Fausch

"Fausch", also recorded in the spellings "Feusch", is a Germanic variant of the Old French occupational name "Fauche", a patronymic for one who manufactured "scythes", or who carried out the work of mowing and reaping. The name derives originally from the Latin (Roman) "falca" and in this form is recorded in Italy. In France the spelling is also recorded as Faucher, Fauchier, and Le Faucheur, being most numerous in Normandy and Picardy. The German recordings date back to the early 18th Century; recordings generally on the Continent are much later than Britain because of the continuing wars and destruction over the intervening centuries. The name examples include the following: Anna Fausch, who married one Peter Davatz on June 1st 1785 at Fanas, Graubunden, Switzerland, and Friedrich Fausch, who married Amalie Ernst, at Vorde Evangelist Church, Province of Westfalen, Germany, on December 14th 1865. An early recording was that of Catharina Feusch, who married Georgius Backes, at Spangdahlem, Rheinland, Germany, on January 26th 1818. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Johann Heinrich Fausch, which was dated December 12th 1727, a witness at Frankenthal Evangelist Church, Pfalz, Germany, during the reign of Charles V1, "Holy Roman Emperor", 1711 - 1740. 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.