Goher History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Goher is a name of ancient Norman origin. It arrived in England with the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Goher family lived in the district north of Paris which is known in Old French as Gohiere. There are also numerous places in Normandy called Gouy, to which the Anglo-Norman French suffix er was added to make "Gower." 1

Early Origins of the Goher family

The surname Goher was first found in Yorkshire, where a family of Gower, ancestors of the Duke of Sutherland, held a family seat in Stittenham Township, "descended from Sir Nicholas Gower, knight of the shire for this county in the reign of Edward III., and seated at Stittenham from about the same period." 2

Another reference is more specific. "All of Antiquities agree that this family is one of the oldest in the county of York, though they differ as to its patriarch, whom some say will have to be Sir Alan Gowers, said to be sheriff of that county at the time of the Norman Conquest, while others with greater probability assert that it descended from on Guhyer, whose son, called William Fitz-Guher of Stittenham, was charged with a mark for his lands in the sheriff's account in 1167." 3

It is generally agreed that Gower the Poet was from the Stittenham stock. 3 Today Stittenham is a township in the parish of Sheriff with as few as 92 inhabitants in the late 1800s. 2

The Gower spelling was generally adopted about the time of Edward I, but early records show the wide variety of spellings in use at that time. By example, "Adelard de Guer witnessed a charter of Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, 1136; from which family Roger de Guer held a fief in 1165 when Hugh de Goher held a fee from the Earl of Warwick. William Guhier obtained a pardon in Oxford 1158 being also of Essex, for after 1152 the Abbey of Tilteney, Essex, acquired lands of the fief of William Goer. This William Guhier or Goer was Lord of Stittenham in Yorkshire, and was dead A.D. 1200. "4

Early History of the Goher family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Goher research. Another 269 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1130, 1195, 1198, 1325, 1347, 1365, 1408, 1543, 1575, 1577, 1585, 1638, 1700 and 1711 are included under the topic Early Goher History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Goher Spelling Variations

Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents. The name has been spelled Gower, Gowers, Gowar, Gowars, Goward, Gore, Goher, Gurr, Goer and many more.

Early Notables of the Goher family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Henry Gower, (d. 1347), Bishop of St. David's and "was sprung from a noble family who settled probably in the English-speaking peninsula of Gower, not far from Swansea." 5John Gower (1325?-1408), was an English poet and acquired the Lordship of Aldington, Kent in 1365. He was probably nephew and heir-male of Sir Robert Gower of Kent, remembered mainly for three long poems.Sir Thomas...
Another 71 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Goher Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Goher family to Ireland

Some of the Goher family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 36 words (3 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 Goher family

To escape the political and religious persecution within England at the time, many English families left for the various British colonies abroad. The voyage was extremely difficult, though, and the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving. But for those who made it, the trip was most often worth it. Many of the families who arrived went on to make valuable contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Goher or a variant listed above: Thomas Gower, who settled in Virginia in 1606; Richard Gower, who settled in Virginia in 1637; Nicholas Gower, who settled in Virginia in 1638; John Gower, who settled in Virginia in 1653.

The Goher Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Frangas non flectes
Motto Translation: Thou may'st break, but shalt not bend me.

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print