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| Detail from 1964 OS Map (sheet 164, Minehead) showing location - and original spelling - of Nethercot. |
It's long been understood in my family that any Nethercots who spell their name exactly so, with one "t" at the end and no "e" on the end, are related, and maybe others too.
Nethercot is a (very) small village in Somerset, in South West England. It means lower settlement, and is in a small valley. It is the only one that has ever been spelled as such, and as recently as the 1960s was shown on government maps with this spelling. Some foolish bureaucrat stuck an extra "t" on during a 1970 revision of the map, but we know it's the same place because I have older maps. I have written to Somerset County Council about this spelling error, but they won't change it back. A little bit of history lost.
If you are a Nethercott, worry not. You have a choice of places in Devon and Oxfordshire.
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| Nethercot |
The family story is that during the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth, the illegitimate son of Charles II, against James II in 1685, a peasant farmer from Nethercot, took the side of Monmouth, but when he was defeated and the King sent Judge Jeffries to hang all the rebels, this fellow wisely fled to the "big" city, the nearest being Bath, where he settled. In a small village, surnames were then not necessary as everybody knew their neighbours and surnames were often tied to landed property anway, but in the city, matters were different, and so he adopted the name of his village, Nethercot, and here we all are! I can trace my Nethercot line back to the mid 1700s, but there it gets vague.
There was a Richard Nethercot who lived in Bath. On 27 September 1804 he married Sarah Brown. They had four sons; Robert, Henry, Richard and Samuel.
Robert was born in 1806 and that's all we know. Perhaps he died young as many did in those days.
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Nethercots in Nethercot, mid 1980s
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Henry was born in 1808. His descendants seemed to have gone to Swindon in Wiltshire. It is from him that Beryl, my fourth cousin who did most of the research for the family tree, is descended. Her brother, also my fourth cousin, now lives in Ontario, Canada and has family there.
Richard was born in 1809 and he had a son Alfred who was my great grandfather.
Next was Samuel, born in 1811. He was married in 1836. Two of his sons, William and Arthur, emigrated to the USA, both died in Cook County, Illinois. It seems to be from them that the widespread American branch of the family originates.
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Aerial view of Nethercot, note the now 'incorrect' spelling. (Google maps, 2020)
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Nethercot is at:
Lat: 51° 5' 9" north
Long: 3° 13' 1" west
OS Grid reference: ST 14779 32696
Google Maps Placemark