Beardslee History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Anglo-Saxon name Beardslee comes from the family having resided in the village named Bardsley in Lancashire. The village itself traces its name back to the Old English words Beornred's leah, which mean Beornred's wood or Beornred's clearing. The personal name Beornred means warrior counsel.

Early Origins of the Beardslee family

The surname Beardslee was first found in Greater Manchester at Bardsley where the earliest record of the place name was Berdesley in 1422. 1 Bardsey is a small village in the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire and dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Berdesei. 2 "Bardsley House, overlooking the glen of the Medlock, is the seat of John Jonah Harrop, Esq. Many generations of the Bardsley family held the estate, under the lords of Ashton, by the feudal payment of a rose and one penny, annually: the property subsequently came, by marriage, to the Tetlows." 3

Early History of the Beardslee family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Beardslee research. Another 59 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1640 is included under the topic Early Beardslee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Beardslee Spelling Variations

Beardslee has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Spelling variants included: Bardsley, Bardsey, Bardsea, Bardsly, Bardesey and many more.

Early Notables of the Beardslee family

More information is included under the topic Early Beardslee Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Beardslee migration to the United States +

In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Beardslees to arrive on North American shores:

Beardslee Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Beardslee, who landed in Massachusetts in 1635 4

Beardslee Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mr. Beardslee, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Beardslee (post 1700) +

Lester Anthony Beardslee (1836-1901), American Navy officer who served as the commander of the Department of Alaska from 1879 to 1880
Bethany Beardslee (b. 1927), American soprano
Lewis Beardslee, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Sherman, 1839 5
Howkin B. Beardslee, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Pennsylvania State Senate, 1864-66 5
George Beardslee, American politician, Member of New Jersey State House of Assembly from Sussex County, 1817-19 5
Ezra Beardslee, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Monroe, 1830 5
Cyrus H. Beardslee, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Monroe, 1825-26, 1831, 1836; Speaker of the Connecticut State House of Representatives, 1846 5
Charles Beardslee, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Roxbury, 1839 5
Charles Beardslee, American politician, Member of New Jersey State House of Assembly from Sussex County, 1784-89 5
Birdsey Beardslee, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Kent, 1830 5
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html