Wildsmith

This interesting surname of English origin is an occupational name for the maker of wheels, especially the iron parts, deriving from the old English pre 7th Century "hweol-smith" meaning "wheel-smith". The vowel was raised to "i", then shortened to Willsmith, which, with an intrusive "d", became Wildsmith. The surname dates back to the early 14th Century, (see below). Further recordings include Ivo le Welsmyth (1327), "The Subsidy Rolls of Essex". Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Wyldsmith, Weldsmith, etc.. Mary Wildsmith married Robert Hillews on November 13th 1580 at St. Bartholomew the Less, London. Elinor Wildsmyth married Gamaliel Wright at Bermondsey, London on July 22nd 1599, and Elizabeth, daughter of Mathew Wildsmith, was christened at St. Giles, Cripplegate, London on July 17th 1638, and his son Abraham was christened at the same church on September 12th 1641. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Eusta Welsmyth, which was dated 1319, "The Subsidy Rolls of Essex", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "Edward of Caernafon", 1307 - 1327. 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.