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(Click on picture to enlarge) Tony, his mother Annie and Susan soon after we found Annie (1996)

Scotchmer
One-Name Study

Topics

About the Scotchmer One-Name Study

The Scotchmer One-Name Study started in the 1980’s when my partner challenged me to find his Mother as he was brought up by Foster Parents and (as an adult) had never met his Mother. I bought my partner’s birth certificate and the search for his mother began by collecting every reference I could find in the hope that it would lead to her. Eventually, happily, she was found and contact was made.

I joined the Guild of One-Name Studies in approximately 1990 and the project has continued from there.

Variants

I have registered Scotchmere, Scotchmoor, Scotchmur, and Scotchner as variants of SCOTCHMER although I have discovered over 30 variants altogether. A story I have been told is that within one Scotchmer family there was a disagreement and some members changed their name to Scotchmere.

I continue to be amazed at the variation I have found including, very recently, a letter to my son was addressed as Mr SCOTCHHAMMER!!! It is therefore not surprising that there were so many variants in the 19th Century and earlier.

Origin of the surname

*The origin of Scotchmer is obscure although one meaning I have found is that it related to a long lost place near Thetford in Norfolk and is Anglo Saxon in origin.

*Another meaning which I heard a while ago and was confirmed recently is that the name relates to Scottish people who went to Framlingham and helped to build the Moat around the Castle ie 'Scotch' and 'Mere' (moat or lake).

It will always be a mystery.

Historical occurrences

BIGAMY

In 1849 James Thomas Scotchmoor was taken to Court by his 2nd and 3rd wives when they found out that he was still married to his 1st wife. According to the report of the case at the Old Bailey he had treated all his wives badly and ‘stolen’ from them.

He was sentenced to transportation for seven years for each count of bigamy.

I have found him again in the marriage indexes in the 1860’s so it would appear that he served his sentence in England. He died in 1874 in the Plaistow area of Essex having married at least twice more!!!

Scotchmer occurs in the most unexpected situations-an internet search brought up Scotchmer Street in Melbourne Australia and the reason for the name is currently being investigated.

I am also told that at sometime in the past there was a racehorse named Scotchmer's Knob but I have not been able to follow that up.

Distribution of the name

In the 1881 Census (and all other 19th Century Censuses) the majority of the Scotchmer ‘family’ are based in Suffolk with the main areas being Bury St Edmunds and Framlingham. There are a few in Essex, Middlesex, Surrey, Berks, Hants and the Isle of Wight with Scotchmur families at Hoo in Kent. Some of the people in the other counties either came from Suffolk or their parents were born in Suffolk.

Data

I have a vast file of data including

If you have an interest in the surname Scotchmer and variants please contact me and I will check my records.

Links

The Guild of One-Name Studies Scotchmer Archive can be found via the following link:

/cgi-bin/archive/frontpage.cgi?study=Scotchmer

I also have a Family Tree website for Scotchmer which can be found via the following link:

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/a/t/k/Susan-Atkins-Merseyside/index.html

Please let me know if you have an interest in Scotchmer & related names

Contact details

For further information, contact:

Miss Susan A Atkins
E-mail:

This page last updated 22 February 2009.

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