Blakgrove History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Blakgrove is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Blagrave, a tithing in the parish of Lambourn, Berkshire. 1 2

The place name is derived from the Old English word Blaca-graf, which literally means the black or dark grove. 3

Early Origins of the Blakgrove family

The surname Blakgrove was first found in Berkshire, where "in the 13th century, Alicia de Blackgrave held Bockhampton; and lands in Blagrave were held from William Fitz-Humphry (le Breton) by Nicholas Fitz-Hugh, which Henry III. in 1247 confirmed to Poghele Priory, Berkshire. " 4

Another source confirms the above, but has more details. In this case, the entry was for Alice be Blacgrava in the year 1220 and the entry was found in the Feet of Fines. 5

Early History of the Blakgrove family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Blakgrove research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1540, 1591, 1603, 1610, 1611, 1630, 1640, 1660, 1662, 1668, 1670, 1682, 1688, 1704, 1705, 1811, 1817, 1821, 1823, 1824, 1830, 1833, 1834, 1837 and 1872 are included under the topic Early Blakgrove History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Blakgrove 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 Blakgrove family name include Blagrove, Blagrave, Blackgrove, Blackgrave and others.

Early Notables of the Blakgrove family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Daniel Blagrave (1603-1668) English politician and regicide, Member of Parliament for the Parliamentary Borough of Reading between 1640 and 1660. "During the trial of Charles I he attended the high court of justice, and was one of those who signed the king's death-warrant. " 6 Upon the Restoration, he fled the country and settled in what is now Germany where he died.John Blagrave (d. 1611), was an English mathematician, the son of John Blagrave of Bullmarsh, near Sunning, Berkshire. He was born at Reading, but the date of his birth is unknown. "In...
Another 443 words (32 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Blakgrove Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Blakgrove 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 Blakgrove surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Ann Blackgrove who settled in Barbados in 1634 and later moved to the main land in St. Christopher; George Blackgrove, who settled in Virginia in 1654.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print