This most interesting surname, of medieval English origin, was occupational. It described a maker or seller of gloves, deriving from the pre 7th century word "glof". Job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer and only later became hereditary when a son followed his father into the same line of business. It is probable that that a glover may also have been a skilled engineer, in that in some cases it is known that he manufactured steel gauntlets to go with suits of armour. The surname was first recorded in the mid 13th Century (see below). and early examples include Richard le Glovere in the Hundred Rolls of Bedford in 1273, whilst the Poll Tax records for Doncaster in Yorkshire mention a Thomas Glover in 1379. Later church register recordings include that on December 16th 1547, of Alyce Glover who was christened at St. Stephen's church, Coleman Street, and Anne Glover who married Daniell Connell on August 11th 1566 at Saint Giles Cripplegate, both in the city of London. Richard Glover was an early emigrant to the New World colonies. He is listed as a passenger on the ship "Assurance", which left London in July 1635, bound for Virginia. A notable nambearer was Sir John Hawley Glover (1829 - 1885), colonial governor of Newfoundland from 1875 - 1884. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William le Glouere. This was dated 1250, in the Middle English Surnames of Occupation", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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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