Lackeye

This interesting surname of Scottish origin with variant spellings Lackie, Lackey, Lackeye, Leckie, Leckey, Lecky, etc. is an old surname widespread in the shires of Dumbarton and Stirling, deriving from the barony of Leckie in the parish of Gargunnock, Stirlingshire, from the Gaelic "leac" meaning "flagstone", hence "the place of the flagstones". The surname dates back to the early 16th Century, (see below). Church recordings include one Agnes Lackeye who Gregorye Flykyn on October 6th 1566, at St. Margaret's, Westminster, Andrew lackey married Anne Bewhaven on London, and Elizabeth Lackey married James Wattson on February 4th 1706, at St. Dunstan's, Stepney. One Henry Lackey, aged 15 yrs., a famine emigrant, sailed from Liverpool aboard the "Montezuma" bound for New York on September 17th 1846. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of David Lekky, Rebel, which was dated 1537, in the Criminal Trials of Scotland, during the reign of King Henry V111, known as "Good King Hal", 1509 - 1547. 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.