Palmers/Crusades
Jeff Palmer
The name "Palmer" is said to have originated when crusaders brought back
palm leaves from the middle east, either as souvenirs or as something to
show off as proof that they had been there. The first Palmers had earned
the honor of having been crusaders . . . OR they were phoneys who had
appropriated the surname.
Does anyone know how many of the early Palmers were authentic crusaders
vs. how many were pretenders??
--
Jeff Palmer - d026...@dcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us - NO ARCHIVE
Paul M. Gifford
In article <5477op$1...@nntp.seflin.lib.fl.us> d026...@dcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us (Jeff Palmer) writes:
>The name "Palmer" is said to have originated when crusaders brought back
>palm leaves from the middle east, either as souvenirs or as something to
>show off as proof that they had been there. The first Palmers had earned
>the honor of having been crusaders . . . OR they were phoneys who had
>appropriated the surname.
>Does anyone know how many of the early Palmers were authentic crusaders
>vs. how many were pretenders??
That would be impossible to determine. It was a common enough surname, but
I've noticed that quite a few, around 1600 and before, had gentry status, which
might indicate descent from individual crusaders who were believed to be so.
I've been trying to figure out the origin of Lt. William Palmer, who married
Judith Feake and died in Newtown, Long Island, about 1661. He probably was
related to other Palmers in New England and probably was from London, but
I haven't yet identified his family.
The short answer is that one might just as well presume that people who were
identified as "le Palmer" were believed to have returned from the Holy Land.
Whether in fact they just made it to Malta or Constantinople is a moot
question. On the other hand, it would seem unlikely that an individual would
expropriate the name dishonestly, because Medieval England wasn't that open a
society.
Paul Gifford
John Yohalem
> The name "Palmer" is said to have originated when crusaders brought back
> palm leaves from the middle east, either as souvenirs or as something to
> show off as proof that they had been there. The first Palmers had earned
> the honor of having been crusaders . . . OR they were phoneys who had
> appropriated the surname.
No, not crusaders but pilgrims. You didn't have to have gone on crusade,
and pilgrimage was a much older phenomenon.
>
> Does anyone know how many of the early Palmers were authentic crusaders
> vs. how many were pretenders??
How could anyone possibly know that?
Have you tried the ship's log of the Queen Mary? No doubt pretenders had
asterisks by their names so the captain would not inadvertently invite them
to his table.
Jean Coeur de Lapin
Janis De Lay
>How could anyone possibly know that?
>Have you tried the ship's log of the Queen Mary? No doubt pretenders had
>asterisks by their names so the captain would not inadvertently invite them
>to his table.
>
>Jean
to participate...maybe some day
Janis De Lay (katl...@aol.com) Sacramento, CA
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