen Army, Vikings Wiki, accessed 5 October 2026.
Organ, Michael and Robert Hardy, Pioneers of the Illawarra - The Story of the Family of Elias Organ in Wollongong 1835-1865, University of Wollongong Printery, 1984, 124p.
Plaster, Andrew, Organ family history of Berkeley & North Nibley and its worldwide branches, 2010.
-----, Organ family history of Berkeley & North Nibley and its worldwide branches, Facebook, accessed 5 October 2026.
Wikipedia, Great Heathen Army, Wikipedia, accessed 5 October 2026.
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Michael Organ: A9X Torana | Cars & motorbikes | Denver 2018 | Edinburgh 2005 | Film collection | Interview 2011 | Jam songs 2025+ | Keith Organ interview 1998 | Music collection | Old & alone | Parliament 2002-2004 | Photos & Videos | Prose 2001-4 | Prose 2021+ | Songs 1972+ 2021+ | Songs live 2022+ | Tokyo 2008 | Roma Organ: @ St Mary's (Interview 2019) / Interview 1998 / In Memorium | Terry Organ | Taiwan 2004 | Three faces | Uncle Jack Speirs WWII | Uncle Sonny WWI | Videos | Viking origins |
Last updated: 5 October 2026
Michael Organ, Australia
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