| ![Show Contents]() Burkitt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Etymology of BurkittWhat does the name Burkitt mean? Burkitt is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Burkitt family once lived in Northern England where the term 'of the birk-head,' as in "the head of the birches" was derived. Thus the name literally means "dweller by the birch-covered headland." 1 The name is related to the names Birkenhead and Beckett 2 and was frequented in Cumberland and Lancashire. 1 The Birket is a tributary of the River Mersey, on the Wirral, Merseyside. Early Origins of the Burkitt familyThe surname Burkitt was first found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire where John de Birkhaved was listed in 1301. Later, John Birkehede was listed as a Freeman or York in 1442 and Henry Brikket, Byrkett was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1524. 1 The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included an entry for Adam Birkeued. 2 Early History of the Burkitt familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Burkitt research. Another 161 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1425, 1503, 1507, 1573, 1607, 1623, 1634, 1636, 1638, 1646, 1650, 1653, 1666, 1700, 1703, 1746, 1838, 1908, 1929, 1958 and 1982 are included under the topic Early Burkitt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Burkitt Spelling VariationsSound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Burkitt family name include Birket, Birkett, Bircket, Burkett, Birckett, Burket, Burkert and many more. Early Notables of the Burkitt family- Sir Anthony Birket of Beldorney Castle; Josiah Burchett (1666-1746), Secretary of the Admiralty in England; and William Burkitt (1650-1703), biblical expositor and vicar in Dedham, Essex, best known f...
Migration of the Burkitt family to IrelandSome of the Burkitt family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Burkitt migration to the United States | + |
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Burkitt surname or a spelling variation of the name include:
Burkitt Settlers in United States in the 17th Century- Thomas Burkitt, who landed in Maryland in 1667 4
- Jane Burkitt, who landed in Maryland or Virginia in 1673 4
Burkitt Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Robert Burkitt, who arrived in Virginia in 1719 4
- William Burkitt, aged 25, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1777 4
| Burkitt migration to Australia | + |
Emigration to Australia included the Third Fleet of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include: Third Fleet - Miss Martha Burkitt, (b. 1756), aged 31, English settler convicted in London on 30th August 1786, sentenced for 7 years for theft, transported aboard the ship "Lady Penrhyn" leaving in 1787 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1788 3
Following the Third Fleets, other convicts and early settlers arriving in Australia include: Burkitt Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century- Mr. Thomas Sharp Burkitt, (b. 1804), aged 22, English clerk who was convicted in London, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "England"on 28th April 1826, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1836 5
- Miss Isabella Burkitt, (Burkett) who was convicted in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Cadet" on 4th September 1847, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
| Burkitt 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: Burkitt Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century- Benjamin Burkitt, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1843
| Burkitt migration to West Indies | + |
The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 7Burkitt Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century- Mr. John Burkitt, (b. 1614), aged 21, British settler travelling from Gravesend, England aboard the ship "Falcon" arriving in Barbados in 1636 8
| Contemporary Notables of the name Burkitt (post 1700) | + |
- Jack Burkitt (1926-2003), English football midfielder
- Sir William Robert Burkitt KT. (1838-1908), British judge in India in the late 1800s and early 1900s
- Francis Crawford Burkitt (1864-1935), British theologian and scholar, Norris Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge (1905-1935)
- James Parsons Burkitt (1870-1959), Irish civil engineer, County Surveyor in County Fermanagh from 1900 to 1940
- Denis Parsons Burkitt (1911-1993), British (Northern Ireland born) surgeon, best known for his work in Africa on Burkitt’s Lymphoma
| Historic Events for the Burkitt family | + |
North Sea Flood - Julie Mary Burkitt, British citizen, living in Fellixstowe, England,killed in the North Sea Flood, a major storm surge in 1953
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships
- 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)
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/england
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cadet/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
- Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 28th September 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
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