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![Show Contents]() Bowflower History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
Early Origins of the Bowflower familyThe surname Bowflower was first found in Norfolk where they conjecturally descend from the tenant of the village and lands of Swanton Morely, held by William de Beaufou, a Norman Baron, son William de Beaufoe, Bishop of Thetford and Chancellor to the Conqueror, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. William Beaufeu (d. 1091), Bishop of Thetford, was, apparently, a son of Robert Sire de Belfou, who fought on the Conqueror's side at Senlac. 1 Robert de Beaufeu, Bellofago or Bellofocco (fl. 1190), was a secular canon of Salisbury. "At an early age, a reputation for learning, and became the friend of Giraldus Cambrensis, Walter Map, and other scholars. He is said to have written a work entitled 'Encomium Topographiæ,' " 1 Roger Beaufeu or Bello Fago (fl. 1305), was an early judge, probably of the same family as Nicholas de Beaufo of Beaufo's Manor, Norfolk, a contemporary of the judge. "One Radulphus de Bello or Bella Fago (both genders are found, though the masculine predominates) is mentioned in Domesday Book as holding extensive estates in Norfolk, and the bishop of Thetford also there mentioned we know from other sources to have been William de Beaufo, called by Godwin inaccurately Galsagus, and by others still more corruptly Welson. It may be mentioned in passing that many other varieties of the name are found, such as Belfagus, Beaufou, Beaufogh, Beaufour, Belflour, Beufo, Beufew, and, in the eighteenth century, Beaufoy. " 1 Early History of the Bowflower familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bowflower research. Another 115 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1090, 1306 and 1603 are included under the topic Early Bowflower History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Bowflower Spelling VariationsBefore English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, Norman French and other languages became incorporated into English throughout the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Bowflower include Beaufou, Beaufois, Bellofago, Beaufloe, Beauflower, Bouffler, Beaufoy, Bowflower, Beauflour, Beauforest, Beaufor, Bofor, Bowfor and many more. Early Notables of the Bowflower familyAnother 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bowflower Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Bowflower familyIn England at this time, the uncertainty of the political and religious environment of the time caused many families to board ships for distant British colonies in the hopes of finding land and opportunity, and escaping persecution. The voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, though, and many arrived in North America sick, starved, and destitute. Those who did make it, however, were greeted with greater opportunities and freedoms that they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Early immigration records have shown some of the first Bowflowers to arrive on North American shores: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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