Abshier Name

Abshier Name

 I think that my Great Great Great  Grandfather Benjamin Abshier was the first to spell his name Abshier.  Prior to that the spelling was generally accepted to be Abshire.    

But, as you can tell from the page devoted to Lewis, his name was spelt Abshere by some and (see the pages on Lewis, Richard and siblings) the scribes recording his birth  in Stifford spelt the name Abshaw.  Since it likely that neither Richard nor Lewis could read or write, they probably didn’t know how to spell the name, just how to pronounce it.  

Therefore, the pronunciation they used was a pronunciation that can be common to all versions -  Abshire, Abshere and Abshaw.   The trailing letters, especially the consonant, was probably very soft or not pronounced at all.  The way that Richard and Lewis pronounced the name could be something that sounds like “absha” without much emphasis on the “b”.

The Chairman of the group coordinating the digitizing of the Essex Parish Registers (Stifford) said that he had never seen the name Abshaw /Abshire /Abshere  /Abshier before, agreed that it didn’t sound German, but he did think 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.   I did find a site that mentioned Habercham but not the Lancashire County connection.  The most famous Habercham is Matthew de Habercham who lived in the early 1200's.  Their descendents also immigrated to Virginia and have various spellings of the name.

This is a departure from the family history saying we were from Germany.  But, I suspect that it is really a Saxon name.  If anyone has additional information, please let me know.

John Abshire

Lewis Abshire

Richard Abshaw

Richard’s Wife and Other Children