Because of the improvement in the coverage of online parish record databases it is now possible to create maps showing the distribution of Jermy (and variants) parish records over time. Norfolk is particularly fortunate in having complete coverage of baptisms for the 1813 to 1880 period on the Tinstaafl website, and outstanding coverage of baptisms, marriages and burials on the FreeReg website, where almost 6.5 million Norfolk parish records are available for searching. (This in comparison to Suffolk which currently (January 2025) has approximately 0.5 million records available, or Oxfordshire with around 300.) By combining together the records collected by myself since the 1990's with those from the more recent online databases and plotting them using a mapping program, maps have been produced showing the spatial distibution of Jermy (and variants) family records over time.
These maps are only as good as the data of course. The number of Jermy records in each parish are a representation of what has been collected by a number of researches over time, and as such give an indication of what is currently known, not the "definitive picture". The earliest parish records (16th century) are generally few and far between and difficult to read and interpret, so are poorly represented in the various databases, and in these maps. Later entries reflect a large variation in the spelling of surnames, so it is difficult to determine whether the families are "relevant" to this study. In most cases there are only one or two entries in individual parish records, but in others it is clear that the parish has become a major centre of settlement. Over the centuries the number of parish entries increases, as does their spatial distribution.
It is clear from the maps that in the 16th century there is a concentration of Jermy/Jermyn families in the Hempnall area, which may be due to junior branches of the Jermyn family of Rushbrooke, Suffolk settling there. The concentration increases in the 17th centuries, as well as expanding to Norwich, Yarmouth and Wymondham, and to the "broads" north of the River Yare. The 18th century sees a further spread of the families across Norfolk, with the main concentration moving from the Hempnall area to Salhouse, South Walsham, etc in the Broads. This movement increases in the 19th century, with further expansion to north-west and south-west Norfolk. Families are drawn to the major cities (and job prospects), so that Norwich, Yarmouth and Wymondham have large concentrations of Jermy families. Interestingly, Kings Lynn has very few Jermy families, and then only in the 19th and 20th centuries.