Contents [hide]

Bamford History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Bamford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The lineage of the name Bamford begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in one of two places named Bamford in the counties of Derbyshire and Lancashire. 1 2

Later records show the name in Yorkshire as well. Checking further we found the name was derived from the Old English words beam, meaning tree or plank, and ford, meaning river crossing. In this case the name referred to a settlement near which there was a tree or plank laid across a river to make a dry crossing. 3

Early Origins of the Bamford family

The surname Bamford was first found in Lancashire, where "the estate of Bamford was granted to Thomas de Bamfordby, Sir Adam de Bury, temp. Henry III, for his homage and services." 4

As noted above, Yorkshire was later a stronghold of family as noted by early rolls. The Hundredorum Rolls list Richard de Bamford there in 1273 and later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list: Adam Bamforth and Adam de Baumford. 4

Another source notes: "In the 17th century there was an old family of Bamford of Bamford House; there was also another family of Bamford Hall. Jerome Bamford held land in the Mealegate in the manor of Manchester during the reign of Elizabeth. The name was well established in Rochdale parish in the 16th century, and still occurs there. There is a Lancashire village thus called." 5

Early History of the Bamford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bamford research. Another 78 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1556, 1593, 1594, 1602, 1612, 1613, 1657, 1659, 1738 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Bamford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bamford Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Bamford has undergone many spelling variations, including Bamford, Banford, Banforth, Balmforth and others.

Early Notables of the Bamford family

Distinguished members of the family include

William Bamford, last of the Bamford Hall line, Sheriff of Lancaster
Also of note was Robert Bamford Hesketh, of Gwrych Castle in Denbighshire; and Samuel Balmford (Bamford) (died 1657), an English Puritan minister, attended Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1612

Migration of the Bamford family to Ireland

Some of the Bamford family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 58 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bamford migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Bamford were among those contributors:

Bamford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Bamford, aged 23, who landed in Virginia in 1622 aboard the ship "James" 6
John Bamford, aged 28, who arriving first in St. Domingo then to Virginia in 1634 or 1635 aboard the ship "Bonaventure" 6

Bamford Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

G C Bamford, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 7

Bamford Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Fredk. G. Bamford, aged 18, who arrived in New York City, New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Adriatic" from Liverpool, England 8
Alexander F. Bamford, aged 19, who arrived in New York City, New York in 1919 from London, England 8
Harold Bamford, aged 25, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Baltic" from Liverpool via Halifax 8
Walter Bamford, aged 54, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Brazos" from San Juan, Puerto Rico 8
Phode Bamford, aged 51, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Brazos" from San Juan, Puerto Rico 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bamford migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bamford Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Miss. Margaret Bamford, aged 1 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Tamarac" departing 26th May 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 11th July 1847 but she died on board 9

Bamford migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Bamford Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

William Bamford, English convict from Lancaster, who was transported aboard the "America" on April 4, 1829, settling in New South Wales, Australia 10
Mr. Jonathan Bamford, English convict who was convicted in Derby, England for life, transported aboard the "David Lyon" on 29th April 1830, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
Mr. Samuel Bamford, English convict who was convicted in Derby, England for life, transported aboard the "David Lyon" on 29th April 1830, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
Mr. Moses Bamford, British Convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 25th June 1838, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 12
Mr. William Bamford, (b. 1808), aged 32, Irish wool comber who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years for desertion from the army, transported aboard the "British Sovereign" on 16th December 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died 1873 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bamford migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Bamford Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas W. Bamford, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sebastian" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 7th October 1859 14
Mrs. J. Bamford, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sebastian" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 7th October 1859 14
Mr. R. H. Bamford, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Evening Star" arriving in Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 14th October 1860 15
Mr. Matthew Bamford, (b. 1818), aged 41, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Roman Emperor" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 26th January 1860 14
Mrs. Elizabeth Bamford, (b. 1827), aged 32, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Roman Emperor" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 26th January 1860 14
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bamford migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 16

Bamford Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Bamford, who settled in Jamaica in 1685

Contemporary Notables of the name Bamford (post 1700) +

Maria Bamford (b. 1970), American stand-up comedian
James Bamford (b. 1946), American best selling author and journalist
James B. Bamford (b. 1905), American politician, Mayor of Reading, Pennsylvania, 1953-55 17
Elmer E. Bamford (1864-1939), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Iowa, 1912, 1932; Delegate to Iowa convention to ratify 21st amendment from Appanoose County, 1933 17
John "Jack" Bamford (1937-2023), English youngest person to have received the George Cross
Brian J. Bamford (1935-2021), English professional golfer who won the Schweppes PGA Close Championship in 1961
Samuel Bamford (1788-1872), English reformer and poet, born at Middleton, Lancashire, on 28 Feb. 1788, the son of an operative muslin weaver, afterwards governor of the Salford workhouse
Joseph Cyril Bamford (1916-2001), English businessman, founder of the JCB heavy machinery company
Dr. Anne Bamford O.B.E., British Director of Education for Archdiocese of Southwark, was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 8th June 2018, for services to Education 18
Captain Edward Bamford VC, DSO (1887-1928), British officer in World War I who received the Victoria Cross
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Bamford family +

Bradford City stadium fire

Herbert Bamford (1913-1985), from Bradford who attended the Bradford City and Lincoln City Third Division match on 11th May 1985 when the Bradford City stadium fire occurred and he died in the fire

Empress of Ireland

Mr. Edward Bamford, British Marconi Operator from United Kingdom who worked aboard the Empress of Ireland (1914) and survived the sinking 19

HMS Dorsetshire

Frank Cecil Mayall Bamford (d. 1945), British Commander Surgeon aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 20

HMS Hood

Mr. Anthony B J Bamford (b. 1920), English Able Seaman serving for the Royal Navy from Wokingham, Berkshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 21

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 64)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 26) America voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1829 with 176 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/america/1829
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd June 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/david-lyon
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/british-sovereign
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm