Plumer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

The ancient name of Plumer finds its origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from a name for a seller of plumes and feathers. Occupational names that were derived from the common trades of the medieval era transcended European cultural and linguistic boundaries. Occupational names have remained fairly commonplace in the modern period. This is attested to by the continuing appearance of occupational suffixes at the end of many English surnames. Some of these suffixes include: herd, monger, maker, hewer, smith and wright.

Early Origins of the Plumer family

The surname Plumer was first found in Durham where they held a family seat from early times. The family name Plumer first appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Plumer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Plumer research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1190, 1686, 1736, 1767 and 1822 are included under the topic Early Plumer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Plumer Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Plumer family name include Plumer, Plummer, Plumber and others.

Early Notables of the Plumer family

Distinguished members of the family include

William Plumer (c. 1686-1767), British Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire and Yarmouth (Isle of Wight)

Plumer migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Plumer surname or a spelling variation of the name include :

Plumer Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Francis Plumer, who landed in Newbury, Massachusetts in 1633 1
John Plumer, who arrived in Virginia in 1650 1
John and Peter Plumer, who settled in Virginia in 1650
Richard Plumer, who landed in Maryland in 1653 1
Francis Plumer, who arrived in Virginia in 1654
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Plumer Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jacob Plumer, who landed in Virginia in 1704 1
Abraham Plumer, who landed in Virginia in 1713 1
Benjamin Plumer, who arrived in Portsmouth, NH in 1741 1

Plumer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Moses Plumer, aged 33, who landed in Texas in 1827 1
Heinrich Ferdinand Plumer, who arrived in Missouri in 1840 1

Contemporary Notables of the name Plumer (post 1700) +

Patricia Susan "PattiSue" Plumer (b. 1962), American gold and two-time bronze medalist long-distance runner, active in the late 1980s and 1990s
William Swan Plumer (1802-1880), American clergyman, theologian and author
William Plumer Jr. (1789-1854), American politician, U.S. Representative from New Hampshire (1819-1825), son of William Plumer
George Plumer (1762-1843), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania (1821-1823) and (1823-1827)
Daniel Longfellow Plumer (1837-1920), American businessman and politician
Bradbury Greenleaf "B. G" Plumer (1830-1886), American businessman, farmer, and politician, brother of Daniel L. Plumer
William Plumer (1759-1850), American lawyer, lay preacher and politician, United States Senator from New Hampshire (1802-1807), 7th Governor of New Hampshire (1812-1813)
Rose Plumer (1876-1955), American actress, known for Bullets and Saddles (1943), Dark Mountain (1944) and The Brand of Hate (1934), wife of Lincoln Plumer
Lincoln Plumer (1875-1928), American silent film actor, known for Mike's Hero (1911), Her Face Value (1921) and A Grocery Clerk's Romance (1912)
Egon Plümer (1940-2021), German politician and member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, he served as Landrat [de] of Ahrweiler from 1977 to 1988
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Plumer 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: Consulto et audacter
Motto Translation: With prudence and daring.

Citations +

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)