Help with a Scotcher "myth"

[Jacamar]

Hi...

I am researching the name Scotcher and have so far found them in Wales. There was a story passed down that they were actually originally of the Royal Stuart family who changed their name to Scotcher to hide their origins in the Jacobite rebellion, but they always called the eldest son Stuart to remind them where they came from. We always regarded this as a bit of family embellishment but I have just found this old message (2002) on Genealolgy.com...

I'm researching my ancestors who were in the last 2 or 3 centuries Stuart and Scotcher from different families.

All I know is that Scotcher derived from a Stuart(s) who escaped to France from Oliver Cromwell with King Charles (2nd?) and as it was not wise to be known to be a Stuart they became known as La Cher Scot - later Scotcher. - does anyone know more about this and who they were/are as all I have is word passed down in the form of letters.

I have a Bena who was a Scotcher related (aunt) who told the tale to Billy (Llewellyn) Bullock Webster in a letter and the storey has been passed down through her family and down through mine.
She was related (step?/sister?) to my Gt Gt Grandfather Edwin Stanley Clark - (nicknamed D'Orsay) of Chelsea London in the 19th C.

Does anyone know the names of any early Scotchers? and links to Stuarts? or any info that might help?


So  did a double take and tried to contact the author but without success.

Anyone else familiar with this story?

Lynn

[RJ_Paton]

While I don't completely dismiss the story there are a few awkward facts which tend to muddy the waters.

Charles (the II) and his entourage settled in The Hague when he fled from Cromwell ..... and there was no stigma attached to any one name in Britain then. It was a civil war which could and did tear families apart.

Scotland and France had excellent relationships and it would be a badge of honour to bear the name Stewart/Stuart  (Stuart is claimed to be the French version introduced by Mary Queen of Scots) ..... the Auld Alliance is a term used to define the relationship between France and Scotland.

The French term for Scotland and the Scots is L'Ecosse and L'Ecossais.

Charles Edward Stuart was born and raised in Rome in the Jacobite circles there where their entourage was.

If Scotcher did derive from Stuart/Stewart it is more likely (in my opinion) to have been from someone staying in Britain where bearing the name did tend to be extremely hazardous to ones health after the 1745 rebellion. There are numerous examples of hidden supporters and various acts.
eg The Royal Toast in Scotland - A jacobite supporter if unsure of the company they were in could give the Royal toast appearing to support the King in London but by passing their glass over water before drinking the meaning changed to a Toast to the King over the water --

There is a painting which was done (I think its in Fort William museum) which just appears to be a mass of swirling colours until you place a silver goblet in the exact centre when a portrait of Bonny Prince Charlie can be seen.

So the derivation is possible but possibly more homegrown

[purple frog]

Hi, I have just come across your post and had no idea that the name Scotcher might have Scots roots. I have the name as part of my family tree and was told we were of Hugenot descent. On contacting the Hugenot society they could not confirm this so felt at a loss as to where to go next. I have traced the family to the early 1800's and they are in the Bethnal Green area of London. I suppose thie is a bit too far south to have any connection with your Scotchers?
                                      Purple Frog

[Billy Anderson]

Hi Lynn, I typed in' Scotcher/ Genealogy' to google and up came 5 websites I also looked into Familysearch the mormon church site and up came 200+names one being 1549 Cambridge, the other one to try is GENUKI, good luck, regards Billy

[Ian Hibberd]

Hi Lyn - We have the same "myth" in my husband's family.  He is Ian Derek Stuart.  His mother was Mary Eileen Stuart nee Mills, born 1913, Ealing ( a first cousing to Sandro Bullock-Webster). Her mother was Kathleen Mary Elise Stevens, born Brixton, ca. 1884.  Kathleen's mother was Kate (Catherine) Stuart Scotcher, born Wrexham, Denbighshire, ca. 1854, whose father Nicholas Stuart Scotcher was born in Welshpool, Montgomeryshire, ca. 1814.  We were always told that the name Stuart came down the female line.  Not all the Stuarts left the country with Queen Henrietta.  Some of the Blantyre Stuarts seem to have stayed.  I have no way of going further back with Nicholas Stuart Scotcher. If anybody has any information please post.  -  Ingrid

[tidybooks]

There are 1079 Scotcher names and derivatives in LDS but only 3 in Scotland for a Francis Scutcher, this is a submitted record, so don't put much belief in that , too.

So it is likely to have its roots elsewhere rather than Scotland.

Tom

[richardscotcher]

I have a totally different origin for the name Scotcher.

We believe that it dates back to the days of the stagecoaches.

When the horses were being changed the wheels were stopped from moving by means of triangular wedges of wood. These were "scotchs", and the person who put them in place was the Scotcher!

Humble beginnings, but like so many names it comes from an occupation,eg Baker,  Smith etc.

My branch of the family comes from Suffolk, though I now live near Glasgow.

Can anyone corroborate this?

Richard Scotcher

[sasflo]

Just come across this board. Maybe I can shed some light.

I have a letter written in 1927 by Marianne Susan Stuart Scotcher (1837 - 1935), my mother's great aunt (her younger sister - my great-grandmother - was Susan Muller Scotcher who married Edwin Stanley Clark in 1872). The letter was written to her great-nephew, Billy Bullock Webster (1879 - 1970), a theatre educator in Vancouver, B.C. The letter discusses the Scotcher "story".

She was known to my mother and other family members as "Auntie Bena". She never married and spent much of her adult life in Russia tutoring the children of nobility. She followed in the footsteps of her aunt, Jane Stuart Scotcher (1810 - 1879), who also tutored Russian princes. It was Aunt Jane who passed down the story. In the 1927 letter she writes..."She (Jane) knew, she said, we were descendants of the Scottish family (of) Henry Darnley Stuart, who married Mary Queen of Scots and they had one son who became James the First of England."

Marianne's parents were Nicholas Stuart William Scotcher (1813 - 1903) and Eliza Crawford Muller (1815 - 1881).

I would be glad to share additional information on the Scotchers & Clarks.

Steve

P.S. I tried to upload the letter which I have scanned, but the file was too large.

[PrueM]

Here is a link to the genealogy (ancestors and descendants) of Henry, Lord Darnley:
http://www.genealogics.org/

Type "darnley" in the search box at top left, and click on his name in the list of results.

Cheers
Prue