Saturday 16 November 2013

Surname Saturday - Fletcher

Surname Saturday is a regular blog post in which I will discuss the origins and geography of the surnames which appear in my own family tree.


This weeks surname is FLETCHER.

Fletcher - arrow maker
(Image link: www.wikipedia.org, Author: Frank Vincentz,
18 Feb 2011
)
Variants: Flescher, Flesher

Fletcher is an occupational surname for a person who made or sold arrows, but also a medieval supply officer who would equip the bowman. The surname is thought to have derived from the Germanic pre 7th century "Fulcher" which means "people's army" and it was probably introduced by the Normans.

It is a common Northern surname with 22% of the family's being recorded in Lancashire on the census 1891 and 16% of the family's in Yorkshire.

My great grandmother was Ethel Fletcher from Mere in Lincolnshire. Her whole family is rooted in Lincolnshire in the area south and south west of Lincoln towards Newark especially in the villages of Long Bennington and Bracebridge Heath. The eldest Fletcher in my tree at present is Robert Fletcher, my great x5 grandfather, who was born c1791 in Leadenham, Lincolnshire. Robart was an agricultural labourer which was the occupation his descendants also followed for at least five generations.

Information from: SurnameDB - Fletcher

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