Sclanders

This is a Dutch - Flemish 'Huguenot' name of topographical origins which translates as 'The dweller (or possibly wosher) at the Fen land'. We have quoted the original name holder as 'Huguenot', however both Charles 1 and the Commonwealth Government (1649 - 1660) employed Dutch engineers to drain the English fens, so it is possible that this is the reason for the name appearance at the same time as the Huguenots (1630 - 1750). The name recordings are extremeley rare, although on the continent a Coat of Arms was granted to the Sclanders of Sclandersberg of the Tyrol, Germany circa 1580, with whom the present name holders may be associated. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of David Sclanders, which was dated 1687, married Grace Maryou at St. Marylebone, London, during the reign of King James 11, known as the Last Catholic King', 1685 - 1689. 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.