Reckham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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• England

Early Origins of the Reckham family

Early History of the Reckham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Reckham research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1455, 1487, 1682 and 1720 are included under the topic Early Reckham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Reckham 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 Reckham family name include Rackham, Reckham, Rakeham, Rackley, Rakeley and others.

Early Notables of the Reckham family

Distinguished members of the family include John "Calico Jack" Rackham (Rackam, Rackum) (1682-1720), an English pirate operating in the Bahamas during the early 18th century. He was captured, then hanged outside Port Royal, Jamaica in 1720. Rackham is best remembered for his design of his Jolly Roger flag, a skull with crossed swords, which contributed to the popularization of the design; and for having two female crew members: Mary...
Another 69 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Reckham Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Reckham 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 Reckham surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Claudius Rackham, who settled in New York in 1868; Joshua Rackham, who settled in New York in 1868; as well as Emily, Eliza and George Rackham, who arrived in Charlottetown, P.E.I. in 1891..