Slocket

This most interesting and unusual surname is of Cornish origin, and is a variant of the surname "Sloggett", which derived as a breakaway from the placename Tresloggett, near St. Mabyn, due east of Wadebridge in Cornwall, which was recorded as "Tresloget" in 1331. Sloggett itself is chiefly found in North and East Cornwall. During the Middle Ages, when migration for the purpose of job-seeking was becoming common, people often used their former village name as a means of identification, which resulted in a wide dispersal of the name and the development of variant forms. Early examples of the surname from Cornish Church Registers include: the christening of twins, Katherine and Tomsine, daughters of Robert Sloggett, which took place on November 25th 1565, at St. Mabyn's; the christening of Jone, daughter of Hugh Sloget, on April 30th 1585, at St. Neot's; and the marriage of Phillip Slocket and Martha Rogers on August 15th 1702, at St. Merryn's. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alson Sloggett, which was dated May 19th 1560, marriage to William Veale, at Bodmin, Cornwall, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.