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Origins Available: |
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Shackern is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Shackern family once lived in the county of Worcester. Shackern is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. During the Middle Ages, as society became more complex, individuals needed a way to be distinguishable from others. Toponymic surnames were developed as a result of this need. Various features in the landscape or area were used to distinguish people from one another. In this case the original bearers of the surname Shackern were named due to their close proximity to the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain. During the Roman occupation the Severn was known by the Latin name Sabrina. 1
The surname Shackern was first found in Worcestershire where John Seuarne was recorded as holding lands in the Subsidy Roll of 1327. Later in Gloucestershire, William Seuarne was listed in 1362. 2
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shackern research. Another 124 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1300 and 1675 are included under the topic Early Shackern History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Shackern family name include Severne, Severn, Seven, Sevens, Severin, Seffern, Sefferin and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Shackern Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Shackern surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Charles Severin settled in Philadelphia in 1834; Samuel Severn settled in Maryland in 1774; Arthur Severne settled in Virginia in 1654; Benjamin Severn arrived in Philadelphia in 1813.