Kitcherside

This name, with variant spellings Cathesyed, Catcherside, Ketchaside, Kitchaside etc., appears on record in English Church Registers from the Mid 16th Century, and is of locational origin from one of the estimated seven to ten thousand villages and hamlets that have now disappeared from the maps in Britain. The prime cause of these "disappearances" was the enforced "clearing" and dispersal of the former inhabitants to make way for sheep pastures in the 14th Century along with natural causes such as the Black Death of 1348. The original place is believed to have been in Lincolnshire and the component elements are the Old English personal byname Catta, plus "side", a hill slope; hence, "Catta's slope". On December 22nd 1650, Francis Ketchaside, an infant, was christened in Wandsworth, London, and on December 26th 1704, Thomas Kitcherside and Elizabeth Storey were married in St. Martin-in-the Fields, Westminster. John Catcherside was christened on February 27th 1705, in Sibsey, Lincolnshire, and on January 6th 1744, Thomas Kitcherside, an infant, was christened in Stoke near Guildford, Surrey. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alyson Cathesyed, (christening), which was dated April 14th 1565, St. Peter's, Saltfleetby, Lincolnshire, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603 Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.