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Bickerton History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Bickerton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Bickerton is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from a family once having lived in one of several places named Bickerton. Bickerton is the name of various townships including the parish of Malpas in Cheshire 1 in the parish of Rothburg in Northumberland, 1 and in the parish of Bilton, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 2

The toponym Bickerton is derived from the Old English beocere, which means bee-keeper, and tun, which originally denoted a fence or enclosure. 3 However this came to mean enclosure round a house, homestead, village or town at an early date. Thus the name can be understood to mean village of the bee-keeper.

Early Origins of the Bickerton family

The surname Bickerton was first found in Yorkshire where Adam de Bikerton was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1191. Almost a century later, William de Bykerton was similarly listed in Yorkshire in 1287. 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had only entry for the family, that of Thomas de Bigerton, Yorkshire, while the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included Johannes de Bykerton; and Willelmus de Bikerton. 2

The source Wills at Chester included the following: Edmund Bickerton, of Sound, Cheshire, 1617; and Humphrey Bickerton, of Wrenbury, 1594. 2

Some of the Northumberland branch of the family moved north in Scotland, but "there is another Bickerton in the West Riding of Yorkshire. About the year 1200 Richard of Bickirtoune had a grant of lands in Dunypace, and in 1263 Sir Richard of Bigirthon witnessed an agreement anent pasturage of the moor of Kellin. Master Eustace of Bikerton was presented to the church of Duglas, Lanarkshire, in 1292, and in 1296, as Eustace de Bykretone, rector of the church of Hutremokedi (Auchtermuchty), he rendered homage. John de Bigerton held the castle of Luffenoc' in 1296, and a payment to Elisabet de Bikertoun by the custumars of Inverkeithing is recorded in 1331." 5

Early History of the Bickerton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bickerton research. Another 273 words (20 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1296, 1401, 1429, 1451, 1456, 1464, 1479, 1525, 1526, 1530, 1533, 1549, 1574, 1590, 1601, 1602, 1641, 1643, 1647, 1688, 1693, 1727, 1739, 1741, 1758, 1759, 1771, 1774, 1777, 1778, 1792 and 1832 are included under the topic Early Bickerton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bickerton Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Bickerton has been recorded under many different variations, including Bickerton, Bickertown, Beckertoun, Bikerton, Bikarton and many more.

Early Notables of the Bickerton family

Distinguished members of the family include

Jane Howard, Duchess of Norfolk (née Bickerton) (1643-1693), the second wife of Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk. She was daughter of Robert Bickerton, Gentleman of the Wine Cellar to King Charles II
Sir Richard Bickerton (1727-1792), Vice-Admiral, son of a Captain in the 4th dragoon guards, entered the Navy in 1739, on the outbreak of the war with Spain. In the following year he was appointed to...

Bickerton migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Bickerton or a variant listed above:

Bickerton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas Bickerton, who settled in New England in 1753
John Bickerton, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1770 6
George Bickerton, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1772
John Bickerton, who settled in Philadelphia in 1773

Bickerton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Bickerton, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1848 6

Bickerton migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Bickerton Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

William Bickerton, aged 24, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "Fatima" 7
Mr. William Bickerton, British convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Cornwall" on 28th February 1851, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8

Bickerton migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Bickerton Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John G. Bickerton, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "St. Leonards" in 1875

Bickerton 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. 9

Bickerton Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Joan Bickerton who settled in Barbados in 1675

Contemporary Notables of the name Bickerton (post 1700) +

Ashley Bickerton (1959-2022), Barbadian-born, American contemporary mixed-media artist who often combined photographic and painterly elements with industrial and found object assemblages
William Bickerton (1815-1905), English founder of the Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)
Frank Bickerton (1889-1954), English Antarctic explorer, member of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911–1914 and Sir Ernest Shackleton's "Endurance" Expedition (1914-1917)
Derek Bickerton (b. 1926), English linguist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu
John Bickerton (b. 1969), English professional golfer
James Bickerton, Professor of Political Science at St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia
Sir Richard Bickerton (1759-1832), 2nd Baronet, British Royal Navy admiral, son of Vice-admiral Sir Richard Bickerton 10
Sir Richard Bickerton (1727-1792), 1st Baronet, British Royal Navy rear admiral, son of a captain in the 4th dragoon guards 10
Arthur Ronald "Wayne" Bickerton (1941-2015), British songwriter, record producer, and music business executive
Alexander William Bickerton (1842-1929), first professor of Chemistry at Canterbury College best known for teaching and mentoring Ernest Rutherford

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The barque FATIMA 1850, 521 tons. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Fatima.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cornwall
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 17 June. 2019