Northmere History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England

Etymology of Northmere

The Devon and Cornish name Northmere was a local name for someone who lived on the northern part of a moor (presumably of Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor or Exmoor.) Moors or bogs are wetlands typically filled with peat. Over the centuries they have often attained a mystical or haunting reputation. The name is conjunctive, that is to say, it denotes someone who lived the "north of the moor."

One source notes the name could have been from Oxfordshire, and in this case, the earliest record of the name was Mora (without surname) in 1195. The same name appears again in 1208.

Early Origins of the Northmere family

Early History of the Northmere family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Northmere research. Another 31 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1397, 1635, 1643, 1671, 1677, 1684, 1686, 1695, 1708, 1713, 1720, 1724, 1766 and 1851 are included under the topic Early Northmere History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Northmere Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Northmere include Northmore, Northmuir, Northmor, Northmere and others.

Early Notables of the Northmere family

John Northmore, English politician, Member of Parliament for Taunton in 1397. Thomas Northmore (c.1643-1713) of Cleve in the parish of St Thomas, Exeter, in Devon was a Barrister-at-Law, a Master in Chancery and a Member of Parliament for Okehampton in Devon 1695-1708. He was the 4th son of John Northmore (d.1671) of Well in the parish of South Tawton and of Okehampton and East Ash, all in Devon, an Attorney of the Court of King's Bench and...
Another 76 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Northmere Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Northmere family

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Northmere or a variant listed above: William Northmore, who arrived in Virginia in 1763; George Northmore, Joseph Northmore and John Northmore who were recorded in the census of Ontario, Canada of 1871.