RootsChat.Com

I recently found quite a few persons in Scotland with the extremely rare name (in the British Isles) SHOULTS (or phonetic variants - Schoultz, Scholtz, Sholts, etc.) name in Scotland during the 19th century but none further back. This was a website where one could search the name but information was restricted and it was not possible to see digital copies of original birth, marriage or death entries. I suspect that because there were so many in the 19th century, the name could be found further back if original parish registers could be searched. One of the families: marriage (ref. 161/4) of George Frederick Shoults to Caroline Jane Fearnside at Marnoch in 1890 is certainly related to my mother's father's family (I have them already on the wider tree) so there is a Scottish connection, albeit late 19th century. In 1925, they had property: Houseview Park, 8 Broomfield Road, Cowdenbeath, Fife. My Shoults family have been trying to trace their origins back further than common ancestors: Peter Martin Shoults (1747-D.St Olave's Southwark, Surrey, 1812) and wife, Sarah nee Reed (born 1752-D.St Olave's Southwark, Surrey, 1812). We only have their years of birth from tombstone records. No idea where they came from. Peter was a successful carpenter and builder of St Mary Lambeth, Surrey, and Southwark, last quarter of the 18th century until his death. In 1812 he left ten houses and £1,500 in the Bank of England to the children that survived. Two children were just given one shilling: Peter junior and Sarah. Some of the children were carpenters and builders during the 19th century in The Maze, Tooley Street, Southwark. The name is found in the records of London parishes as far back as 1696 (Jacob Shoults, ropemaker marriage to Elisabeth Curey, St Paul's Shadwell) with phonetic variations. Also found phonetically spelt in records for land tax assessments in East London parish of Shadwell and in St Olave, Southwark. The family made exhaustive searches of original parish records in London, Middlesex, Surrey and Kent. We think the reason we cannot find them earlier than Peter's marriage in 1772 to Sarah Reed (Westminster, Middlesex) is because they came to London from some other part either of the British Isles or from abroad. We also researched a few Shoults names that were at Nottingham, in the lace manufacturing trade who may be connected. Otherwise, the name is hardly to be found outside of southern parts of England at any period. A cluster are found in Durham and Yorkshire in the 19th century. My mother is related to nearly all those named in the IGI for London parishes.