Jowsey/Jossey families of Scotland (mainly Edinburgh), descended from de Josse (Normandy), were prominent in the 16th-17th centuries, then vanished (secretly fled to rural County Down in Ireland in the early 1700s, and changed surnames). Known descendants are currently found in Yorkshire, Northumberland (Joicey), Canada, and southern USA (Jossey/Jossy). Jowsey families also emigrated from UK to Australia and New Zealand, principally during the 19th century.