A.. L. Verner quoted The Norman People as stating that the Gothic tribes of Europe were the ancestors of a large portion of the populations of the areas now known as Norway and Germany. He listed multiple British and German authorities on the evolution of names, including people named Ferguson, Yonge, Forstmann, Graff, and Zeus, who reportedly traced the name Verner back to a Gothic tribe known as Varini, meaning "Warriors in Defense". According to them, the Varini were settled along the southern shores of the Baltic Sea in the fourth century (300s A.D.). Inland from them were the Teutones, who were called Germans by the Romans. The Varini tribal name was retained for several centuries, but assumed other forms as the Varini scattered into the regions of present-day Scandinavia, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Don Varner found material that suggested that the surname evolved from one of two ancient Germanic words, Warinhari or Warinheer. The root word "warin" means "guard", "hari" means "army", and "heer" means "people". It is easy to see how those words might have evolved from the Gothic name Varini. As most of you know, the letter "w" in Germanic languages is pronounced the way English pronounce the letter "v".
Place names as descriptors and surnames began to be used in Europe sometime about the twelfth century (1100s). Name variations in the vicinity of Germany included Werner, Werhner, Wernerius, Warner, Varner, and Verner. Many of those people intermingled with those in France over the centuries, because of migrations, trade, and wars. From the other direction, the Norse (Northmen) of Norway invaded much of present-day England, Scotland, Ireland, and France, and many settled in France in the region that became known as Normandy. Name variations in those regions included Veneur, Venour, Venur, Verner, Vernor, Vernour, and others. Don's research suggested that those surnames derive from the French version of the old Germanic name, and he said that Warenheri was a common Norman personal name. However, it is my understanding that the authorities on names say that the French and German versions developed independently from the same root words rather than one being derived from the other. According to A. L. Verner, the names Varney and Verney have a different origin and pertain to people from the Forest of Vernai, Normandy, France, who do not appear to be closely related to the other families. There is also a French town called Verney, which is said to mean "alder grove", near the border with present-day Germany in the region that used to be known as Alsace-Lorraine. One researcher theorized that the name Varner derived from the province or region of Var in France, but that region was named Var only in modern times. Another was told that they came from a place called Varn in France, but extensive searches show no such place, now or in medieval times. There was a family that used the name Varn in extreme southwest Scotland in ancient times, but I have never seen any evidence that their descendants ever used the name Varner. Most of them reportedly used names like Warnock. There is no reported evidence of such names originating in Scotland or Ireland, so the Verners of Scotland and Ireland appear to have come from England and France.
A. L. Verner wrote that Rollo and his Vikings from the Island of Vigero, Norway settled in Rouen (France) in the year 912. Rollo changed his name to Robert, adopted the French language, changed his religion, married a daughter of the King of France, and subsequently became the first Duke of Normandy. He and his followers became known as Normans. Four generations later, one of his descendants, William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, conquered England in 1066.
Rollo and the succeeding Dukes and Barons hunted deer and wild boar, so large forests were reserved for that purpose. Rollo bestowed the hereditary office of Master Huntsman to an unknown man and granted him an estate or barony named Venables, located near Rouen, the seat of the Norman Dukes. That unknown man apparently had a son and heir named Gualtier (Walter), who used the surname Veneur, which appears to have meant or came to mean "huntsman" or "hunter". In the year 960, Baron Gualtier le Veneur was living near the town of Evreux near Paris in his barony of Venables. The Barony and office of Master Huntsman were hereditary, which implies that Gualtier's father, the unknown first Master Huntsman, must have arrived with Rollo's forces. Gualtier's combined name would have been Gualtier le Veneur de Venables. Another reference says that Venables was about thirty miles from Rouen between St. Pierre and Vernon on the road to Paris. At some point in time, the barony of Vernon was created near or adjacent to Venables, and evidence suggests that the two families were related.
The Normans were some of the first people to use surnames and based them on such things as occupations and places of residence. They introduced that practice in England during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. A. L. Verner again quoted The Norman People as stating that the family of the barony of Venables used the name le Veneur or Venator and that variations in records included Venor, Venour, Venoure, Venur, and Ventnor. The name Grosvenor was derived from the others and means "Grand Huntsman" or "Master Huntsman". The name Venator in England eventually became a more general term, venatores, which applied to the huntsmen who were in charge of the forests that were reserved for hunting. The term "Forester" was sometimes used as a definition of the French name, and the English name Hunter reportedly derived from those names. A. L. Verner wrote that the leading authorities on Norman history state that "Le Veneur" is the proper name.
Walter le Veneur, "the Huntsman", distinguished himself in 960 at the Battle of the Fords between Lothair, King of France, and the Normans. He reportedly lost his horse in the battle and was rescued by Duke Richard I, son of Rollo, who then gave Walter his best horse to use.
Some members of the Veneur/Venator families reportedly migrated to England during the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066). William, Duke of Normandy, defeated Edward and conquered England in 1066 and became known as William the Conqueror. A. L. Verner referred to The Battle Abbey Roll, with some account of Norman Lineages that contains several lists or "rolls" of the chief men in William's army. Their names included Veirny, Venour, Venoure, Vernois, Vernon, Vernoun, Vernoure, Vernoys, and Verny. He stated that six pages of that book are devoted to the Venoure/Veneur family. An excerpt from that book reads, "About thirty miles beyond Rouen, on the road to Paris, between St. Pierre and Vernon, was Venables, the barony and ancient seat of the Le Veneurs - so called from their hereditary office of Veneur or Venator (Huntsman) to the Dukes of Normandy. The Venoures, Veneurs, Venables, Venators, and Grosvenors are from this Norman family; likewise Lord Vernon, Baron of Kinderton, Cheshire, who was the representative of Gilbert le Veneur. The wealthy and powerful house of Grosvenor sprang from the le Veneurs. Arms, Or argent a bend." A. L. Verner wrote that the Veneurs first settled in Kent, which is directly across the English Channel from Normandy. He reasoned that later families who were in the northern part of England at Berwick might have been there because that was a favorite place for political refugees and others.
In 1086 William commissioned a survey of landholders, which resulted in a partial register of names called the Domesday Book. It was basically a census of landholders, both owners and tenants, to see whom he could tax, and it is only a partial listing of the men in England. While the names in William's army of 1066 included the names mentioned in the previous paragraph above, those in the Domesday book were mostly listed as Venator and Venables. There were many men listed who held offices under various nobility. One man, Gislebertus of Cheshire (Gilbert le Veneur), was listed as both Venables and Venator. In Cheshire, the barony of Kinderton continued in the family until 1776. There is no explanation as to why the men might have chosen a different name in England, but the name Venables obviously referred to the place in France from which they had come, and Venator apparently referred to the office of huntsman. Perhaps that was their way of distinguishing themselves from their relatives in France.
A. L. Verner then listed a lot of the crests and arms that have been used in the past. There were many over the centuries, as would be expected. Several of those men used crests exhibiting a boar's head, including: Vennor/Venner; Vernor/Verner; Lord Venables-Vernon; Vere, Earl of Oxford; and Vere, Duke of Ireland and Marquis of Dublin. Under the Vere or Verre name were several arms, one of which included three boars' heads, which is similar to the arms listed for the Verner/Vernor/Vernours of Scotland in the early-1600s. The 1747 will of David Verner of County Armagh reportedly used a seal with three boars' heads. David was the grandfather of Sir William Verner, who was made a baronet in the 1840s, and that line adopted a modified version of the Scottish arms. I will discuss those later.
Then, there is a gap in the records after the time of William the Conqueror, and we have to jump two centuries to 1291. Stodart wrote that in 1291 Thomas le Venour, Burgess of Berwick, swore fealty to King Edward I. As explanation, Berwick is now the northernmost town of England, situated on the Scottish border where the River Tweed enters the North Sea. During the thirteenth century, it fluctuated between English and Scottish control. King Edward I of England became Lord Paramount of Scotland in 1291 and captured the walled city of Berwick. Thomas le Venour was a property owner there and apparently swore fealty to Edward in order to retain his life and property. Other warfare occurred in the vicinity of Berwick in later years. Then, there is another gap of more than a century in the records. Stodart wrote that in 1450 William Vernour and some other merchants obtained safe conduct from the English to travel to Scotland. In 1456 William Vernour was Bailee of Edinburgh, and in 1478 he claimed lands in Edinburgh as heir of his brother John Vernour. In the 16th century (1500s), Auchindinny (or Auchintennie) near Edinburgh was the property of the Vernours, and a Vernour family held lands in Inveresk near Edinburgh that apparently belonged to the Abbotts and Lords of Dunfermline. According to A. L. Verner, Auchindinny and Inveresk are now villages. Clara Verner Wallace wrote in Verner Genealogy that Thomas Verner of Auchindinny was charged with engaging in a feud in 1529; that a Thomas Verner of Auchindinny died in 1618; that Garvin Verner died in 1647; and that the last two men are interred in Glencorse Church yard.
Gentlemen's Arms of Scotland by Stodart is a collection of arms that were used in the period 1600-1649. Listed in Volume 2 is the name Vernour. A. L. Verner wrote that the name is indexed as Vernor, since that was the final Scots version of the name. Under that name is information about some of the family and a description of some of their arms. There is reportedly a sketch of the arms in Stodart's book, which A. L. Verner copied. He drew a rough sketch of a shield with a white background on the top and bottom thirds, a black middle third (fesse), and three red boar's heads, two in the upper third of the shield and one in the bottom third. He did not include a description of those arms. Clara Wallace Verner wrote that those arms are described as, "Argent, a fesse sable, between three boars' heads". "Argent" means silver and is usually depicted with silver or white. "Sable" means black. Author John Kerr wrote that the description had an ending phrase "couped gules". "Couped" means that the heads were cut off at the neck, and "gules" means red. A. L. Verner wrote that the book described another version of arms as, "Azure, a fess argent between three boars' heads, couped or." and that "Porteus and Pont make the boars' heads sable, and the latter says couped." I think the first description means that the escutcheon or shield has a blue background (azure) and is divided through the middle third by a horizontal silver band (fesse). On the shield are three gold (or) boars's heads cut off at the neck (couped), two in the upper third of the shield and one in the bottom third. The version by Porteus and Pont would show the heads as black (sable). A. L. Verner wrote that the sketch in Stodart's illustration shows the heads in a red color (gules).
Please understand that arms were awarded to individuals, not to families. There might have been multiple unrelated men with the same surname who had completely different arms. Only the eldest male heir was entitled to display the arms of his father without modifications. The arms were basically a way to identify that person and his soldiers during battles. Each country has its own rules regarding how descendants or subjects might display arms. The rules of Scotland generally state that direct descendants may display a forebear's arms, but only with specific modifications that are beyond the scope of this discussion. Also in Scotland, someone who swore allegiance to a person who had been awarded arms could display those arms with certain modifications. Basically, one is not suppose to display arms unless one can prove direct descent from or allegiance to the original bearer, and then only with the prescribed modifications. Americans tend to abuse those rules and to claim or display arms inappropriately. People tend to find arms that were awarded to a past individual and then mistakenly claim those arms as their "family coat of arms". At this time, there is no evidence that the immigrant Samuel Verner was entitled to display any arms. John Kerr also wrote that the above arms from Stodart's book belonged to an untitled person, but he did not say how he knew that. Men of property used to devise their own arms, even if they did not have a title of nobility. In 1846 Sir William Verner of County Armagh, Ireland (now Northern Ireland) was made a baronet, and that modern titled family in Ireland adopted a modified version of the ancient arms, which I will describe later. Their adopting those arms implies that they believed that they were descended from the Scottish family.
The many wars devastated the border country between England and Scotland, and many families from that area moved to Ireland during the 1600s. One of the men to do so was Henry Acheson of Edinburgh, who was granted lands in County Armagh in 1610 and then bought other lands. Henry's brother Sir Archibald Acheson married Agnes Verner or Vernor, moved to County Armagh, and obtained lands there. Agnes was the first known Verner in Ireland. Stodart referred to the Achesons as "goldsmiths in Edinburgh in 1483", which suggests that one of the Achesons might have been one of the "other merchants" who accompanied William Vernour from England to Scotland in 1450. Sir Archibald Acheson was from Edinburgh, but the Acheson family seat in Scotland was at Gosford in East Lothian (Haddington), and their estate was finally sold in 1629. That name was transferred to Ireland, because the descendants of Sir Archibald Acheson in Ireland became the Earls of Gosford at Castle Gosford in County Armagh. The connection to the Acheson family is considered partial proof that the majority of the Verner families in Ireland were from the families in Scotland. According to A. L. Verner, the titled Verner family of Northern Ireland claim that their forebears came from Scotland.
Some descendants of the titled line reportedly believe in a German heritage, apparently based on the assumption that the name Verner was a derivation of the German name Werner. The first Irish baronet Sir William Verner married Harriett Wingfield. Phillips Bradford wrote that some of the Verner-Wingfield descendants believe that a member of the Habsburg dynasty was the progenitor of the Ulster Verners. Their story says that Bishop Werner of Habsburg (Habichtsburg or Hawk's Castle) was the progenitor of a family dynasty of European rulers that became a part of nearly all the royal families of Europe. In the mid-16th century, some minor members of the Habsburg dynasty were helping to rule a province of France that is now called Franche-Compte, and some of them began to use the surname Vernier as a French version of Werner. The French people became rebellious, and about 1641 a Duke of Franch-Compte left France and went into exile in London as William Verner. He reportedly subsequently helped Oliver Cromwell's cause in the north of Ireland and was awarded some land there. The people who believe that story think that William was the progenitor of the Verner family in County Armagh via his son William. However, there is no evidence in the records that I found that will support that theory. Records show that French versions of the name were in Scotland and England as early as the time of William the Conqueror in the 11th century (1000s). It is just as likely that the story of a Habsburg forebear is distorted maternal folklore that was misplaced to the paternal line. Because of the frequent wars and commerce, it is likely that any name derived by one of the ancient cultures would spread in one variation or another throughout the area that is now western Europe. The names evolved in one way in the Germanic-speaking areas and in another way in the French- and English-speaking countries. The ancient Scots and Irish might have varied the names further. It is interesting that some descendants of both the German and Irish families in America eventually changed the name from Verner or Werner to Varner in the south. I suspect that change was originally done because of phonetic spelling influenced by regional accents and dialects. Various oral histories claim different family origins, but the populations of England, France, and Germany intermingled over the centuries, so it is easy to understand how family histories could confuse the origins of names.
We must also remember that tracking origins generally involves only the male surname, and marriages would have introduced many other cultural factors and ethnic origins from the maternal lines. It is common for the history of a maternal line to be transposed and attributed to the paternal line by oral history. John Verner, Sr.'s wife Mary, nee Pettigrew, was the granddaughter of a man named James Pettigrew, II who was a French Huguenot that was awarded land in County Tyrone for his service at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. James had a brother named William Pettigrew, and researchers sometimes confused the two men. The Pettigrew history appears to have been transposed to the Verner line at times. As an example, John Early Verner of Decatur, GA wrote a letter in 1961, stating that Charles Bell Verner, an Alabama attorney and a descendant of John Verner, Sr., said that his ancestor was a William Verner of Northern Ireland who fought in the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 and settled in County Tyrone. Either Charles Bell Verner was confused or he was misquoted by John Early Verner, because the man who fought in the Battle of the Boyne was William Pettigrew, not Verner. Another descendant William Henry Verner claimed that his ancestor was William Verner, but that William was of Scotch-Irish parentage. John S. Verner, a South Carolina attorney, claimed that his Verner forebears were Huguenots when he joined the Huguenot Society in 1885. All of those men appear to have confused the maternal history of the Pettigrews with the Verner history. As further argument, the books on peerage state that the forebear of the titled Verner line in Northern Ireland settled in County Armagh ca 1650, some forty years before the Battle of the Boyne. The later generations of that line lived at Church Hill and Verner's Bridge in County Armagh. According to research by Ralph W. Mathisen of Columbia, SC, a James Verner (1783-1854) from Verner's Bridge, County Armagh immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1806. His mother reportedly lived to be nearly 100 years old and died at Verner's Bridge. James and his mother were said to have been of Scottish descent.