Hi, Everyone,
I realise that this is going back a bit, but has anyone ever done any research on the GURNARD family for a place called Owermoigne, as there are many entries both on the IGI and also on the National Burial Index for the late 16thC. and early 17thC?
There was a cluster too in Surrey - at Croydon and Benstead - and also in Cambs., in Ickleton, the family that my mother is directly descended from. The name evolved in Ickleton through GURNARD to GOURNARD, GOURNER and then to GURNER.
I have always wondered where this family came from before that, as the name sounds vaguely French or Huguenot in origin, though I have yet to come across its inclusion on any of their websites.
Strangely, the man who became Lord Mayor of London (and who ended up in The Tower for his pains) Sir Richard Gurney, was baptised as Richard GURNARD in Croydon, Surrey in 1577; but for some reason he changed his surname to GURNEY during his lifetime...
Very best wishes,
Keith p.s. What kind of place is Owermoigne today, by the way?
