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Bethune History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Bethune History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

The noble Viking settlers who came to the rocky shores of Scotland in the Middle Ages brought with them the ancestors of the Bethune family. They lived in Béthune in Pas-de-Calais, Picardy, France.

Early Origins of the Bethune family

The surname Bethune was first found in Perthshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Pheairt) former county in the present day Council Area of Perth and Kinross, located in central Scotland, where they acquired lands. "This illustrious name is traceable, beyond question, to Robert, surnamed Faisseus, seigneur of the town of Bethune, in Artois, in the year 1000, and there is good reason to suppose that he was a descendant of the ancient Counts of Artois." 1

Early History of the Bethune family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bethune research. Another 140 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1332, 1470, 1494, 1539, 1545, 1546 and 1778 are included under the topic Early Bethune History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bethune Spelling Variations

Scottish names from the Middle Ages vary enormously in their spellings. This is a result of the fact that there were no universal standards like dictionaries for scribes to judge by. The recorded spelling variations of the name Bethune include Bethune, Betune and others.

Early Notables of the Bethune family

Notable among the family at this time was

James Bethune (1470-1539), Scottish prelate and statesman
David Bethune (1494-1546), Scottish statesman

Bethune Ranking

In the United States, the name Bethune is the 8,968^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Bethune is ranked the 7,297^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 3

Bethune migration to the United States +

Settlers found farms all along the eastern part of what would become the United States and Canada. They provided a base and a backbone that would strengthen two great nations in the making. In the 20th century, the ancestors of those brave Scots have rediscovered their heritage through highland games and Scottish historical societies. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Scottish name Bethune or a variant listed above, including:

Bethune Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jon Bethune, who landed in Virginia in 1637 4

Bethune Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Bethune, who arrived in North Carolina in 1773 4

Bethune Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Richard Bethune, who landed in America in 1805 4
Anne Bethune who settled in New York in 1822
N. Bethune, who settled in New York in 1825

Bethune migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bethune Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Angus Bethune U.E. who settled in Eastern District [Cornwall], Ontario c. 1783 5
Mr. John Bethune U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1783 5
Rev. John Bethune U.E. who settled in Eastern District [Cornwall], Ontario c. 1783 5

Bethune Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

James Bethune, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1801
Beth Bethune, aged 19, Scottish settler who landed in Red River, Canada in 1811
Ewan Bethune, aged 22, a labourer, who arrived in Quebec aboard the ship "Edinburgh" in 1815
Johan Bethune, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1848
Meran Bethune, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1848
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bethune Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

J Bethune, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1907
Mrs. Bethune, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1907

Bethune migration to Australia +

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

Bethune Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Alexander Bethune, aged 19, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Hydaspes" 6
Norman Bethune, aged 48, who arrived in South Australia in 1853 aboard the ship "Neptune" 7
Alexander Bethune, aged 28, who arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Nabob"
William Bethune, aged 28, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Bee"

Bethune 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:

Bethune Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Kenneth Bethune, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840 aboard the ship Cuba
Kenneth Bethune, aged 14, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cuba" in 1840
Mr. Bethune, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Simlah" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 9th April 1855 8
Mrs. Bethune, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Simlah" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 9th April 1855 8
Mr. George Bethune, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Three Bells" arriving in Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 13th July 1858 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Bethune (post 1700) +

Dr. Henry Norman Bethune (1890-1939), Canadian physician, pioneer in mobile war-time blood transfusion units, who later worked in China where he became a Chinese national hero for his medical work
Gordon M Bethune (b. 1941), American Chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Airlines
Louise Blanchard Bethune (1856-1913), American first American female professional architect
Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955), American educator and activist, best known as the founder of the National Council for Negro Women
John Bethune (1812-1839), Scottish poet, born at Upper Rankeillor, Monimail, Fifeshire, a younger brother of Alexander Bethune
Sir Henry Lindesay Bethune (1787-1851), Scottish major-general, the eldest son of Major Martin Eccles Lindesay, Commissary-General in Scotland
John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune (1801-1851), eminent Indian legislator and educationist, the eldest son of Lieutenant-colonel John Drinkwater Bethune
John Drinkwater Bethune (1762-1841), originally John Drinkwater, British historian of the siege of Gibraltar, born at Latchford, near Warrington
Alexander Bethune (1804-1843), Scottish poet, born at Upper Rankeillor, in the parish of Monimail, Fifeshire, the son of an agricultural day-labourer 9
Alexander Bethune (1852-1947), Canadian merchant, Mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia (1907-1908)

The Bethune Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Debonnair
Motto Translation: Graceful.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) HYDASPES 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Hydaspes.htm
South Australian Register Wednesday 26 October 1853. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Neptune 1853. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/neptune1853.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 17 June. 2019