EnglandThe 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] and literally meant "homestead or village of a man called Baelli," from the Old English personal name + "ham." [2] 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. [3]
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.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Balson research. Another 68 words (5 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.
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.
More information is included under the topic Early Balson Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Balson migration to the United States +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 migration to Canada +Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Balson migration to Australia +
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