Census of England 1891

The following Eacott derivation names were found in a study of the 1891 Census for England

Eacott 258

Eckett 171

Ecott 56

Eccott 50

Eycott 39

Eacot 10

Total 584

No persons in England were known to have these spellings

Eacutt, Eccot, Eycot, Ekutt, Ekott, Eacoot, Ekett, Eakett, Eakott, Ecot , Ecket

                      Census of England and Wales 1901

It can be assumed by this time that the spelling of the name had become formalized due to increased education levels. Using all variations which appeared in the records prior to 1901 and some which didn’t, this is the result of all thinkable Eacott variations.

Eacott 404          Eacotts 1                Aycott 24

Eckett 204          Eyckett 1                Icott 1

Eccott 82            Ecot 3                    Acot 3

Ecott 46               Eacret 14               Acott 356

                Eycott 25            Eakets 27

        Eacot 3                Eacret 14

 

No persons were known to have these spellings:

Eacut, Eacutt, Eccot, Eycot, Ekutt, Ekott, Eacoot, Ekett, Eakett, Eakott, Eccutt, Eccot, Ecat,

Eacit, Eakett, Eckut, Eycatt, Eycodd, Eycot, Eycote, Eacert, Ecoate, Ecots, Ecotts, Eyecot

Ecute, Ecut, Ecreat, Ecreet, Ecote, Eacot, Eacett, Eyecote, Eyecot, Eyecott, Aket, Akett, Eacett, Eakett.

The Eacott name in 1901 is found mostly in Southern England and adjacent Wales especially Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Berkshire. The Eccott name is largest (30%) in Hampshire and London (25%). The Ecott name is in Southern England but more south easterly than Eacot, 30% Bedfordshire 30% Essex, 20% Croydon. The Eacret name is Ireland or Manchester and thus may not, probably not, be a derivative of Eycott. The Eakets are found in Gloucestershire mostly around Cheltenham (90%). The Eycott name is found in greater London 30% and south coast. The Aycott name is mostly in London, Surrey, often in same communities as Eacott. The Eckett name is found across southern England and the midlands often in the same places as Eacott, however 50% of Eaketts are in the London area.

(Scroll to the bottom of this document to see a map showing relative numbers using colored dots placed about the location of communities)

Of note is the fact that very few of any of these names occur outside the southern half of England.

The prevalence of the name with a likely "EH" sound rather than an "AY" or an "EE" sound as in ECK, ECC, EAK accounts for the accent emphasis that occurs in the useage of Eacott which appears in all soundings. Some using the Eacott form actually say the name as Eckett or Eccott. A simple spelling change lines up easily with Aycott, Acott, Ecott, Eckett and may reflect local accentuation. Eacret may derive from another source than Eycott.

Census of England 1881

This census has more free data than the 1901 census. Thus it is easier to identify family groupings. In 1881, England was at the height of Empire, and the Victorian era. It was also the most industrial country in the world.

The examination of the Eacotts from that time show they were largely agricultural or related workers. The second largest group were servants (mostly women). A few were miners, some shop keepers. The industrial workers were varied but railway related seems the largest. The vast majority could have been identified as working class. The distribution of people in the 1901 census was reflected in the 1881. Not a lot of movement took place.

The census included age, place of birth, marital status, street address, occupation, and where living. This is available online (search: 1881 Census England) the records entered by me do not generally include street address but each entry from a census and which  one is indicated in my records..

There are discrepancies between the 1901 and 1881 data. Name changes, as Eacott to Ecott, frequent year of birth variations by as much as 5 years and sometimes place of birth differences. Some of these are in the specifics, a neighborhood or estate given instead of the municipality. While there are people who will appear unknowingly more than once in the records there are others who clearly were not recorded in 1881 that were recorded in 1901 and who existed in 1881 and likely the reverse applied in 1901. There seems to be a lot of errors. People who were in my data base prior to the entering of census data should have shown up as matches, but many did not.

The original Eycott Name was no longer found in the North Cerney area, only 18 Eycott names were in the census in 1881 and in fewer than 5 familes.

Name and Location Study (from 1881 census)

An Analysis of the variants of the Eycott name based on the census material using males born before 1850 and a few unmarried older females gave the following information which indicates the earlier sources of the names:

The Eycott name was found in London and in Stroud Gloucestershire, a few were also living at Aldershot in the 1870's.

The Eckett name was mainly in two localities about 12 miles apart Reading and Basingstoke. 20% on the west side of Reading and 22% on the west side of Basingstoke. London area had 33% of the Ecketts. The remaining families were scattered in isolated places in Berkshire, Surrey, and Somerset.

The Eccott name was 80% located on the east side of Basingstoke within a 5 mile radius. After 1850 there were Eccotts at Shefford near Chaddleworth.

The Ecott name was in several small villages south of Bedford, Bedfordshire and in the vicinity of Cromhall Gloucestershire.

The Acott name, the largest group is concentrated, along the B2015 corridor from Tunbridge Wells to Maidstone in Kent, (over 50%,) especially at Yalding. This is a small area about 10 miles by 2 miles. About 15% of the Acott’s were in London. 7% each in Oxford and at Maisey Hampton, Gloucestershire. Most of the rest were in Kent. So the name was extremely localized. Among the 9 older Acott men over 60 years( born before 1840) 4 were not born in Kent, these were born in Maisey Hampton Glos, Oxford, and Somerset The Genealogic records and name associations don’t generally include Acott as a variant, but it likely is. However, only as a German name does it appear in America in the 1880 census, although German immigration to England was rare it could be a German name confused with Eacott.

The Eacott name is found in more diverse places than the other names, however, 90% of all the names were 5 miles north of , to 15 miles south of the modern M4 highway from London to Bristol. 60% of Eacott name sites were in Wiltshire. 18% Warminster; 14 % Chaddleworth; 8% Cromhall; 8% Wroughton; 14% other Wiltshire places; 10% in Surrey, South West of London. The rest were elsewhere in Southern England.

The statistical base for census records of those males born before 1850 is 65 Eacott;54 Eckett; 73 Acott; 23 Eccott; 6 Eycott ; 13 Ecott.

Before 1800 my database has very few Eckett, or Acott names; Before 1700 most were Ecott or Eycott. Some early names such as Ecut did not exist in 1881 / 1901 census. The fact that Acott and Eckett have very few occurrences before 1800 indicates they were likely derived names, not original.

Census USA 1880

The Few Acot names in the USA appear to be mostly, not all, of German origin. The Ecott, Eycott names does not appear in either USA or Canada census at this time. The one Eccott family has a German origin. The few Eckett names were also mixed English and German. There are a number of German and Dutch names which are similar which considering Eycott is of Saxon derivation, is not surprising. There were a few Eacott scattered about.

Census Canada 1881

One family group of Eckett, and a couple of isolated individuals and one Family group of Eacott, as well as one father and son were recorded. Both family groups were farming in Ontario.

Glimpses of the Past

Small frozen moments of time can be dusted off and picked out of the sawdust of the ice house of history. These are seldom blocks of information but tantalizing chips that the different census gives us.

More questions than answers arise as the chips melt away from our knowing. Nowhere is there an iceman to deliver the blocks. I shall try here to illustrate the news fragments of the spring day when all the census records were collected.

It looks on the surface as if a father or a couple of brothers perhaps, settled around Reading and Basingstoke, having come some miles from the west and began using the Eckett spelling of the name. On the east side of Basingstoke someone translated Eacott or Eycott or even Eckett into Eccott and the spelling took. Someone, perhaps from Maisey Hampton in Gloucestershire relocated to Yalding and the name Acott took hold. Just who moved and when is a question likely never to be answered.

A little more clear is the arrival of Jacob Eacott in the coal mining valley by Blaina, Monmouthshire from Wiltshire. A bricklayer by trade he likely found the prospering of the coal industry in Wales a good work opportunity. He married, settled down, and raised a large family of boys who went off to work in the coal mines that fed the engine of industrial expansion in Britain. Some of his cousins back in Wiltshire went to work in the railway factories working steel and boiler plate. Others worked in the railway systems, some as clerks, porters etc.

The biggest employment for the various families was in agricultural jobs. Of the 37 know Eccott occupations in 1901 Thirteen were doing such things as picking watercress, gardening, keeping game, or other farm jobs. Among the rest a railway plate layer, a carpenter, several general laborers and a couple of men who were Navvy (laborers) on the railroad, a ganger platelayer in the gas works, a railway porter. The ladies were servants or cooks, laundry workers or dress makers.

Of the some 117 male Acotts examined, more than 30 were essentially farm labor although some said they were farm carters, or horseman. A dozen were bricklayers or helpers, one a stone mason and another a sculptor of stone marble. In the transportation trade there was a brewers drayman, a railway engineers assistant, railway clerks (2) a porter, a milk carrier, tram driver, Builders carter. The wealthy estate owners employed footman, coachmen, groom, head kennelman for fox hounds, and gardeners.

John Acott of Oxford was a comic opera actor. Horatio an assurance superintendant. Horace a drayman, Herbert an Irvam Trade, Peter a police officer, Richard an Innkeeper, Walter a Royal Engineer Sapper, while another Walter was a coin clerk. One William a leather dresser and another a Mangle man. There were shop keepers, merchants, butcher, baker, fruiterer and several apprentices including printer and brass foundry and George was a Pianoforte Remover.

Among the approximately 100 Eckett occupations half a dozen were domestic servants, and only 8 were agricultural workers or farmers. Because a number lived in London urban occupations prevail. 8 were in construction as cabinet maker, painter, carpenter or bricklayer. There were half a dozen dressmakers or laundresses. Some were birdcage, basket or packing case makers. Another 8 worked in some capacity for the railroads. There was an Innkeeper, electrical instrument maker, undertaker, clergyman (2), police constable, beer seller, school mistress, piano teacher, tea buyer, Printing machine manager, waiter, journalist, fishmonger(2), civil engineer and an artillery gunner. On whole the education level among this name was higher,

The Ecott trades included carpenter, bricklayer , butcher, dressmaker, tailor, machinist and a few agricultural workers. An engine stoker, a soldier, and a bank clerk.

The Eakets, all of Gloucestershire, had 3 stone masons, a painter, and laboring jobs.

Aycott worked as boiler stoker, boiler maker, cheesemonger assistant, newspaper reporter, wood carver, laundry, boot maker.

Eycott careers included 3 house painters, teacher, coffee house keeper, naval chief officer, matron, and one cricket at Chopper Willow.

The Eacrets were mill workers.

Finally the Eacotts, 3 dozen were domestic workers, cooks, servants etc. Another 3 dozen were agricultural workers mostly not specific, some as gardeners, herdsman etc. 7 were farmers on their own land. 8 worked in the coal mining industry, another 8 worked on the railroad. 6 were in the grocery trade, and six were bricklayers. One was brick maker. 5 were clergy or similar, 6 were seamstress or dressmakers. 3 teachers, 3 cabinet or chair maker, 2 bank clerks, 2 train drivers. More than a dozen industrial laborers. A few shop keepers and professionals, bailiff, candy shop owner, bristle merchant, china sales agent, boiler smith and a number of people with odd sounding jobs, cigar box cutter, compositor, chimney sweep, town crier, iron monger, telephone wire man, tent maker, paper folder, corset machinist, brass trimmer, wheel chairman. A soldier, 2 seamen and a nurse. Apart from the seven Eacott owned farms there were few landed families.

What was happening in family life? During the last years of the 1800's the population of Britain had increased greatly. In 1500 there were about 2 million, by 1600 4 million and by 1800 there were around 8 million. At the turn of the century millions had migrated and yet there were about 50 million in Britain. Large families abounded. Most children went to school but by the age of 14 most boys held jobs and many girls of 16 were domestics and factory laborers.

Some modern jobs were evident by 1880, telegraph messenger, electrician, shorthand writer, news reporter. There were a goodly number of middle aged unmarried women mostly working as domestics. Some women aided by daughters were taking in laundry. Families owing or renting were adding to the family income by taking in renters. A great many households had one or two unrelated people living with the family. They must have been busy places because they would be sharing meals and living space with several children. Some of the farms were being managed by widows aided by their sons. A very few people were pensioners or listed as living on their own means. Some people were unemployed including a school master who had recently returned to England after having lived in Germany and Switzerland where some of his children had been born. At least one of his children eventually lived in Argentina.

Fitting together puzzles, showed that one boy of 5 placed in an orphanage eventually was educated and became a dentist. Another person, a recently widowed grandfather, was present for the birth of his daughters child during the time of the census. Some people lived and worked on great estates employed by high ranking people such as a senior magistrate.

There seems to be a lot of bricklayers among the various families. Some carpenters but more bricklayers. Was this something of a family trade or just a reflection on the building industry needing more bricklayers than carpenters. While there are a few in the military the numbers are very small. Likewise, the number of well educated persons is also quite small. There are no lawyers, doctors, almost no persons of rank or senior management, Yet there are several theological people, a few bank clerks and teachers. Most people would be considered employees rather than employers. Those who were employers were very small business people.

* Eacott - Many places

* Eycott - London, Berks  Yorks

* Eakets - Glouc            

* Eckett - Lond, Reading, Basing

* Ecott - London, Beds, Gl

* Acott - Lond, Kent, Gl, Ox

* Aycott - London, Beds

* Eccott - Lond, Basing

There are a few persons living outside the area of the map, for example a family in Derby another in Yorkshire.

Note the concentration of names in small areas reflecting a local change. Many of these places had no known persons with these names prior to late 1700's.