Glazier

This unusual surname, of Anglo-Saxon origin, is an occupational name for a glazier or glass blower, deriving from the Olde English pre 7th Century "glats" meaning "glass", with the addition of the agent suffix '-er'. Job descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer and later became hereditary. The surname dates back to the late 13th Century, (see below). Further recordings include Robert le Glasiere (1327) in the Subsidy Rolls of Essex, and Adam Glasere (1379) in the Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire. London Church Records show the marriage of Mary Glaysher to Francis Lane on January 30th 1791 at St. Anne's, Soho, Westminster, and the christening of George William, son of George and Charlotte Glaisher, on the 8th September 1805 at St. Mary Rotherhithe, London. Jane Glaysher married John Keene on April 14th 1816 at St. Dunstan's, Stepney. A Coat of Arms granted to the family is blue, three silver pheons, a chief ermine, the Crest being a man's heart charged with a cinquefoil. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas le Glasyer, which was dated 1297 in the "Ministers Accounts of the Earldom of Cornwall", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.