Sally,
The oldest reference that I have found so far comes from the mid 1600's in Germany. It would appear from dates that there was a migration from Germany, to The Netherlands, to the UK and from there to the US and Australia.
The mormons here in the US have a very large geneology bank that is online (no idea why exactly) but it is useful -
http://www.ancestorhunt.com/mormon_church_records.htmGood luck in your search.