Southouse History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Southouse

What does the name Southouse mean?

When the ancestors of the Southouse family arrived in England following the Norman Conquest of 1066, they brought their name with them. It is a name for a person who worked at a saltworks. Such structures where salt was purified were known as salthouses. 1 2

Early Origins of the Southouse family

The surname Southouse was first found in Norfolk at Salthouse, a parish, in the union of Erpingham, hundred of Holt. "The church is a handsome structure in the later English style, with a lofty square embattled tower, formerly surmounted by a spire; the foundation of a second church may still be traced in the burial-ground." 3

The Domesday Book of 1086 lists this place as Saltus 4 and literally the place name meant "building for storing salt," from the Old English "salt" + "hus." 5

Shortly after the Conquest, Salthouse was occupied by William d'Ecouis who held it from Earl William de Warren. 4

Two sources note that the first on record was Adam de Salthus who held lands here according to the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 6 1

Later, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Simon del Southouse, souter. 6

"Salthouse is a name now mostly confined to Lancashire. De Salthus was a Norfolk name in the 13th century; there is a parish of Salthouse in that county, and De Salthouse was a common clerical name in that county in the 14th century (Blomefield's "Norfolk"). Salthouse is a Norfolk parish." 2

Two other sources agree: "two small places, a Salthouse in Lytham, and a Salthouse in Furness, where salt was obtained from sea-water, have originated two families of Salthouse in North Lancashire." 6 1

The Lancashire Wills at Richmond includes: Janet Saltehowse, of Pulton. 1562; Agnes Saltus, of Ulverston, 1596; John Salthouse, of Saltcoathouses, 1661; and William Saltus, of Banke, 1662.

Early History of the Southouse family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Southouse research. Another 57 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1630, 1652, 1657, 1665, 1681 and 1691 are included under the topic Early Southouse History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Southouse 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 Salthouse, Saltehouse, Salthose and others.

Early Notables of the Southouse family

Thomas Salthouse (1630-1691), English Quaker, born in Lancashire in 1630, probably at Dragley Beck, an outlying district in Ulverston parish, about half a mile from Swarthmoor Hall. After a scanty education, Salthouse was employed as land steward by Judge Thomas Fell at Swarthmoor Hall and was converted to Quakerism, with the other inmates of the house, on George Fox's first visit there in 1652. in 1657, he was sent to Ilchester gaol, brought up at Taunton, fined, and condemned to remain...
Another 81 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Southouse Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Southouse 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 Southouse or a variant listed above: Thomas Salthouse who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1683; another Thomas Salthouse settled in Barbados in 1685; William Salthouse settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1838..

Sources +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)