I forgot about the "lock or sluice operator" bit. Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk do not have any navigable rivers. In the 1600's, by which time our family name had become established, there were no rivers in the area with locks and sluices; nor were there any canals with such. Canal building did not get a major start in England until the 1700's, with the coming of industrialization. So there were no locks and sluices for anyone to operate in southeast England and thus they could not have gotten their name from such an occupation which did not exist in the area at that time. As for the "Dweller on or near a river bank or at a lock in a lake" meaning: there are no significant lakes in this region (the subsoil is chalk and cannot hold large amounts of water). The author of this book didn't do his homework. The root words of SASSER in English cannot produce such a meaning as "dweller by a river". Nor should we confuse our Saxon SASSER with the French "saucer" (what we pour our coffee or tea in to cool it). Your cuz, Robert Earl ------------------------------