Re: History of Easom Name
-
In reply to:
Re: History of Easom Name
1/04/01
Glenn,
Again, I am not arguing that there should be a singular derivation for the name, but neither am I ready to concede that the modern pronunciation of Isham was used in the time of our earliest records. When I suggest French influence, I don'tmean to say that the name is of French derivation but rather that it was gallicized.French was used in English law and royal courts until at least the mid-fifteenth century.I have so far focused on the Isham hypothesis because it is suggested in my Easum family lore.I don't know whether to believe it; I haven't found good evidence to confirm it. I suspect that "Easum" may have been assimilated much later to "Isham". I don't know when or why it first happened.When the true derivation was obscure it may have happened thatthere were no more plausible alternatives. It may have been a simple mistake. For an obscure family it may have offered a welcome connection to a more exalted past.
I don't expect answers to come readily, although parish records might help to pinpointsome variations. Furthermore, the English Place-name Society has just begun to publish installments of new work on the elements of English place-names. There may also be clues among the staggering number of volumes ofplace- and family-name philology found in most better research libraries; there are historical documents of all sorts to be translated from late Latin and early English and French.
More Replies:
-
Re: History of Easom Name
1/05/01
-
Re: History of Easom Name
john blankenship 1/05/01
-
Re: History of Easom Name
Rosetta Ison 2/19/05
-
Re: History of Easom Name
-
Re: History of Easom Name