Belfield History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Belfield is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Belfield. There are many places with this name in Scotland and Northern England. The place-name is derived from the Old English bel, for fine or good, and field, for open land.
Early Origins of the Belfield family
The surname Belfield was first found in Lancashire, where they held a family seat from ancient times, some say before the Norman Conquest in 1066 A.D.
Early History of the Belfield family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Belfield research. Another 78 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1930 is included under the topic Early Belfield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Belfield 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 Belfield family name include Belfield, Belfeild, Bellfield, Bellfeild and others.
Early Notables of the Belfield family
Distinguished members of the family include
- Sir Raufe Belfield of Gledge
Belfield migration to the United States +
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 Belfield surname or a spelling variation of the name include:
Belfield Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Richard Belfield who settled in Virginia in 1607
- Richard Belfield, who landed in Jamestown, Va in 1607 1
Belfield Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- A, C, and H Belfield, who settled in Maryland in 1820
- William Belfield, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1832
- Henry, Thomas and William Belfield, all, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1820 and 1848
- Susan Belfield, aged 19, who landed in America from Macclesfield, in 1895
- William Belfield, aged 38, who landed in America from Nottingham, in 1895
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Belfield Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
- Isaac Belfield, aged 41, who immigrated to America from Kholar Green, Cheshire, in 1903
- George Belfield, aged 28, who immigrated to the United States from Macclesfield, in 1904
- Robert Belfield, aged 11, who immigrated to the United States, in 1905
- T. Brown Belfield, aged 68, who immigrated to America, in 1907
- Ernest M. Belfield, aged 30, who immigrated to the United States from Kidderminster, England, in 1909
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Belfield migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Belfield Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Mr. Aaron Belfield, English convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 13th March 1828, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 2
- Mr. Thomas Belfield, English convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 27th May 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3
Contemporary Notables of the name Belfield (post 1700) +
- Sir Henry Conway Belfield KCMG JP (1855-1923), English civil servant, Governor of Kenya (1912 – 1917)
- Michael Robert Belfield (b. 1961), retired English professional footballer from Wandsworth, London
- Frederick "Fred" Belfield, English footballer in the late 1800s
- Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Eversley Belfield KCB KCMG KBE DSO (1857-1934), British Army officer who commanded 4th Division
- Alex Xavier Obedia Belfield (b. 1980), British radio presenter, singer, comedian and entertainer
- John Belfield Bamber (1912-2000), English footballer
Citations +
- 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)
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 18th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone