Elden History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Elden family

The surname Elden was first found in Westmorland where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed. But Saxon surnames survived and the family name was first referenced in the 11th century when Aldenus held estates in that county. They may have been of Cumbrian extraction. The Dalden variant has a most interesting history found in Dawdon or Dawden, Durham. "There was once a castle or peel here, which in the first ages after the Conquest was the seat of the family of Escolland, who, it seems, afterwards assumed the name of Dalden, by which term this place was formerly designated, It was also for two centuries a favourite seat of the family of Bowes. A domestic chapel was attached to the structure, as Sir Jordan de Dalden, in 1325, obtained a licence to establish an oratory within his manor-house, on condition that no injury should arise to the parochial church of Dalton." 1

Early History of the Elden family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Elden research. Another 162 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1109, 1455, 1487, 1504, 1510, 1599, 1600, 1602, 1622, 1623, 1680, 1687, 1701 and 1858 are included under the topic Early Elden History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Elden Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Elden has undergone many spelling variations, including Alden, Aldin, Aldwen, Aldyn, Aldwyn, Aldwen, Elden, Eldwyn, Eldwin, Eldin, Olden, Auden, Aldan, Aldon and many more.

Early Notables of the Elden family

Distinguished members of the family include John, C. Alden (1599-1687) was a crew member of the Mayflower and one of the Puritan settlers of the Plymouth Colony. He arrived in America where he became an assistant to the Governor of the colony. He married Priscilla Alden (c. 1602-1680) (née Mullins or Mullens), on May 12, 1622. She was another passenger on...
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Elden Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Elden migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Elden were among those contributors:

Elden Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Elden, aged 24, who landed in Key West, Fla in 1848 2

Elden migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Elden Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Thomas Elden, who arrived in Canada in 1820

Contemporary Notables of the name Elden (post 1700) +

Gene Elden Likens (b. 1935), American ecologist and a leading pioneer in the study of acid rain
Elden LeRoy "Submarine" Auker (1910-2006), American Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1933 to 1942, inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1969
Elden Eugene Benge (b. 1904), American principal trumpet of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1928-1933, founder of the Benge Company who made trumpets (1937-1953)
Elden Francis Curtiss (b. 1932), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church
Private Elden H Johnson (1921-1944), American soldier awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1944
Elden M. Shonka, American politician, Mayor of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, 1953
Elden A. Robb, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Indiana, 1916 3
Elden Elwood Arnold (1900-1978), American Democratic Party politician, Farm implement salesman; postmaster; Member of South Dakota State House of Representatives 34th District, 1955-58 4
Elden McFarland, American politician, Representative from California 1st District, 1986 5
Elden P. Traastad, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly from Vernon County, 1956 6

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, 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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 5) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 17) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html