Bristowe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The history of the Bristowe family name begins after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived in Gloucestershire, where the name is derived from the Old English words byrst and stow and when combined mean place by the bridge.

Early Origins of the Bristowe family

The surname Bristowe was first found in Surrey where they were anciently descended from Hamon aux Dents, Lord of Thorigny, who died in 1045. His son Hamon was at Hastings and became the Sheriff of Kent. His second son was ancestor of the Bristows through Stephen de Burstow about 1294. "Twyford Hall [in Twyford, Derbyshire] is the residence of the Bristowe family, who have been seated here from the early part of the 17th century." 1

Interestingly, one of the first records of the family was found not in England, but Ireland. Ralph de Bristol (d. 1232), Bishop of Cashel, "is mentioned by William of Malmesbury as having granted fourteen days of indulgence to the Abbey of Glastonbury. He became the first treasurer of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, in 1219, and was consecrated bishop of Cashel in 1223. He died about the beginning of 1232." 2

Early History of the Bristowe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bristowe research. Another 132 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1538, 1581, 1662, 1698, 1701, 1706, 1797 and 1806 are included under the topic Early Bristowe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bristowe Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Bristow, Bristol, Bristoe, Bristo, Bristowe and many more.

Early Notables of the Bristowe family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Nicholas Bristow, Custodian of the Crown Jewels; Richard Bristow (1538-1581), an English Catholic controversialist and Biblical scholar; Robert Bristow...
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bristowe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bristowe migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Bristowe or a variant listed above were:

Bristowe Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Eliz Bristowe, aged 17, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 3

Bristowe migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Bristowe Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mrs. Bristowe, British settler travelling from London, UK aboard the ship "Buckinghamshire" arriving in Port Chalmers, South Island, New Zealand on 29th May 1874 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Bristowe (post 1700) +

Orme Cheshyre Bristowe (1895-1938), English cricketer for Essex (1913-1914) and golfer from Watford, Hertfordshire
John Syer Bristowe (1827-1895), English physician, born in Camberwell
William Syer "W.S." Bristowe (1901-1979), English naturalist (a prolific and popular scientific writer and authority on spiders)
Thomas Lynn Bristowe (1833-1892), English stock broker and Conservative Party politician, Member of Parliament for Norwood (1885-1892)
Samuel Boteler Bristowe QC (1822-1897), English barrister and Liberal Party politician who survived a murder attempt in 1889
Edmund Bristowe (1787-1876), English painter, born at Windsor 1 April 1787, lived his life at Windsor and Eton, son of an heraldic painter 5
Wally Bristowe (1922-2013), Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn and Fitzroy from 1940 to 1945
Ethel Susan Graham "E.S.G." Bristowe (1862-1952), British painter and author on alternative theories within Assyriology
Kaitlyn Dawn Bristowe (b. 1985), Canadian television personality, podcast host, and former spin class instructor from Leduc, Alberta

The Bristowe 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: Vigilantibus non dormientibus
Motto Translation: For the vigilant not for the sleeping.

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 5 Feb. 2019