Guild of One-Name Studies
One-name studies, Genealogy
Study: Twitchett
Variants: Twitchet, Twychet
Category: 3 - A study where research using core genealogical datasets and transcriptions is well under way on a global basis.
Website: touchet.one-name.net
Contact: Mr Henry Mayne
It has now been established, with little doubt, that the TWITCHETT surname is a derivation of TOUCHET.
In order to avoid being linked with his father, who had been found guilty of treason and beheaded, James Touchet born circa 1493 in Somerset moved to live in Norfolk. After some 500 years in England it is difficult to know how Touchet had become to be pronounced, but in Norfolk it was taken to be spelt as Twitchett and thus, it appears, the surname of Twitchett came into existence.
It seems very likely that all individuals bearing the surname of Twitchett will trace their origin back to this single family in Norfolk.
The family soon spread into Suffolk and then Essex, their numbers expanding as they gradually migrated south. Some families later moved to East and South London, and others found their way to Lancashire, Durham, and Yorkshire.
One young Twitchett of Yorkshire descent was orphaned at an early age and sent out to Canada, creating a family there. A Joseph Twitchett sentenced to transportation to Tasmania in 1838 for sheep stealing became the founder of a large Twitchett family in Australia.
The joint history of the Touchet and Twitchett families can be examined at the website mentioned above.
Two young Twitchetts from the East London line served on HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar as powder monkeys.
Archdeacon Cyril Twitchett was a Chaplain to King George VI.
Professor Denis Crispin Twitchett (1925 - 2006) was a British Sinologist specializing in Chinese History.
Mostly found in England, some families are also recorded in Australia and Canada.
Over many years a team of researchers put together a family tree for the Twitchetts. This encompassed collecting data from the following sources;
(a) All General Register Office entries for Births, Marriages and Deaths since 1837.
(b) Extensive Parish Records for all counties where Twitchetts have been found, including Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and London from the 1500s.
(c) Pedigrees submitted by other Twitchett researchers.
The consolidated family tree produced is now available to view at the website identified above.
No DNA data has been accumulated to date.