Lockery / Lockrey
I do not know how much of this is right but thought it interesting !!!
Extensive research into some of the most ancient documents has revealed the Lockery surname to be
of Anglo-Saxon origin.Our heritage belongs to a culture which has shaped England more than any other.
Professional historians have examined reproductions of such ancient manuscipts as the
Doomsday Bool (1086), the Ragman Rolls (1291-1296), the Curia Regis Rolls, The Pipe Rolls, the
Hearth Rolls, parish registers,baptismals,tax records and other ancient documents.They found the
first record of the name Lockery in Warwickshire where were they were seated from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.
Throughout the centuries our name, Lockery ,occurred in many records ,manuscripts and documents
but not always with the exact same spelling. From time to time the surname included the spellings -
Lockyer, Lockyers, Lockier,Lokier, Lockweer,Lockyear,and these variations in spelling frequently
occurred ,even between father and son. Scribes and church officials ,often traveling great distances,
evan from other countries,frequently spelled the names phonetically.As a result the same person could be recorded differently on birth,baptismal,marriage and death certificates as well as the other numerous records recording lifes events
The Anglo-Saxon tribes produced many English surnames including the surname Lockery. The Saxons were invited into England by the ancient Britons of the 4th century.Their home was the Rhine Valley,
but some came from as far away as Denmark.They were led by two brothers,Commanders Hengist
and Horsa. At first the Saxons settled in the county of Kent, on the south east coast of England.
Gradually they spread north and westward, and during the next four hundred years forced the ancient
Britons back into Wales and Cornwall in the west,and Cumberland to the north. The Angles, another
Teutonic tribe,occupied the eastern coast in Suffolk and Norfolk. Once the independent kingdoms of the Angles and Saxons were unified the land experienced relative peace.
However, society was disrupted in 1066 when the Normans invaded from France,Norman victory at the Battle of Hastings resulted in the end of Angl-Saxon rule. In 1070, Duke William, the first Norman king of England,took an army of 40,000 north and ravaged the northern counties.Many rebellious Norman nobles and Saxons fled over the border into Scotland. Meanwhile the Saxons who remained
in the south were not treated well under hostile Norman rule.They also moved northward to the midlands, Lancashire and Yorkshire away from Norman oppression.
Despite this upheaval the notable English family Lockery thrived,emerging in the county of
Warwickshire where they were recorded as a family of great antiquity seated with manor and estates
in that shire. They were Lord of the manor and lands of Lockyer in Warwickshire in the year 1294. In the following century they had branched to Yorkshire and to Plymouth in Devon.This latter family became a great seafaring branch.They also establised a town mansion in London.Distinguished members of the family at this time included Reverend Edmund Lockyer.
The Lockery family survived the famines,plagues and trials of everyday life which made the Middle Ages a turbulent time. Later ,during the 16th and 17th centuries England was ravaged by political and
social upheaval. Conflict between different religious sects, and the parliament and king meant that various groups were struggling for supremacy at the expence of society in general. Many families
were" encouraged" to migrate to Ireland,or to the colonies. And,while some were rewarded with grants of lands,others were banished without compensation.
Many families made their way to Ireland,either as Protestant settlers,as soldiers following Cromwell,or as exiles from their home territory. Land was confiscated from the Catholic Irish and distributed to the newcomers.The name Lockery may well have arrived in Ireland
with the "Cromwellian Adventurers for Land ", in the 17th century. Ay this time 1,000 acres of land was available to settlers in Ulster for
200 (pound sterling),in Connaught for 300 (pound sterling),and in Leinster for 600 (pound sterling).
In these troubled times the New World beckoned as a place to start a new life.However ,the difficulties
which families left behind were replaced with new problems. Settling in regions where the native people were a mystery,where the environment was unknown, and where the land was untamed,meant that life in the colonies was harsh to say the least.
Members of the Lockery family would not make the dicision to cross the ocean lightly,for while the trials at the end of the trip was often unknown,the realitiesof the voyage itself resulted in the death of many ship's passengers.Overcrowding ,disease,and inadequate food contributed to the harshness of the journey.
Migrants bearing the Lockery surname or a variable spelling of that name include George Lockyear
settled in Virginia in 1663; Thomas Lockyer settled in Virginia in 1663; Jacob and Barbara Lockyer
settled in Charles Town S.C. IN 1776.
Among the destinations selected by immigrants were the colonies which are now Canada. It was the American War of Independance which
brought the first large group of English speaking settlers to Canada.Known as United Empire Loyalists, these migrants from the south settled in Nova Scotia and concentrated in the Kingston,Belleville,and Niagara regions.Steady growth after this period resulted in
the country we know today.Contemporary notables of this surname ,Lockery, include many distinguished contributors and the family name continued to make an important contribution to the political and cultural life of the societies on both sides of the Atlantic.
Source of History of Family Name: is taken from the Armorial History and Coat of Arms Plaque.
Certificate of Authenticity dated November 1,2002,from the Hall of Names family surname,History and Coat of Arms.
