Pacher Surname History

Origins Available:
England

The name Pacher arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is a name for a wool packer having derived from the Old English word packe. 1 Another source claims that the name was derived for a "person 'employed in barrelling or packing up herrings.' In London, the occupation of the 'packer-and-presser' is a well-known and lucrative one." 2

Early Origins of the Pacher family

The surname Pacher was first found in Berkshire, where they held a family seat from ancient times where they were Lords of the manor of Bucklebury. At the time of the taking of the Domesday Book in 1086, a census initiated by Duke William after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, this manor was held by a Norman noble, Hugolin the Steersman, and consisted of a mill and a church, and the church still has Norman carvings. Conjecturally the Packers descend from this noble.

Not withstanding the Berkshire reference, the first record of the family was found in Bedfordshire. Walter le Packere was listed there in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. Later, the Calendarium Rotulorum Chartarum listed Mathew le Packere. 1

Early History of the Pacher family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pacher research. Another 62 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1614, 1618, 1645, 1648, 1661, 1682 and 1686 are included under the topic Early Pacher History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pacher Spelling Variations

Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Packere, Packer, Packers, Packar, Packars, Packare, Pacher and many more.

Early Notables of the Pacher family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was John Packer of Shellingford Manor, Berkshire, Clerk of the Privy Seal; and his son, Robert Packer (1614-1682), an English politician, Member of...
Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pacher Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pacher migration to the United States +

Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Pacher or a variant listed above:

Pacher Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Jacob Pacher, who landed in Texas in 1866 3
Patrick Pacher, who arrived in Arkansas in 1871 3

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)