Why are there so may of the Clow family in Suffolk, but not Norfolk or Essex?

Question

During the 19th century, the Clow (aka Clough) family was largely a northern English name - except for a strong 'Clow(e)' enclave in and around the Framlingham and Woodbridge areas of Suffolk.

Why?

Answer 1

There could be a myriad of reasons.

You could look to why the family name migrated from nothern England to Suffolk in the first place.

Without doing a shed-load of research, my first take on it would that the Clow family were agricultural workers in the 19th century. This period in time experienced another spate of enclosure and the family may have been driven south to seek work because of this.

As to why they have never spread from Suffolk into adjoining counties, well may be as a cohesive and close-knit family, they have never felt the need to stray too far from their family roots. We have families in Hampshire where all the relations live within the same village or town and have never had any desire to go further.

None of this will be of any real help to you as it is all speculation, but it may give you soem ideas for further research.