A rose by any other name...

I was recently looking through my family tree, trying to suss out surnames I haven't spent any or much time with in my research, in an attempt to populate my blog with interesting stories about my ancestors.

Eventually one name popped out and screamed "Me, me!"

Philbrick.

Thomas Philbrick to be exact.

Why was his name doing all this screaming? Well, in performing a bit of an online background check on the gentleman, (one should always do a background check before meeting up with a new guy), I find that Philbrick can be found under many guises:

Felebruge
Fylbrigg
Felbrigge
Felbridge
Fellbridge
Felbrigge
Felbridg
Fellbrygge
Filbrick
Philbrok
Philbrucke
Philbrook
Filbrook
Filbrucke
Philbriek
Philbrock
Philbrooth

I believe that these variations only scratch the surface! (I thought the Shepard surname was bad.)

Stolen off the internets; photo from British Express of the front of Bures St. Mary' church.

Thomas and his wife, Elizabeth, are believed to have hailed from the small village of Bures St. Mary's in Suffolk, England. Bures St. Mary's is located on the Stour River which borders Suffolk and Essex Counties. He arrived in Watertown, Massachusetts with his family, wife Elizabeth (Knop/Knapp) Philbrick  and a couple of children, around 1635. This line's descendants eventually married into the Hatch family.

Oh, by the way, the family in America spelled the name Philbrook or Philbrick. I guess it depended on their mood that day.