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When the ancestors of the Seer family emigrated to England following the Norman Conquest in 1066 they brought their family name with them. They lived in Essex. Their name, however, is a reference to Serez, Normandy or at the Ville of Sayers, Normandy according to the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae. 1
Alternatively, two sources claims the name was derived from an Anglo-Norman "personal name, as Saher de Quincy, the famous Earl of Winchester" or was perhaps "a forgotten personal name that has left an indelible mark on our directories. From twenty to twenty-five surnames separately spelt are the offspring, and many have a large number of representatives. The name was popular so early as Domesday as Segar and Sigar, and Latinized as Sigarus. " 2
One source believes the family was "an assayer of metals. 'When Domesday was compiled, there was always a fire ready in the Exchequer, and if they liked not the allay of the money, they burnt it, and then weighed it.' Hence the expression in Domesday, ' Lib. LVI arsas et pensatas'-56lb. burnt and weighed.-Kelham's Domesday, p. 157. The Sayer would therefore be a crown officer who assayed the precious metals." 3
The surname Seer was first found in Essex where "the name of an old Colchester family of wealth and municipal consequence, " 4 some say from the reign of King Edmund Ironside in 1016, but this date conflicts with the more likely source of Serez, in the arrondisement of Evreux in Normandy, supporting the contention that the family was granted these lands after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. "During the 14th century the Sayer family of Coppeford held of the King 82 acres of land in the village of Lachingdon." 4
They held a family seat there continuously from the Conquest to 1770.
"As Sayer and Sayere it occurred in Norfolk, Beds, and Hants in the 13th century. The Sayers of Pulham, Norfolk, an ancient family, from which the Sayers of Eye, Suffolk, are derived, were lords of the manor of Pulham in the 17th and 18th centuries." 4
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Seer research. Another 94 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1630 is included under the topic Early Seer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries. For that reason, spelling variations are common among many Anglo-Norman names. The shape of the English language was frequently changed with the introduction of elements of Norman French, Latin, and other European languages; even the spelling of literate people's names were subsequently modified. Seer has been recorded under many different variations, including Sears, Seares, Seers, Seeres, Sear, Seare, Seer and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Seer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
To escape the uncertainty of the political and religious uncertainty found in England, many English families boarded ships at great expense to sail for the colonies held by Britain. The passages were expensive, though, and the boats were unsafe, overcrowded, and ridden with disease. Those who were hardy and lucky enough to make the passage intact were rewarded with land, opportunity, and social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families went on to be important contributors to the young nations of Canada and the United States where they settled. Seers were some of the first of the immigrants to arrive in North America: