he internet is not a place to take information at its face value. A simple error on one site may be repeated rapidly as fact on many others. Verification of data is not easy because sources are rarely listed. Facts and opinions not always clearly separated, lead to conclusions that are not logical.
Books are no different. Books often quote information as definitive because of the authoritative way they are written, it is easy to accept a statement as true simply because it is in black and white. In researching Limmer ancestry, there are a number of books claiming to give the source of the name, some of these make assumptions that a little further investigation proves to be misleading.
Beside this, all knowledge is progressive. Some facts of today will be laughed at tomorrow as though they were written by the Flat Earth Society, simply because another fact comes to light that requires a change to foundational building blocks of a logical chain. Thus, the process has to begin again.
That is not to say there is no error, bad logic or wrongly interpreted facts in these Jottings. I am sure there are. Errors just wait for one vital, undiscovered clue to change the picture once again. Overall, I hope, to have assembled a jigsaw puzzle, albeit a picture with bits missing, but complete enough to predict and appreciate the whole. I hope it is adequate to achieve my purpose in writing, which is not so much to give the definitive volume on ancestry but to discover the character of the Limmer family as it has been passed down through the years. I hope to see how Limmers coped with the trials and tribulations of their day. I hope to discover their values, their interests, their passions. I hope to uncover their family relationships, how they valued education, how they treated the poor or the rich. I hope to feel proud where they achieve and smile at any antics, (the name Lymmer suggests there will be a few of those).
To do this we need for example, to separate the term ‘ lymmer’ and the surname Limmer. The Lymme family is given a large part of space in part one of this book - not because it gave rise to the surname Limmer, (I am sure it did not), but because the Lymme family, (having taken their name from Lymme the town), seem to have been instrumental in spreading the term limmer, (rather than the surname Limmer), far and wide. Some have claimed Lymme to be the source of Limmer lines, but it is far from proven. The Lymmes certainly influenced the term limmer, not least because they were an influential family whose character portrayed many characteristics associated with roughness and rudeness that became attached to the term limmer, (knights with coarse manners and breed of vicious dogs are two examples). They may have earned the nickname limmer without changing their surname because of their strong fighting character.
Limmers may not all be descendants of one source. Limmers in the north of England, Scotland or Ireland are less likely to be related to one another than those in the south east of England. There were many solders in the army of Rome that conquered the north of England who stayed after being rewarded with lands and property. These may have been associated with the derogatory term ‘limmer’. For some it may have stuck. However, the burden of proof for that lies with those who claim it to be so.
Part two of this book is the result of deeper research and, so far as I know, has not been examined in any genealogist's studies of Limmer. When I started this section, it came as a surprise to me to find the numerous landmarks left by Limmers around Hampshire before 1400 AD. These are clear evidence of the name’s descent from Saxon times. As a result I changed the direction of my research. Unfortunately, the rapid growth of Reading and Basingstoke has meant the destruction of a good deal of the early history of Limmers. Places like Suffolk and Norfolk have taken time and care to document history as they expanded, but lower down in the country you have to dig deep.
It also surprised me when I could not find any Limmers in the Church ministry. Given the close association of Limmers with the church, (Churchwardens, treasurers, Priory workers, and a strong connection with the Winchester Bishops and the Puritan movement for example), If you discount “Preaching Limmer ', a monk of Elizabethan times who travelled Briton preaching in the villages, I have not uncovered any early Limmers in the ministry of the church. Preaching Limmer was probably a nickname rather than a surname, it described the way he lived rather than his descent. It seems that Limmers have a genetic bias toward the practical and few made the transition into the ‘Professional Callings’ reserved for the upper classes of the time.
Given all this, part two of these jottings takes the form of general discussion around the name, places and terms associated with Limmer. We must do this first in order to eliminate many false trails that have arisen.
Pick up six books and there will be seven origins of the Limmer tribe. I remember a friend, (surnamed Smith), telling me how he was offered the ‘genuine Smith Clan Tartan’ on a visit to Scotland. When he questioned it, the quick thinking salesman sold him a yarn of how the warring clans sometimes called themselves Smith to avoid being drawn into the conflict. My friend was most suspicious of this as, at that time, any Englishman would have attracted much more wrath from a Scottish clan by masquerading as Scotsman and wearing a kilt.
Joseph C. Wolf in his ‘Lecture on Heraldry’ tells the story of a film star who proudly displayed what, she had been told, was her family coat of arms. She displayed it on her Rolls Royce and everything else she owned. One day she met a genealogist who told her it was not a coat of arms but a ‘sinister baton’ – a mark of illegitimacy.
The story of Limmer is a fanfare to common man. There are plenty of books on the well-known people of history. Well-known leaders from down the ages find themselves in history books time and again for their legacies. Limmers are among the backbone of society. They are not always noticed at first, but dig just beneath the skin of society and they will be there, contributing to a legacy that has lasted many hundreds of years.
Early Limmers pioneer roads; later Limmers tarmac1 them. Early Limmers lay foundation bricks on church buildings that still stand today; later Limmers contribute to Church proper by being treasurers and lay workers. Early Saxon Limmers meet basic needs of local society by building ponds; later Limmers lay pipes and ducts. Early Limmers felled trees and cleared land; later Limmers planted grazing lands and fed the community with flour ground in mills, bread baked in ovens, manufactured warm woollen cloths from the backs of sheep and strong made boots for the army. These Limmers have no mention in the history books but they have left their substantial legacy in the avenues of time.
Now is a good time to tell their story. Though these landmarks stood the test of time from Saxon to twentieth century, century twenty-one is rapidly erasing the evidence of their existence. Ponds, farms, houses and fields that have born witness to Limmer for hundreds of years, now give way to housing estates. Those landmarks disturbed in the last thirty years or so are traceable with a little effort. Those erased before then are probably lost forever. It has been good to visit places, talk with local people who remember local landmarks, and listen to them describe these landmarks with affection.
On the other hand, progression since the advent of the internet has opened up so many other avenues of tribute. Bishops transcripts, Latin texts translations by interested scholars, newspaper cuttings, censuses and the like, all increase the picture of this family. The more we see of this evidence the more we see the genetic traits coming down the family line. Tenacity comes down the line, often misinterpreted as stubbornness by those who came up against it. Tenacity carried the Limmers through hard times; it gave them a determination to survive against cruel odds. No one can demonstrate tenacity more than Maureen Derby, my cousin. Maureen spent many years researching our ancestral line and put me right on many things I had missed. Her eye for detail, her logic and her patient research over twenty years makes her outstanding. No matter where I went in my research Maureen had been there before me and I am indebted for for all her help.
A caring and concern for those less well off than themselves also comes down the line. Some, like Steven Limmer who lived in Charles Dickens’ time, clearly chose to identify with the poorer parts of society rather than the rich and powerful. Steven's story, told later, is only one example of this trait. He is a particularly good example, reading between the lines he acted as a sort of Robin Hood in a Dickens world, cashing in on rich gentlemen in his hotel and casino while choosing to associate himself with a church that had a mission outreach to the poor.
Both Maureen and I can vouch for another trait in this Limmer line, a tendency to suppress rather than discuss the bad side of life. All my father's siblings were in the war but none would disclose much. Ask the brothers about their childhood memories and only the funny ones would be retold. I know my father saw some pretty devastating things in the war because 'uncle' Jock told me. Uncle Jock was not a real uncle but a fellow solder who remained friends of the family for many years afterwards.
It was in fun rather than on any authority of research that I answered a question, ‘What is the motto of the Limmer family’?
I replied, ‘ Teneo Vestrum Caput Tenus’, which roughly translates as ‘ keep your head down as far as…’
The task of filling in the dots is yours.
'The Grindstone' certainly fits the dots. Limmers certainly gained a hallmark of hard workers down the ages.
'The parapet' also fits, for there were few that spoke out too loudly on controversial subjects. Clearly, they associated with Puritans or church reformists but they are not amongst the verbal few. You cannot say for certain if they were royalists or parliamentarians, while the civil war rages they kept their head down producing and selling the grain so needed during the period-no matter which side you may be on. On the whole Limmers were (are?) a law abiding lot. Pretty boring really! During Elizabethan times Robert Lymmer and his Cousin did a bit of smuggling into France. We cannot tell for how long or how often this went on, but we know they did because they got caught. You can read about them in part two.
What about the triplet -health, wealth and long-life? Most Limmers lived a full and long life relative to the time in which they lived. One at least was still going to sea in his seventies. Limmers were not among the richest but most had an elegant sufficiency. In part three you will meet Edward who was probably the black sheep of the family. But here we see a distinct pattern change in the family lines and a clear link of this triplet. Did Edward have a learning difficulty when he was born? Or did he just grow up with a chip on his shoulder because he could not get on with his step mother? The debate about cause and effect is open and you must make up your own mind, but clearly Edward's poverty affected his later health and prosperity as well as the generations who came from his issue.
There is no evidence of tyrants or conquering Saxons in the Limmer story. Rather we have a story of families making a living and minding their own business – unless pushed into a corner. This acts as further circumstantial evidence that Lymmes rather than Limmers are the source of these rough and ready terms. I hope you are as fascinated reading about the Limmers as much as I have been researching them. Enjoy!