Early Origins of the Balson family
The surname Balson was first found in
Cambridgeshire at Balsham, a rural village and civil parish which dates back to Saxon times when it was known as Bellesham in 974. In 1015, Balsham was destroyed by Viking raiders and a marker on the village green commemorates the sole survivor of the attack who escaped by hiding in the parish church. By the
Domesday Book of 1086, the village was known as Belesham
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8) and literally meant "homestead or village of a man called Baelli," from the Old English
personal name + "ham."
[2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) At that time, Balsham was a small village with a Mill. Hugh de Balsham (died 1286), a Benedictine monk was Bishop of Ely and founder of Peter-house College, Cambridge. He was born and is interred here. A brass in the church at Balsham,
Cambridgeshire of the bishop can still be seen today. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the
tenant of the lands of Balsham who was a Norman noble named Hardwin of Scales who held his lands from the Abbot of Ely who was recorded in the Domesday Book.
Early History of the Balson family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Balson research.
Another 135 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1260, 1317, 1523 and 1642 are included under the topic Early Balson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Balson Spelling Variations
Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of
spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Balsom, Balsam, Balsham, Balson, Ballsom, Ballsam and many more.
Early Notables of the Balson family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Balson Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Balson family to the New World and Oceana
Because of the political and religious discontent in
England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Balson name or one of its variants:
Balson Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- John Balson, who settled in Maryland in 1674
- Jahn Balson, who landed in Maryland in 1674 [3]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Balson Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
- William Balson, who settled in Canada in 1893
Balson Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Anne Balson, aged 18, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1859 aboard the ship "Clara"