Abshier Name

Richard Abshire

I was not able to find a record of Richard’s birth in the Stifford Register, which started about 20 years before his recorded birth date. I was, however, able to find the record of his death on April 7, 1651, not 1635.

The Chairman of the group coordinating the digitizing of the Essex Parish Registers said that he had never seen the name Abshaw /Abshire /Abshere /Abshier before, but that it sounded Saxon (the Germanic peoples who invaded what is now England around 400 - 600 AD).  He did some quick research and said that one web site ties the name to a Lancashire County family named Habercham.   The most famous of them is Matthew de Habercham who lived in the early 1200's.  Their descendents also immigrated to Virginia and have various spellings of the name.  

The next step in research, should anyone care to take it, is to look through the other Essex Parish registers.  I have searched all beginning with A and those closest to Stifford.  The next step might be those in Lancashire County, if they are digitized.  If Richard immigrated from Germany, as some think, searching for a record is almost impossible unless you know where to start.  

The Essex Parish Registers can be found at http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/displayParishContents.asp.  In the upper right corner look for “Essex Ancestors”.