Origins and migrations of Sugg families in England

Beginnings
What's in the name?
The Saxons

Early Evidence
Suffolk
Somerset & Dorset
Hampshire
London

After 1837
Suffolk & Hampshire
Western counties
London

People
Families
Emigration
Notable Suggs

Conclusion

Sources
Census returns
Monarchs

Bibliography & Links

More information
Contact details

The earliest written records so far discovered relating to Sugg(e)s in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are found in parish registers. However they provide little information. A marriage was registered at Preston Candover in 1591, a second in Calborne in the Isle of Wight in 1604 and another in Stratfieldsaye in 1624. In the early 1700’s Sugg marriages were registered in Portsmouth and nearby Portsea. More events were recorded in the 18th century in various parts of the county with clusters around the towns of Andover and Romsey, but the number is still small. Further research into probate records and manorial documents may well uncover more information.

A suspension order relating to a removal order made in Romsey in 1805 is of considerable interest. The family concerned – that of William and Elizabeth Sugg, married in Romsey in 1795 – were ordered by the authorities to move to Bruton in Somerset in 1805. The reason for the order is not known but it seems probable that for some reason or other William was no longer able to support his family. The naming of Bruton as the specific destination would usually indicate that it was
	William’s place of settlement^[i] . He had been born there, owned property there, had worked there for some time, or had some other close connection with it. No reference to the birth of William has been found in Bruton parish records but there were Sugg families living there at the time.
Romsey - the Abbey

Robert Sugg was a witness at William and Elizabeth’s wedding in 1795. At that time he was living in Sherfield English, close to Romsey, but his birth had been registered in 1774 at North Cadbury, a village about 5 miles from Bruton. It seems quite possible that Robert was related to William, perhaps a cousin or even a brother, although there is no specific evidence for this^[ii]. It might have been a coincidence that William found Suggs near Romsey when he moved there but it seems possible that at the end of the 18th century there were already links between Sugg families in Somerset and those in Hampshire. Both areas had Sugg records going back at least to the 16th century and possibly much further. This suggests that the families could have been connected from very early times and might even indicate that Sugg settlement in Hampshire and Somerset had a common origin.

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^[i] The parish ultimately responsible for his well being

^[ii] Information kindly provided by Anne Puddle