Hello all,
Still stuck on this one but i will try to get in touch with the Lenton history group and see if they can help.
Regarding the Fletcher Name, I have been researching for around 35 years, yes i have made many mistakes and learned from them. I have also found many a document, some snippets of which has been posted by Delabane.
Here is something I had to translate from french using google translate, Jean de la Fleche was possibly descended from the Fletchers from Scotland who went on the first crusade. On their way back they decided to settle in France, hence Jean de la Fleche.
Interestingly, I also found that although de la Fleche helped fund William the Conquerer's conquest of England, they never set foot in England until the 1100's.
Please correct me if i am wrong, i will try to find the document again which is in French and post if I find it.
Kind Regards all
Mike Fletcher
Interesting,
I read that a Scottish Fletcher (possibly descended from a Sir Bernard Fletcher, who himself was descended from Jean de la Fleche/Elias I de la Fleche) had gone over to France and they had become de La Fléchère (also known as La Fléchère de Beauregard) settled in the county of Savoy in the thirteenth century and later became Counts of Alex and Veyrier-Châtillon. They resided at castle of Beauregard until 2004. In the 18th century Jean Guillaume de La Fléchère (1729–1785), Anglican priest, theologian and Methodist saint immigrated to Britain and anglicized his name to John William Fletcher.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famille_de_La_Fl%C3%A9ch%C3%A8reI have read that the first recording of what became the 'Fletcher' surname was from Jean de la Fleche. He was born Jean de Beaugency, where his father was Seigneur (lord) Lancelin I de Beaugency. His older brother, Lancelin II was given Beaugency and Jean was given La Fleche (they are about 90 miles apart) and became its Seigneur.
He is then referred to as Jean de la Fleche, to reflect the town of La Fleche which is what the Normans often did after the Conquest when they got land in England, they often changed their surname to reflect this. Sometimes they changed it to reflect the land they had come from in Normandy, eg Seymour surname is from St. Maur, in Normandy. Jean de la Fletch was given land in England by King William I and supposedly some of his or his sons (Elias I de la Fleche, Count of Maine) dependents (one being a Sir Bernard Fletcher) settle in northern England and later Scotland, where they are given land by King David of Scotland. Some of them however stay in France.
I am stuck finding out the father of my own great great great grandfather (1770s) is, so have not even begone to go this far back! I just find Medieval history more interesting then Victorian!
Ben Fletcher
