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![Show Contents]() Sharmen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Etymology of SharmenWhat does the name Sharmen mean? The ancient name of Sharmen finds its origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from a name for a person who worked as a sheep-shearer deriving from the middle English word "sheareman," which meant "shearer." Alternately, and especially in Norfolk, the name was derived from "shireman," that is, a person born outside the county. 1 Early Origins of the Sharmen familyThe surname Sharmen was first found in various counties and shires throughout ancient Britain. In fact, "in [the] Domesday Book the Judge of the County-court was called a Seirman, i.e., Shireman. The Anglo Saxon scirmann is defined by Bosworth as 'a man who superintends, shireman, provincial, an overseer, governor, provost, bailiff of a hundred.' " 1 The earliest record of the name that we could find was Roger Sereman who was listed in 1207 in Leicestershire. A few years later William le Shereman was listed in 1281 and the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk list John Sherman in 1327. In the same year, the Subsidy Rolls of Essex listed Philip Shareman (Sharman.) 2 Early History of the Sharmen familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sharmen research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1611, 1662, 1670, 1671 and 1687 are included under the topic Early Sharmen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Sharmen Spelling VariationsSound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Sharmen family name include Sherman, Shearman, Sharman, Shaerman, Shirman and others. Early Notables of the Sharmen familyNotables of this surname at this time include: Philip Sherman (1611-1687), an English founding settler of Portsmouth in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations; and Roger Sherman of Connecticut, signer of the American Declaration of Independence.
John Sherman (died 1671), was an English historian of Jesus College, Cambridge, a native of Dedham...
Another 53 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Sharmen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Sharmen family to IrelandSome of the Sharmen family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Sharmen familyFor political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Sharmen surname or a spelling variation of the name include : John Sherman, who settled in Boston in 1634; Phillip, Edmund, Thomas; and William Sherman all settled in Virginia in 1652; Thomas Sherman settled in Barbados in 1634.
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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