Wisher

This interesting surname, derives from the old English word "wisc", a damp meadow. The suffix "er" is attached to somebody who lived by some topographical feature, thus "Wisher" translates as a dweller near a damp meadow or marsh. The original surname "Wish" dates from the late 12th Century. (see below). One Hugo Wisc is recorded in the 1199 "Pipe Rolls of Norfolk". A John de la Wisse is mentioned in the "Place Names of Sussex" in 1261. The "Calendar of Letter Book of London", record a William atte Wyshe de la Rye in 1305. The same old English word "Wisc", also gives rise to a river name in the North Riding of Yorkshire, called "Wishe", hence some one who lived by this river may have been called Wisher. A Martha Wesher, daughter of John was christened at St. Dunstan in the East on October 22nd 1559. The earliest recording of Wisher is found in the church register of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, when Margia, daughter of Jacobi and Margta Wisher, was christened on November 11th 1636. Earliest recordings for Nottingham date from January 27th 1703 when Elizabeth Wisher married Richard Marrat at Epperstone. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Godric Wisce, which was dated 1087, "Old English Bynames" by G. Tenguik, during the reign of King William 11, known as "Rufus", 1086 - 1100. 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.