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Murch History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Murch History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Murch arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Murch family lived on the border between two territories, such as the Marches between England and Wales or on the English Scottish borders. The name may also have emerged as a nickname for someone born in the month of March.

Early Origins of the Murch family

The surname Murch was first found in Cambridgeshire at March, a market town and civil parish in the Isle of Ely area in the parish of Doddington, union and hundred of North Witchford. The town lies on the course of the Fen Causeway, a Roman road, and there is evidence of Roman settlements in the area. "Between this town and Wisbech, urns inclosing burnt bones, and a vessel containing 160 Roman denarii of different emperors, were discovered in the year 1730." 1 Listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Merche 2, it derives its name from the Old English word "mearc." 3 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Henry le March and William le March, both in Cambridgeshire; and Philip le march in Oxfordshire. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list: Johannes de la Marche; Ricardus del Marche; and Agnes del Marche. 4 William de la Marche was listed in Cheshire in 1295. 5

Early History of the Murch family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Murch research. Another 94 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1334, 1336, 1338, 1380, 1410, 1413, 1430 and 1473 are included under the topic Early Murch History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Murch Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include March, Marche and others.

Early Notables of the Murch family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Pere March (1336/1338-1413), a Valencian poet, family had been lawyers and officers of the court of the kingdom of Aragon, undertook several important diplomatic missions, traveling to England for the first Alfonso twice in the...
Another 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Murch Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Murch Ranking

In the United States, the name Murch is the 16,056^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Murch migration to the United States +

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Murch or a variant listed above:

Murch Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Murch, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 7
John Murch, aged 30, who immigrated to the United States from Barnstaple, in 1892
A. W. Murch, aged 42, who immigrated to the United States, in 1894
James Murch, aged 47, who settled in Boston, in 1898

Murch Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Jean Martin Murch, aged 35, who settled in America from Paris, in 1900
Frank J. Murch, aged 24, who settled in America from England, in 1903
Harry Murch, aged 25, who immigrated to the United States from London, in 1905
Gertrude Murch, aged 6, who immigrated to America from Plymouth, in 1906
Blanche A. Murch, aged 40, who immigrated to Plymouth, in 1906
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Murch migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Murch Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Anna C. Murch, aged 37, who immigrated to Canada, in 1908
George Joseph Murch, aged 37, who immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, in 1920

Murch migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Murch Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mrs. Mary Murch, (b. 1809), aged 22, English dress maker who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Burrell" on 31st December 1831, arriving in New South Wales, she died in 1837 8
James Murch, aged 37, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "Trafalgar" 9
James Murch, aged 36, a quarryman, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Magdelana" 10

Murch migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Murch Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Philip M. Murch, aged 29, a baker, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Gertrude" in 1841 11
Catherine Murch, aged 25, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Gertrude" in 1841 11
Robert Murch, aged 31, a farm labourer, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Gertrude" in 1841 11
Ruth Murch, aged 26, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Gertrude" in 1841 11
Mr. William Murch, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Anne Longton" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 9th October 1857 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Murch (post 1700) +

Thompson Henry Murch (1838-1886), American politician, Representative from Maine 5th District, 1879-83 13
L. H. Murch, American politician, Member of California State Assembly 27th District, 1865-67 13
Henry S. Murch Jr., American politician, Delegate to New Hampshire State Constitutional Convention from Portsmouth 2nd Ward, 1956 13
Donald H. Murch, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for Delegate to Michigan State Constitutional Convention from Wayne County 21st District, 1961 13
Bertrand L. Murch, American politician, Independent Candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly from Chippewa County, 1958 13
Alfred L. Murch, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Maine State House of Representatives from Penobscot County, 1919-20 13
Walter Tandy Murch (1907-1967), American realist painter
Thompson Henry Murch (1838-1886), American politician, stonecutter, editor, publisher and merchant
Simeon Augustus "Simmy" Murch (1880-1939), American Major League Baseball player
Stewart Nigel Clifford Murch (1944-2020), Australian cricketer active from 1966 to 1970
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Murch family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Theodore Edward Murch, English Ship Write Lieutenant from England, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 14
Mr. J Murch, British Able Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 14
Mr. Edward William Lionel Murch, English Lieutenant from England, who sailed on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) prior to its sinking to return for a promotion 14

HMS Repulse

Mr. Tom Murch (b. 1900), British Able Bodied Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 15

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/burrell
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) TRAFALGAR 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Trafalgar-March.htm
South Australian Register Wednesday 17th January 1855. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Magdelana 1855. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/magdalena1855.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 12th December 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html