Contents [hide]

Thatcher History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Thatcher History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Thatcher is part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name was taken on by someone who worked as a person who worked as the thatcher. This surname was a derivative of the Old English word paeccan which literally meant to cover. The meaning later changed and referred to the task of thatching roofs.

Early Origins of the Thatcher family

The surname Thatcher was first found in Essex where they held a family seat from very ancient times, before and after the Conquest in 1066.

Early History of the Thatcher family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Thatcher research. Another 52 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1536, 1558 and 1565 are included under the topic Early Thatcher History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thatcher Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Thatcher include Thatcher, Thacker, Thaxter and others.

Early Notables of the Thatcher family

Notables of the family at this time include

James Thatcher or Thacker (c. 1536-1565), an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Derby in 1558

Thatcher Ranking

In the United States, the name Thatcher is the 4,188^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Thatcher family to Ireland

Some of the Thatcher family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thatcher migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Thatcher Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Joe and Mary Thatcher, who settled in Virginia in 1635
Anthony Thatcher, who landed in Massachusetts in 1635 2
Jo Thatcher, aged 22, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Globe" 2
Silvester Thatcher, aged 21, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Paul" 2
Thomas Thatcher, (1620-1678), English-American clergyman, who sailed aboard the ship "James" into New England, bound for Boston, Massachusetts in 1635 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Thatcher Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Edward Thatcher, who arrived in Virginia in 1703 2
Oxenbridge Thatcher, who settled in Boston in 1716 with his servant

Thatcher Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Michael Thatcher, aged 24, who arrived in America in 1822 2
M Thatcher, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 2
S W Thatcher, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 2

Thatcher migration to Australia +

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

Thatcher Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Henry Thatcher, (b. 1793), aged 27, British water man who was convicted in London, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Caledonia" on 5th July 1820, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3
James Thatcher, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on July 3, 1822, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 4
William Thatcher, English convict from London, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on February 22, 1834, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 5
Eliza Thatcher, aged 17, a laundress, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Confiance" 6

Thatcher 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:

Thatcher Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Henry Thatcher, Cornish settler travelling from Launceston, UK aboard the ship "Brazil Packet" arriving in New Zealand in 1836 7
Mr. John Thatcher, (b. 1844), aged 26, British shepherd travelling from London aboard the ship "Monarch" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 6th September 1870 7
F.G. Thatcher, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "British King" in 1883

Thatcher migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 8

Thatcher Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Francis Thatcher, who settled in Barbados in 1678 with his wife Mary and son Samuel

Contemporary Notables of the name Thatcher (post 1700) +

Prime Minister Margaret Hilda Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (1925-2013), English Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Sophie Bathsheba Thatcher (b. 2000), American actress, best known for starring role on (2021–)
Richard Thatcher (1846-1901), American educator, and Civil War veteran, the 1st President of Territorial Normal School (1891-1893), now the University of Central Oklahoma
Kim Thatcher (b. 1964), American politician, Member of the Oregon Senate (2015-)
Karen Elizabeth Thatcher (b. 1984), American three-time gold medalist ice hockey forward
J. T. Thatcher (b. 1978), former American football defensive back
Eva Thatcher (1862-1942), American film actress who appeared in more than one hundred films between 1912 and 1930
George Thatcher (1754-1824), American lawyer, jurist, and statesman, delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress in 1787 and 1788 and associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1801 to 1824
Joseph "Joe" Andrew Thatcher (b. 1981), American Major League Baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres
Maurice Hudson Thatcher (1870-1973), U.S. Congressman
... (Another 13 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Thatcher family +

HMS Cornwall

Percy William Thatcher (d. 1942), British Marine aboard the HMS Cornwall when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 9

HMS Dorsetshire

Alfred Charles Thatcher (d. 1945), British Petty Officer Cook (O) aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 10

Citations +

"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 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/caledonia
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1822 with 155 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1822
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1834 with 230 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1834
South Australian Register Tuesday 30th November 1858. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Confiance 1858. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/confiance1858.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Force Z Survivors Crew List HMS Cornwall (Retrieved 2018, February 13th) - Retrieved from https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listcornwallcrew.html#A
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html