Palmer Stone from Founder's Park Hampton, N.H.

The Palmer family migration in America can be traced from Maine to California, though for our family it stops in Colorado. This family, and the families joined to it through marriage, embody the pioneer spirit at its finest, beginning with the move from England to a new world, spreading out from there and continuing on all the way through to the trek westward in covered wagons.

The Palmers left their mark along the way. They will be included in the Pilgrim era as well as the Old West era. William Palmer, one of the early Pilgrim era settlers, was among the founding families of Hampton, N. H., and along with the others, has a commemorative stone and plaque in that city's Founder's Park (see left.)

We know a lot about some of these people, and not a lot about others. But through their lives and the lives of those who accompanied them, we can learn a bit more about ourselves and the heritage we carry within us. I am proud beyond words to be among the descendents of these people.

Palmer Family General Information
Palmer Family Crest ( I found two different ones)	The surname Palmer was originally derived from the Old French word "palmer," which was taken from the Latin word "palma" meaning a palm branch. The name was originally a nickname for someone who had returned from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It was customary for such pilgrims to bring back a palm branch as proof that they had completed the journey. Spelling variations include: Palmer, Pallmer, Parmer and others. First found in Yorkshire where they were seated from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects. Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: William Pallmer, who settled in the Barbados in 1685; Abraham Palmer settled in Salem in 1630; Edward Palmer settled in Virginia in 1635; Francis Palmer settled in Plymouth Mass. in 1621.