Bekforthy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Bekforthy is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in Gloucestershire, where they derived their name from the place named Beckford, which was located about six miles south of Tewesbury. The place-name is derived from the Old English terms becca, which means stream, and ford, which refers to a place where a river may be crossed by wading. 1

Early Origins of the Bekforthy family

The surname Bekforthy was first found in Gloucestershire at Beckford, a parish, in the union of Winchcomb, partly in the hundred of Tibaldstone, and partly in the Upper division of the hundred of Tewkesbury, While technically located in Gloucestershire, the parish is on the border with Worcestershire, so some references claim the parish is located there. An ancient Saxon village, the first listing of the pace name was found in 803 as Beccanford. 2 Beckford is a "parish in Gloucestershire, in which the family first appear in connection with the Abbey of Gloucester in the XII century." 3

"Beckford, at the foot of the Bredon Hills, is five miles from Tewkesbury. The original name of the manor was Beccanford, where was an alien Augustinian Priory, attached to Ste. Barbe-en-Auge, on the Dive." 4

Early History of the Bekforthy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bekforthy research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1643, 1672, 1685, 1702, 1709, 1710, 1735, 1762, 1769, 1770 and 1887 are included under the topic Early Bekforthy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bekforthy 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 Bekforthy family name include Beckford, Bekford, Beckforth and others.

Early Notables of the Bekforthy family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Major Sir Thomas Beckford (d. 1685), a London clothworker and slopseller who became Sheriff of London; and Colonel Peter Beckford (1643-1710), Governor of Jamaica in 1702; when he died suddenly, he was the wealthiest planter in Jamaica...
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bekforthy Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bekforthy family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, 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 Bekforthy surname or a spelling variation of the name include : John Beckford who settled in Jamaica in 1774; Edward Beckford who settled in Jamaica in 1661; Elizabeth Beckford settled in Maryland in 1677; and the aforementioned Peter Beckford who arrived in Jamaica in 1690. In Newfoundland, Robert Beckford was a boat keeper of St. John's in 1681.

The Bekforthy 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: De Dieu Tout
Motto Translation: From God everything.

Citations +

Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Oliver, George, Collections Illustrating the History of the Catholic Religion in the Counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wilts, and Gloucester London: Charles Dolman, 61, New Bond Street, 1857. Print