Contents [hide]

Bicknell History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Bicknell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

In ancient Anglo-Saxon England, the ancestors of the Bicknell surname lived in one of two places. Some bearers of the surname Bicknell derive their name from the parish of Bickenhill, which lies seven miles from Birmingham in the county of Warwickshire. 1

Bickenhill Church is a parish, in the union of Meriden, Solihull division of the hundred of Hemlingford, N. division of Warwickshire. "This place is of considerable antiquity, and included Kington, or Kingsford, now partly in this parish and partly in that of Solihull." 2

Other members of the family come from the parish of Bickenhall, otherwise known as Bicknell, which is near Taunton in the county of Somerset. 2

Early Origins of the Bicknell family

The surname Bicknell was first found in Somerset and Warwickshire, where Thomas de Bikenhulle was the first on record in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1214. Later, John de Bikenhull and Walter Bykenhulle were listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327. 3

Early History of the Bicknell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bicknell research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1310, 1318, 1349, 1611, 1629, 1645, 1660, 1695, 1723, 1788, 1796, 1861 and 1948 are included under the topic Early Bicknell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bicknell Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Bicknell are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Bicknell include: Bicknell, Bicknall, Bickenell, Bickenall, Bickenhall, Bickwell, Bignell, Bignall, Bignold, Bicknoll, Bignal, Bignel, Bignoll and many more.

Early Notables of the Bicknell family

Notables of the family at this time include

M Bicknell (1695?-1723), was English actress, sister of Mrs. Younger, an actress, who survived her some years. Alexander Bicknell (d. 1796), was an English author, an industrious litterateur of the la...

Bicknell Ranking

In the United States, the name Bicknell is the 10,530^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Bicknell family to Ireland

Some of the Bicknell family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 67 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bicknell migration to the United States +

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Bicknell or a variant listed above:

Bicknell Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Zachary Bicknell, originally of Somerset, England, who settled in Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1635
Zachary Bicknell, who landed in Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1635 5
John Bicknell, who arrived in Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1658 5

Bicknell Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas Bicknell, who settled in Providence, Rhode Island in 1770

Bicknell Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mrs. Bicknell, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 5

Bicknell Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Miss Annie Louisa Bicknell, (b. 1884), aged 21, Cornish laundress, travelling aboard the ship "Philadelphia" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 en route to Bisbee, Arizona, USA 6

Bicknell migration to Australia +

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

Bicknell Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

William Bicknell, aged 33, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Sultana" 7
William Bicknell, aged 33, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Sultana" in 1851 7

Bicknell 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:

Bicknell Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Bicknell, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
Joseph Bicknell, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
Joseph Bicknell, aged 35, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Clifton" in 1842
Elizabeth Bicknell, aged 35, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Clifton" in 1842
John Bicknell, aged 12, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Clifton" in 1842
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Bicknell (post 1700) +

Bennet Bicknell (1781-1841), American politician, US Representative from New York
Thomas W. Bicknell (1834-1925), American educator, historian, and author
Jack Bicknell (b. 1938), retired American college football coach
Greg Brent Bicknell (b. 1969), American former professional baseball player from Fresno, California
George Augustus Bicknell (1815-1891), American politician, U.S. Representative from Indiana
Eugene Pintard Bicknell (1859-1925), American botanist and ornithologist, known for his Review of the Summer Birds of Part of the Catskill Mountains (1882) and The Ferns and Flowering Plants of Nantucket (1908–1919)
Elhanan Bicknell (1788-1861), English patron of art, born 21 Dec. 1788, in Blackman Street, London, the son of William Bicknell, a London serge manufacturer
Herman Bicknell (1830-1875), English author, orientalist, and traveller, born at Herne Hill 2 April 1830, third son of Elhanan Bicknell
Stephen John "Steve" Bicknell (b. 1959), English former professional footballer
Martin Paul Bicknell (b. 1969), former English cricketer
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Bicknell family +

Grover Shoe factory

Mrs. Bicknell (b. 1875), American employee of the Grover Shoe factory in Brockton, Massachusetts on 20th March 1905 when the boiler exploded and collapsed the wooden building; she survived 8

USS Arizona

Mr. Dale Deen Bicknell, American Seaman First Class from Washington, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 9

Citations +

Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retreived 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SULTANA 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Sultana.htm
California Digital Newspaper from 21st March 1905 (retrieved on 5th August 2021.) Retrieved from https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC19050321.2.19&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html