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![Show Contents]() Bekforthey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The ancient roots of the Bekforthey family name are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Bekforthey comes from when the family lived in Gloucestershire, where they derived their name from the place named Beckford, which was located about six miles south of Tewesbury. The place-name is derived from the Old English terms becca, which means stream, and ford, which refers to a place where a river may be crossed by wading. 1 Early Origins of the Bekforthey familyThe surname Bekforthey was first found in Gloucestershire at Beckford, a parish, in the union of Winchcomb, partly in the hundred of Tibaldstone, and partly in the Upper division of the hundred of Tewkesbury, While technically located in Gloucestershire, the parish is on the border with Worcestershire, so some references claim the parish is located there. An ancient Saxon village, the first listing of the pace name was found in 803 as Beccanford. 2 Beckford is a "parish in Gloucestershire, in which the family first appear in connection with the Abbey of Gloucester in the XII century." 3 "Beckford, at the foot of the Bredon Hills, is five miles from Tewkesbury. The original name of the manor was Beccanford, where was an alien Augustinian Priory, attached to Ste. Barbe-en-Auge, on the Dive." 4 Early History of the Bekforthey familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bekforthey research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1643, 1672, 1685, 1702, 1709, 1710, 1735, 1762, 1769, 1770 and 1887 are included under the topic Early Bekforthey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Bekforthey Spelling VariationsOne relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Bekforthey has appeared include Beckford, Bekford, Beckforth and others. Early Notables of the Bekforthey familyNotables of this surname at this time include: Major Sir Thomas Beckford (d. 1685), a London clothworker and slopseller who became Sheriff of London; and Colonel Peter Beckford (1643-1710), Governor of Jamaica in 1702; when he died suddenly, he was the wealthiest planter in Jamaica...
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bekforthey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Bekforthey familyAt this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Bekforthey arrived in North America very early: John Beckford who settled in Jamaica in 1774; Edward Beckford who settled in Jamaica in 1661; Elizabeth Beckford settled in Maryland in 1677; and the aforementioned Peter Beckford who arrived in Jamaica in 1690. In Newfoundland, Robert Beckford was a boat keeper of St. John's in 1681.
The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Motto: De Dieu Tout
Motto Translation: From God everything.
- Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Oliver, George, Collections Illustrating the History of the Catholic Religion in the Counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wilts, and Gloucester London: Charles Dolman, 61, New Bond Street, 1857. Print
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