Balcack History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Balcack is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Hertfordshire. The name was taken from the market town of Baldock in Hertfordshire. This place name is of an unusual Arabic derivation. The town was named by the Knights Templar, who held a manor in the area in the 12th century, after the city of Baghdad, which was spelled Baldac in Old English. It means the city of Dat.

Early Origins of the Balcack family

The surname Balcack was first found in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

One of the first records of the family was Ralph de Baldock (d. 1313), "Bishop of London and Lord Chancellor, whose early history is unknown, first appears in 1271 as holding the prebendal stall of Holborn, in which Robert Burnel, Edward I's great chancellor, had preceded him. Robert de Baldock (d. 1327), was Lord Chancellor, [and] first appears in the records as obtaining a grant of the royal rights over a manor in Surrey in 1287." 1

Early History of the Balcack family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Balcack research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1307, 1327, 1500, 1624 and 1691 are included under the topic Early Balcack History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Balcack Spelling Variations

Sound 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 Balcack family name include Baldock, Balldock, Balldcock, Baldcock and others.

Early Notables of the Balcack family

Distinguished members of the family include Sir Robert Baldock (c.1624-1691), an English judge who claimed descent from Robert de Baldock, Lord Chancellor in Essex during King Edward's reign...
Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Balcack Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Balcack family

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 Balcack surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Dasey Baldock, who came to Virginia in 1638; Sarah Baldock, who arrived in Maryland in 1774; Richard Baldock, who settled in Rappahannock Virginia in 1747.

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print