This Flemish Heraldic name is unusual in that it is not recorded in England until after the Napelonic Wars (1793 - 1815) very much later than normal. It is also unusual in that it apparently derives from the surname "Fraters" of Termonde in Flanders, which translates as meaning "by the brothers" a locational nickname for one who lived by or possibly worked at the local monastery. The name recording in England includes Francis Defrates who married Sarah Ann Downes at St. Leonards in 1846 and Augustus Defreitas, christened at St. George, the Martyr, Southwark on September 30th 1854. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Emanuel Antonia de Fratas, which was dated 1823, St. Leonards Church, Shoreditch, London, during the reign of King George IV, "Prinny", 1820 - 1830. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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