Show ContentsPethers History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Pethers Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Pethers

What does the name Pethers mean?

The Pethers family name dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. The name is derived from the Middle English word pedder, which means a packman, pedlar. He "makes baskets, or one who hawks fish, from ped, a pannier or basket. The market in Norwich was, or is, a ped-market, according to Way, from the fact that the wares were brought in from the country in peds, and thus exposed for sale. Hence in general a hawker or pedlar." 1

Early Origins of the Pethers family

The surname Pethers was first found in Lancashire at Whittingham, a township, in the ecclesiastical parish of Goosnargh, parish of Kirkham, hundred of Amounderness. "The estate passed by sale to the Pedders, of Preston. Whittingham Hall is now the property of James Pedder, Esq., of Ashton Lodge." 2

One of the first records of the family was found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 where Martin le Peddere was recorded in Norfolk. 1

Up in Scotland, the name was derived from similar occupations, but appears later: "John Peddar leased part of Kethyk, c. 1443 and Patrick Pedar held part of the same in 1457. John Pedder had a tack of four acres in Betschell haich from the abbot of Cupar in 1558, and Sir Alexander Pedder, a Pope's knight, resigned the vicarage of Awoch in the same year. Andrew Pedder was a student at the University of Aberdeen in 1627; Lennard Pedder in record in Elgin, 1661." 3

Early History of the Pethers family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pethers research. Another 122 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1443, 1457, 1479, 1520, 1538, 1542, 1552, 1553, 1554, 1559, 1571, 1655, 1661, 1673 and 1683 are included under the topic Early Pethers History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pethers 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 Pethers include Pedder, Peddar, Pether and others.

Early Notables of the Pethers family

The Very Rev John Pedder, DD (c. 1520- 1571), an English cleric, Dean of Worcester (1559-1571.) He was educated at Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. 1538, M.A. 1542, and B.D. in 1552. Having embraced the Protestant faith, he went abroad on Queen Mary's accession in 1553. In 1554 he was at Strasburg, and supported Grindal in his advocacy of the prayer-book of the church of England. But when, three years later, he was...
Another 73 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pethers Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pethers migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Pethers Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • John Pethers, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ballarat" in 1867
Air New Zealand Flight 901
  • Miss Carla Pethers (1930-1979), New Zealander passenger, from Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand aboard the Air New Zealand Flight 901 for an Antarctic sightseeing flight when it flew into Mount Erebus; she died in the crash 4
  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  3. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  4. Mount Erebus, Memorial, Roll of Remembrance (Retrieved 2018, February 21st). Retrieved from http://www.erebus.co.nz/memorialandawards/rollofremembrance.aspx

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