The Geffers surname is a
patronymic name that comes from the personal names Geoffrey and Godfrey. These names appear in Old English as Geffrey and in Old French as Jefroi or Jeufroi. The surname Geffers makes use of the patronymic suffix -son, which had superseded all other such suffixes in popularity by the 14th century, and was most common in the north of Britain. This suffix was sometimes abbreviated to -s.
Early Origins of the Geffers family
The surname Geffers was first found in
Herefordshire, where they held a
family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the
Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.
Early History of the Geffers family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Geffers research.
Another 235 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1645, 1689, 1610, 1685, 1643, 1613, 1703, 1674 and 1685 are included under the topic Early Geffers History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Geffers Spelling Variations
The
Welsh have an extremely large amount of
spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. It was up to the priest or the scribe taking the official records to determine how the spoken name was to be made literal. As time progressed, the old Brythonic names of
Wales were recorded in English, which was especially problematic since the English language had extreme difficulty recording the highly inflected sounds of Cymraeg.
Spelling variations were, however, also carried out according to an individual's design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by spelling variations of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Geffers have included Jeffreys, Jeffereys, Jefferies, Jeffers, Jefferis, Jefferyes, Jefferys, Jeffries, Jeffry, Jeffs, Jefries and many more.
Early Notables of the Geffers family (pre 1700)
Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was George Jeffreys, 1st
Baron Jeffreys of Wem(1645-1689),
Welsh jurist & politician, known as "The Hanging Judge," Lord Chancellor of Britain; George Jeffreys (ca.1610-1685)...
Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Geffers Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Geffers family to Ireland
Some of the Geffers family moved to
Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 101 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Geffers family to the New World and Oceana
Many
Welsh families joined their Scottish and Irish neighbors during the late 1800s and early 1900s in seeking refuge in North America. Like the Irish and Scottish, many
Welsh anxiously awaited the work, freedom, and opportunities that they believed lay in North America. Those who did journey over to the United States and what became known as Canada often realized those dreams, but only through much toil and perseverance. Whenever and however these
Welsh immigrants arrived in North America, they were instrumental in the creation of the industry, commerce, and cultural heritage within those two developing nations. In the immigration and passenger lists a number of early immigrants bearing the name Geffers were found:
Geffers Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- William Joseph Geffers, who landed in America in 1841 [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)