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The name Alteritch is Anglo-Saxon in origin. It was a name given to a the Old English personal name Aldrich, meaning old ruler, and refers to "a son of Aldrich." 1
Another source has a different approach to the origin of the name. "These surnames may be local in origin, but usually derive from Old English Ælfric 'elf-ruler' or Æðelric 'noble ruler'. Both survived the Conquest, by which time the first element had often been reduced to Al- or El- and consequently cannot be distinguished. A common post-Conquest form of Æðelric was Ailric or Eilric." 2
The surname Alteritch was first found in the counties of Sussex, Suffolk, and Surrey, where the Alteritch family held a family seat from very early times. The family had the Saxon spellings of Alderich, Ealdric, or possibly Aelfric before the Conquest. The Alderwick variant may have originated in West Sussex, near to Bognor Regis, in Aldwick.
Aldridge is a town in Staffordshire (now the West Midlands) that dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Alrewic and literally means "dwelling or farm among alders" having derived from the Old English word alor + wic. 3
The parish was originally in the union of Walsall, in the hundred of Offlow, comprised 7,752 acres and was anciently held by Robert, a tenant of William fitzAnsculf and was worth 15 shillings. 4 In Somerset, William Ailrich was listed there, 1 Edward III (during the first year of Edward III's reign.) 5
In London, the Calendarium Rotulorum Patentium in Turri Londinensi (1201-1483) lists John filius Aldrech. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include John Aldrich in Cambridgeshire and the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 include a listing for Robertus Aldrech. 1 John Aldryche was Bailiff of Yarmouth in 1469. 6
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Alteritch research. Another 34 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1507, 1511, 1515, 1566, 1647, 1681, 1687, 1688, 1689 and 1710 are included under the topic Early Alteritch History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Alteritch include Aldridge, Aldrich, Alderich, Alderidge, Eldrich, Elderidge, Elderich and many more.
Distinguished members of the family include Henry Aldrich (1647-1710), an English theologian, philosopher and architect who designed All Saints Church, Oxford. "In February 1681, he became canon of Christ Church, and in the following March B.D. and D.D. In 1687 and 1688 he wrote two tracts against Obadiah Walker in defence of Anglican principles; and upon the flight of Massey, the Roman Catholic dean of Christ Church under James II, the vacant deanery was bestowed upon Aldrich. He was installed 17 June 1689, and held the office with much distinction for the rest of his life. " 7
Robert Aldrich or Aldridge...
Another 151 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Alteritch Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Another 41 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Alteritch were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: George Aldrich who settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1639; Henry Aldrich, who came to Dedham in 1645; George Aldrich, who arrived in Swansea in 1659.