First found in Hertfordshire where Gosfrid le Beche was sometimes known as Geoffrey de Bec, one of the principal holders and tenant-in-chief of land in that shire as recorded by the Domesday Book in the year 1086. He was from Beche in Normandy and accompanied William the Conqueror into England at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Amongst other villages he also owned Aldenham, Cokenach, Eastwick, Hailey, Lilley, Langley and many others in Hertfordshire.

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More about the Beach History...

Please remember that this page is only a small extract of our complete history that includes:

• Ancient origin of the name (usually pre-1100)
• Known spelling variations
• Early movement of the family name during the Middle Ages
• Noteworthy bearers from the 1500-1600s
• First settlers to North America
• Notable contemporary bearers of the name
• A description and/or full color picture of the Coat of Arms, Crest, and Motto (where available)

For many English families, the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. For such families, the shores of Ireland, Australia, and the New World beckoned. They left their homeland at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. Many arrived after the long voyage sick, starving, and without a penny. But even those were greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. Numerous English settlers who arrived in the United States and Canada at this time went on to make important contributions to the developing cultures of those countries. 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 Beach were among those contributors: Henry Beck of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, who captured a French banker, in 1814; Thomas Beck was residing in St. John's Newfoundland in 1821. There is a Beck Bay in Newfoundland. Early settlers in the United States were: Richard Beach who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1637.

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