In ancient
Anglo-Saxon England, the ancestors of the Bertwhistle surname lived in
Birtwisle, near Padiham, in the county of
Lancashire. The town was named for the Old English words
bird or
brid, meaning young bird or nestling, and twissel, which referred to a fork in a stream.
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)Early Origins of the Bertwhistle family
The surname Bertwhistle was first found in
Lancashire, where one of the first records of the family was Ellis de Birtwisle, rector of the church of St. Elphin, Warrington,
Lancashire from 1368 to 1370.
[2]CITATION[CLOSE]
'Townships: Scarisbrick', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1907), pp. 265-276. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp265-276 [accessed 21 January 2017].
Early History of the Bertwhistle family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bertwhistle research.
Another 115 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1285, 1329, 1379, 1397, 1460, 1594, 1618 and 1619 are included under the topic Early Bertwhistle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Bertwhistle Spelling Variations
It is only in the last few
hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early
Anglo-Saxon surnames like Bertwhistle are characterized by many
spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Bertwhistle include: Birdwhistle, Bertwhistle, Berdwhistle, Birtwisill, Birtwhistle, Birtwisle, Birdwistle, Birdwisle, Birdwistle, Brittwissill, Birktwysell, Brytwesle, Brytwesele, Birtwistell, Birtwessel, Briddestwysill, Briddestwyssle, Burtwisle and many more.
Early Notables of the Bertwhistle family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Bertwhistle Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Bertwhistle family to the New World and Oceana
Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Bertwhistle or a variant listed above: Thomas Birdwistle, who sailed to Maryland in 1670.