The name Bigarstone is an old
Anglo-Saxon name. It comes from when a family lived in one of several places named Bickerton. Bickerton is the name of various townships in the parish of Malpas in
Cheshire in the parish of Rothburg in
Northumberland, and in the parish of Bilton, in the West Riding of
Yorkshire. The toponym
Bickerton is derived from the Old English
beocere, which means
bee-keeper, and tun, which originally denoted a fence or enclosure. 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 Bigarstone family
The surname Bigarstone was first found in
Cheshire, where they held a
family seat from ancient times, long before the
Norman Conquest in 1066.
Early History of the Bigarstone family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bigarstone research.
Another 142 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1296, 1429, 1451, 1777, 1643 and 1693 are included under the topic Early Bigarstone History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Bigarstone Spelling Variations
Before the last few
hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason,
spelling variations are commonly found in early
Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Bigarstone were recorded, including Bickerton, Bickertown, Beckertoun, Bikerton, Bikarton and many more.
Early Notables of the Bigarstone family (pre 1700)
Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bigarstone Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Bigarstone family to the New World and Oceana
To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from
England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Bigarstone family emigrate to North America: Joan Bickerton who settled in Barbados in 1675; George Bickerton settled in Pennsylvania in 1772; John in Philadelphia in 1773; Thomas settled in New
England in 1753..