Motershall is a name that was carried to
England in the great wave of migration from
Normandy following the
Norman Conquest of 1066. The Motershall family lived in
Cheshire at Mottram St. Andrew, a small village and parish that dates back to the
Domesday Book where it was listed as Motre, but later listed as Motromandreus in 1351. The place name possibly meant "speaker's place" or "place where meetings are held" from the Old English motere + rum.
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) More recently, it is home to Mottram Hall, a house built around 1750. Mottram in Longdendale is a village in Greater Manchester. It is one of the eight ancient parishes of the Macclesfield
Hundred of
Cheshire and dates back at least 1242.
Early Origins of the Motershall family
The surname Motershall was first found in
Cheshire where they held a
family seat as Lords of the Manor of Mottram at the time of the
Norman Conquest of
England by Duke William of
Normandy in 1066 A.D. Conjecturally they are descended from Gamal whose father held the Lordship from Earl Hugh Bigod, the Chief
tenant. Mottram was classed as a Hawk's eyrie at the time of the taking of the
Domesday Book survey in 1086 A.D. The village is now two villages, Mottram St. Andrew and Mottram Cross. There is now a Mottram Old Hall. The name also became Mottershead about the 16th century, branching away but retaining the same Coat of Arms.
Early History of the Motershall family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Motershall research.
Another 153 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1715, 1688 and 1771 are included under the topic Early Motershall History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Motershall Spelling Variations
Before the last few
hundred years the English language had no fixed system of spelling rules. For that reason,
spelling variations occurred commonly in Anglo Norman surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Motershall were recorded, including Mottram, Mottrame, Motram, Motramm, Motteram, Mottvane, Mottershead, Mottishead, Mottishitt and many more.
Early Notables of the Motershall family (pre 1700)
Another 20 words (1 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Motershall Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Motershall family to the New World and Oceana
The unstable environment in
England at this time caused numerous families to board ships and leave in search of opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad in places like
Ireland,
Australia, and particularly the New World. The voyage was extremely difficult, however, and only taken at great expense. The cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels caused many to arrive diseased and starving, not to mention destitute from the enormous cost. Still opportunity in the emerging nations of Canada and the United States was far greater than at home and many went on to make important contributions to the cultures of their adopted countries. An examination of many early immigration records reveals that people bearing the name Motershall arrived in North America very early: Thomas Mottram and William who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1856; Adam Mottershed settled in Virginia in 1698; John Mottershitt settled in Virginia in 1663..