The roots of the ancient Scottish name Belken are found among the people of a tribe known as the Picts. Belken is a name for a bellman or town crier.
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Early Origins of the Belken family
The surname Belken was first found in Caithness (Gaelic: Gallaibh), the northern tip of Scotland, a Norse/Viking controlled region from the 9th century, which became the Earldom of Caithness, where they had been settled from ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest in 1066.
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Early History of the Belken family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Belken research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1398, 1505, 1663 and 1735 are included under the topic Early Belken History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Belken Spelling Variations
The appearance of the printing press and the first dictionaries in the last few hundred years did much to standardize spelling. Prior to that time scribes spelled according to sound, a practice that resulted in many spelling variations. Belken has been spelled Bellman, Beelman, Belman, Bellmon and others.
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Early Notables of the Belken family
More information is included under the topic Early Belken Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Belken family
The expense of the crossing to the North American colonies seemed small beside the difficulties of remaining in Scotland. It was a long and hard trip, but at its end lay the reward of freedom. Some Scots remained faithful to England and called themselves United Empire Loyalists, while others fought in the American War of Independence. Much of this lost Scottish heritage has been recovered in the last century through Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important, early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Belken: Christian Bellman who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1732; Melchior Beelman who arrived in Philadelphia in 1738; Peter Belman arrived in Philadelphia in 1749..
England
Scotland
