Strowlger

There are two possible sources for this interesting surname, although curiously there is a possible connection. The 1285 A.D. Oseney Rolls of Oxfordshire, in the reign of Edward 1 of England, refers to one Thomas le Strumonger, a name which derives from the pre 6th Century Olde English "streaw", straw, and "mangere", a merchant or dealer. The second origin derives from the early German word "strahl", meaning to light or shine, and as such, a job-descriptive word for one responsible (such as it was) for public lighting of the main street. The "stralhager" constructed his lights from straw and pitch, hence the possible association. However, the surname as Stralhager does not appears in any recognisable form until the first recording (below), suggesting that both Strowlger and Stroulger are 17th Century importations possibly as a result of the Huguenot persecution of the 16th - 18th Centuries. The early recordings include the following examples: Thomas Stroulger, who married Mary Game on May 9th 1816, at St. Luke's Church, Old Street, Finsbury, and David Strowlger, who married Jane Halstead on April 27th 1870, at Wimbledon, Surrey. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Martha Stroulger, which was dated October 2nd 1702, marriage to Joseph Ameson, at St. Mary's, Somerset, London, during the reign of Queen Anne, known as "The Last Stuart Monarch", 1702 - 1714. 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.