E-mail: paul
wicks.orgThe surname WICKS is derived from the Old English word wic (from the Latin vicus) which initially referred to a dwelling place, then a hamlet, village or small town and later came to mean a farm, especially a dairy farm. The surname would have been given to people who lived or worked on dairy farms.
The following file relates to research into my own ancestors, who were living in the Leigh/Betchworth area of Surrey in the 1700s. Places mentioned include Brockham, Brockhamhurst, Gadbrook, Bunce Common (or Bunts Common), Leigh Green, Charlwood, Horley, Crawley (in Sussex) and Reigate. Most of the men were employed as labourers of one kind or another including agricultural labourer, sawyer, carpenter, groom, ostler (or hostler), coachman, fly or car driver, bricklayer and gardener. In the later 1800s the various families tended to move north towards London and by 1881 could be found in Bermondsey, Lambeth, Greenwich and Deptford.
In the original records the surname is variously spelt WEEKES, WEEKS, WICKES, WICKS and WIX. The WEEKS spelling is particularly common in the earlier records, while the WICKS spelling appears to have been adopted as the standard by most of the families by the time of the 1881 census.
In trying to connect up various families in the tree I have sometimes made guesses and assumptions which may, with later evidence, turn out to be incorrect. I'd be pleased to hear from anyone who can add further information. I have limited the individuals included in the file to those born with the name WICKS and their spouses and children.
| Filename | Filesize | Filetype | Last updated | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W200SRY.ged | 388 KB | GEDCOM 5.5 | 12 APR 2006 | WICKS/WEEKS families of Surrey |
Decendents of some of the individuals in the file are provided on the following pages:
Anyone interested in the surname WICKS should also visit the World WYKES Web at http://www.wykes.org
R Paul Wicks
E-mail: paulwicks.org
Copyright © 2006 Paul Wicks.
Last updated: April 2006