Bearman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Bearman reached England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Bearman family lived in any of several places of this name in the counties of Middlesex and Kent having derived from the Old English words beorg, meaning hill, and ham, meaning homestead. 1

Early Origins of the Bearman family

The surname Bearman was first found in Kent, where Barham is a village and civil parish in the City of Canterbury. An ancient Saxon village, it was listed as Bioraham in 799 1 and later as Bercheham in the Domesday Book. 2 There are also parishes in the Dioceses Ely, Chichester, and Norwich.

The first record of the surname was Warine de Berham, as holding lands in Kent in 1203. 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included some early spellings for the name: Simon de Bernham in Norfolk; and Walter de Bernham in Suffolk. 4

The Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III listed John de Bernham, Kent, 20 Edward I (during the twentieth year of King Edward I's reign) and Thomas de Bernham, Suffolk.

"The family were lords of Barham, in Kent, at an early period, and according to Philipot, the Kentish genealogist, descendants of Robert de Berham, son of Richard Fitz-Urse, and brother of one of the assassins of Thomas a Beckett. " 5

"The Sussex Barhams are probably connected with the ancient Kentish family of Barham. In the 13th century Baham was a Suffolk name. " 6

Early History of the Bearman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bearman research. Another 133 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1390, 1391, 1535, 1577, 1595, 1621, 1625, 1626, 1634, 1667, 1670 and 1726 are included under the topic Early Bearman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bearman Spelling Variations

Before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Sound was what guided spelling in the Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Bearman family name include Barham, Bareham, Barrham, Braham, Bearham, Bereham and many more.

Early Notables of the Bearman family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Richard de Berham, Sheriff of Kent (1390-1391); Sir Edward Barkham (died 1634), an English merchant, Lord Mayor of London in 1621; and Sir Edward Barkham, 1st Baronet of South Acre (1595-1667), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1625 and 1626.Nicholas Barham (d. 1577), was an early English lawyer, "a native of Wadhurst, Sussex. His family had been settled there for some generations, being a branch of...
Another 78 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bearman Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bearman migration to the United States +

To escape the political and religious chaos of this era, thousands of English families began to migrate to the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. The passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe; however, those who made the voyage safely were encountered opportunities that were not available to them in their homeland. Many of the families that reached the New World at this time went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. Research into various historical records has revealed some of first members of the Bearman family to immigrate North America:

Bearman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Wolf W Bearman, who landed in Mississippi in 1879 7
Abraham Bearman, aged 26, who landed in America, in 1892

Bearman Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Simon Bearman, aged 32, who immigrated to the United States from London, in 1900
Samuel Bearman, aged 45, who landed in America from Bradford, in 1906
Harry Mayor Bearman, aged 22, who immigrated to the United States from London, England, in 1908
Rosa Bearman, aged 50, who immigrated to America from London, England, in 1908
Henry Augustus Bearman, aged 48, who settled in America from London, England, in 1910
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bearman migration to Australia +

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

Bearman Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

William Bearman, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "David Malcolm" in 1849 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Bearman (post 1700) +

Joshuah Bearman, American former staff writer and editor for the LA Weekly
Peter Shawn Bearman (b. 1956), American sociologist
Thelma Bearman, American politician, American Labor Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 5th District, 1952 9
Charles H. Bearman, American politician, Industrial Labor Candidate for Presidential Elector for Oregon, 1920 9
Joe Bearman (b. 1979), English rugby union player
Xanthe Bearman, British Television and Radio Presenter
Greg Bearman (b. 1975), Canadian professional football defensive back

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) DAVID MALCOLM 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849DavidMalcolm.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html