Corser One-Name Study

Corser
One-Name Study

Topics

About the Corser One-Name Study
Variants
Origin of the surname
Distribution of the name
DNA project
Links
Contact Details

About the Corser One-Name Study

I started to research my Family Tree in 1969, after the birth of our first daughter, but soon ran into the dreaded 'brick wall', and put the little I had found to one side. Twenty five years later, that same daughter gave me some genealogy software for my birthday, and I started again. With the sources now available, and with a little luck, I broke through the wall and made definite progress. As there were several spelling variations used for my family in various records, I began to gather all instances of my names in the hope of finding more of my family members. It wasn't long before I realized I was well on the way to a One Name Study - and the rest is history.

My One Name Study Objectives are:

# To use the information gathered to reconstruct family trees with as much accuracy as possible.

# To determine the derivation of the names.

# To locate the geographical origin(s) of the names and chart the spread of the names around the world.

# To correspond with other researchers into the names and exchange information.

Variants

The main variants covered by my One Name Study are:

Causer

Causier

Cawser

Corsar

Corsair

Corser

Origin of the surname

Dictionaries of surname origins tend only to cover Corser, giving it as an occupational name for a dealer in horses. The connection with horses stems from the Latin root 'currere' which gave the Latin 'cursor' for runner, and the family name of the 'Cursores'. The Latin words were carried across into Italian and French. In Italian there was 'corsa' for a course and 'corsiere' for a courser or horse. In Old French there was 'corsier' or 'coursier', meaning a steed, 'corsour' meaning running, and Le Corsour was a name for a horse-dealer.

There is a section on my web site dealing in depth with the derivation of the names in my One Name Study.

Distribution of the name

In England Corser and Causer were found mainly in Shropshire and south Staffordshire, although there were occurences in Worcestershire and Warwickshire. Cawser was mainly found in a restricted area of Staffordshire bounded by Stafford, Lichfield and Burton-on-Trent. Causier was most often found in Worcestershire.

Corser and Causer also appeared in Scotland, while occurences of Corsar and Corsair were more frequently found. These names appeared mainly in Aberdeenshire, Stirlingshire and East Lothian.

In North America the Corser name became established very early on in New Hampshire. The spelling variant Courser became used in some branches of this family, particularly in Vermont and Quebec.

Several Corser families emigrated to Australia in the early and mid nineteenth century, and became established in Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria. Causer became established in New South Wales.

At the present day the names are found in most counties of England and Scotland, and in many states of the USA as well as in New Zealand and South Africa.

My web site has maps showing the distribution of several of the names at different periods.

DNA project

I have started a DNA Project for the names in my study with the American company Family Tree DNA, and males bearing the names are invited to join the project by donating a sample of their DNA. The URL for more information is in the Links section - the donor deals directly with the company.