Contents [hide]

Bagwell History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Bagwell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Bagwell is a name that came to England in the 11th century wave of migration that was set off by the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Bagwell family lived in Derbyshire, in the town of Bakewell.

Early Origins of the Bagwell family

The surname Bagwell was first found in Derbyshire, at Bakewell, today a small market town in the Peak District. The town dates back to at least Anglo Saxon times when it was listed as Balecanwell in 949. By the time of the Domesday Book, the place was listed as Badequella and was derived from an Old English personal name + wella meaning "spring or stream of a man called Badeca." 1

At that time, King Edward had 18 carucates of land to the geld and the land was large enough to hold 18 ploughs. There was one mill, one church and one lead mine with 80 acres of meadows. 2

Bakewell Castle in the town of Bakewell was a motte and bailey castle built in the 12th century that was razed to the ground during the English Civil War; now only ruins can be seen.

John de Bankwell, Bakwell, or Banquelle (d. 1308), was an early English judge, "appointed in 1297 to travel the forests in Essex, Huntingdon, Northampton, Rutland, Surrey, and Sussex, for the purpose of enforcing the observance of the forest laws of Henry III." 3

Roger de Bankwell (fl. 1340), the English judge, was "perhaps of the same family as John de Bankwell, and was one of three commissioners entrusted with the assessment of the tallage in the counties of Nottingham and Derby in 1333." 3

Early History of the Bagwell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bagwell research. Another 47 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1618, 1650, 1654, 1665, 1682, 1683, 1685, 1689, 1690, 1701, 1708 and 1752 are included under the topic Early Bagwell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bagwell Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries. For that reason, spelling variations are common among many Anglo-Norman names. The shape of the English language was frequently changed with the introduction of elements of Norman French, Latin, and other European languages; even the spelling of literate people's names were subsequently modified. Bagwell has been recorded under many different variations, including Bakewell, Backwell, Bakwell, Balkwell, Balkwill, Backwall, Bakewill, Bagwell and many more.

Early Notables of the Bagwell family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir Robert Bakewell of the Old Hall; Edward Backwell (ca. 1618-1683), an English goldsmith, financier, and politician, often referred to as "the principal founder of the banking system in England", and "far and away the best documented banker of his time"; and his son, John Backwell...
Another 54 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bagwell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bagwell Ranking

In the United States, the name Bagwell is the 2,855^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Bagwell family to Ireland

Some of the Bagwell family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 88 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bagwell migration to the United States +

To escape the uncertainty of the political and religious uncertainty found in England, many English families boarded ships at great expense to sail for the colonies held by Britain. The passages were expensive, though, and the boats were unsafe, overcrowded, and ridden with disease. Those who were hardy and lucky enough to make the passage intact were rewarded with land, opportunity, and social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families went on to be important contributors to the young nations of Canada and the United States where they settled. Bagwells were some of the first of the immigrants to arrive in North America:

Bagwell Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Henry Bagwell, aged 35, who was aboard the ship "Sea Venture" who wrecked in Bermudas in 1609, they managed to build a new ship to continue to Jamestown in 1610. 5
Thomas Bagwell, who arrived in Virginia in 1623 5
Tho Bagwell, who landed in Virginia in 1653 5
Jaane n.a. SFr Bagwell, Thomas Bagwell, Mary Bagwell, who landed in Maryland in 1670 5
Roger Bagwell, who arrived in Virginia in 1679 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bagwell Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Robert Bagwell, who arrived in Virginia in 1701 5

Bagwell migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 6

Bagwell Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Peter Bagwell, who settled in Barbados in 1685

Contemporary Notables of the name Bagwell (post 1700) +

Shaune Bagwell (b. 1973), née Stauffer, an American born fashion model and actress
William Mallory Bagwell (1895-1976), American Major League Baseball outfielder
Jeffrey Robert Bagwell (b. 1968), former American professional baseball player and coach
Marcus Alexander Bagwell (b. 1970), American professional wrestler and actor
Tim Bagwell, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Illinois 19th District, 2004
Paul Douglas Bagwell (1913-1973), American Republican politician, College professor; Candidate for Michigan State Auditor General, 1956; Candidate for Governor of Michigan, 1958, 1960; Candidate for Michigan State University board of trustees, 1964
J. C. Bagwell, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1924
Harrison Garey Bagwell (1914-1973), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Louisiana, 1952, 1960 (alternate); Candidate for Governor of Louisiana, 1952
George Bagwell, American politician, Representative from Tennessee 3rd District, 1946
A. A. Bagwell, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, 1920
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Bagwell family +

HMS Dorsetshire

Donovan Bagwell (d. 1945), British Corporal aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 7

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html