Mystery

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                                                                            The Fancher Family Origins

             THE FANCHER SURNAME MYSTERY HAS FINALLY BEEN SOLVED!

                                                                           Fanshawe                       

It has always appeared that the spelling of our Fancher surname was unique to the United States. The "Fancher" (and "Fansher") spelling had never been found in European records, or anywhere else in the world. Like many other surnames that appeared to have originated in the American Colonies, the chances of finding the true origin of our Fancher surname seemed remote.

For more than one hundred years, different generations of Fancher researchers have periodically taken up the challenge of solving our Fancher surname riddle. The Fancher family has a proud history in this Country that spans three centuries. To go further back and explore the foundations of the family that landed on these shores so long ago is a quest that has inspired many of us.

The earliest references place the six Colonial Fanchers, affectionately referrred to on these pages as the "Connecticut Six" or "CT 6", in the areas of Branford in New Haven County, Connecticut, and Stamford and Stratford in Fairfield County, Connecticut. In the 1920's and 30's William Hoyt Fancher first documented these six people found in colonial Connecticut between 1717 and 1741. His book The Fancher Family, was published in 1947 after his death. Some of the first Fanchers, like my ancestor Richard Fancher of Morris Co. NJ, have been researched individually since that time. But for more than fifty years it appears no one had undertaken research on the scope of William Hoyt Fancher's, re-examined the original records, explored new resources, or made an in-depth search for additional information on all six of the Fanchers that might lend some clues to their surname origin.

With a new perspective, very extensive research, and some new and valuable clues, our Fancher Surname Mystery has finally been solved!

Below is a link to the complete text of THE FANCHER FAMILY ORIGINS by Paul B. Fancher and myself. Bound copies of this work can be found in the LDS Library in Salt Lake City, 48 State  Libraries, all of the genealogical and historical societies in the areas where the Connecticut Six lived, the NEHGS, NYG&B, the DAR Library in Washington, D.C, and numerous other repositories.  Please note that there are no copies of this work available for sale. Instead, the complete text of this work (75 pages) is available here and also at Paul Fancher's website.It is also available now in .pdf format.

                Click HERE TO READ:  
                                                     THE FANCHER FAMILY ORIGINS
                                                   By Alison C. Wallner & Paul B. Fancher

WILLIAM FANCY/FANSHAW
New Haven Colony 1643; Suffolk County, New York 1652 to 1677
With Notes Discrediting The Relationship Of David Faucher,
French Threadneedle Street Church, London, England
To The American Colonial Fancher Family.

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                                                    FANSHAWE
                               The Origin of the Fancher Surname in America
                         The Spellings Of The Fancher Surname In The Original Colonial Documents
                                                Presented As Evidence Of The Surname Origin

                                                                           Copyright 2003