When John William Speer was born in 1723, in County Down, Ireland, his father, Captain John Speer, was 30 and his mother, Mary, was 24. He married Margaret Houston in 1744. He died in 1771, in Georgia, United States, at the age of 48.
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1723–1771 Male
1733–1833 Female
1747–1830 Male
1748–1842 Male
1750– Male
1754– Male
1756– Female
German and Dutch: from Middle High German, Middle Dutch sper ‘spear’, hence a nickname for a tall, thin person, or else for a skilled user of the hunting spear. In part, it may also have been a metonymic occupational name for a maker of spears.
German: nickname for someone thought to resemble a sparrow, Middle High German spar(e) ‘sparrow’.
Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Speyer .
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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