The study commenced in 1984 with a visit to Warwickshire County Record Office to verify details gained from hearsay against parish registers. Early on I collected all BMD data up to 1985 from the General Register Office, then at St Catherine's House, later updated to 2000. I first registered with the Guild in 1998 and ran a quarterly newsletter but took a break from 2004 until picking up the project again in 2015. Much of the research has been conducted by myself.

Since 2016 I have managed a Wordpress site www.satchwellfamilies.net showing all of the research including charts which cover the whole world. Short biographies of People, and contextual information around the Trades they were employed in and periods of history that are relevant, are included.

There is also a DNA website and a Facebook group which can be joined by invitation.

The similar sounding name Satchell was often used interchangeably in the 17th and 18th centuries but nowadays it is usually regarded as a separate name. The population of Satchells was slightly higher than that of Satchwells by 1911.

The name Satchwill is peculiar to Devon and exists today. Some bearers of this name changed their spelling at some point to Satchwell. I have now also recorded Satchwills in the England and Wales census and GRO index.

DNA testing has shown that the Satchwill family of Devon is related to the Satchells.

From P.H. Reaney’s book Dictionary of British Surnames, Sequeville-en-Bessin in Normandy is one origin of the name. There were also manors in Thorpe Satchville in Leicestershire and Heanton Satchville in Devon in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. I have not seen any evidence to corroborate these claims.

Another suggestion is that the name derives from the colloquial pronunciation of Shotteswell, a village in south Warwickshire, which might be the origin of both Satchwell, Satchell and possibly other spellings.

According to Ian Underdown’s book “History of Satchell Lane Hamble” the origin of the name Satchell is uncertain but may derive from Sir Henry Shatersall, a knight of Henry III (1216-1272) as Satchell was his estate. However, evidence for this is not available either at the National Archives or the Hampshire County Record Office. It was as “Shatsam” that the community first appeared on a map of 1645.

Satchell Lane as a community or tithing became part of the parish of Hamble in 1925. From then its few dwelling houses expanded into the small village it has become today.

Benjamin Satchwell (1733-1810) was the most famous personality. He was the local shoemaker, helped found the spa at Royal Leamington Spa and also wrote poetry.

The Satchwells as a whole are characterised as artisans and contributors to industry, with typical occupations being labourer, silk weaver, watchmaker, iron forger and coal miner.

According to the 1881 census, indexed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the total population of Satchwells in England and Wales was 382, the name occurring most frequently in Warwickshire (187), Staffordshire (64) and Middlesex (48). The 1911 census shows a total population of 711 and yields top counties as Warwickshire (262), Staffordshire (96) and Worcestershire (69).

For Satchells, the name occurred most frequently in London (352 for Middlesex, Surrey and part of Kent) and also in also Warwickshire (77) in 1881. In 1911 the figures are Middlesex, Surrey and Kent  (333) and Warwickshire (67).

In the eighteenth century the name seems to have been widely scattered in the agricultural villages of the English Midlands. In time Satchwells clustered round cities such as Coventry, Birmingham and London. The Satchwill variant existed in South Devon. Emigration in the 19th and 20th centuries has led to Satchwells and Satchwills being found today throughout the English-speaking world.

Satchells lived historically in Hampshire, Dorset and Somerset, also in London, Birmingham and Manchester. There was a large concentration in Rugby, Warwickshire which connected with the Satchwells.

Transcription of Births, Marriages and Deaths from the General Record Office for the years 1837 - 2000. Only data for persons who are sure to be no longer living are uploaded to the website.

Index of Wills from Somerset House for the years 1858 – 1986.

Transcription of telephone directories for England and Wales for 1983. This is not on the site.

Some extracts from the National Burial Index. This information has been incorporated into the pedigree charts and is not kept separately.

Monumental Inscriptions index for counties such as Warwickshire.

Parish registers for selected parishes, some originating from the 16th century.

Census records for England and Wales for each decade from 1841 to 1911.

Correspondence with the public. This is not on the site.

Pedigree charts for all the separate branches (around 140 - trying all the time to merge them). 

Census records for the USA for each decade from 1830 to 1920, except 1890 which was mostly destroyed. Census records for Canada for 1900 to 1920. Census for Ireland for 1900 and 1910.

Selected original documents such as Settlement Orders, Quarter Sessions, Manor Rolls, Wills and Deeds.

This aspect of the ONS is just beginning at the time of writing.

See www.familytreedna.com/groups/satchwell