Biggert History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe forefathers of the Biggert family were Viking settlers who came to Scotland in the Middle Ages. Many places were named by these Norsemen, and the Biggert surname was taken on from one of these place names, when someone lived in east Lanarkshire, in a place probably named from the Old Norse words "bygg," meaning "barley," and "geiri," denoting a triangular plot of land. Early Origins of the Biggert familyThe surname Biggert was first found in Lanarkshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) a former county in the central Strathclyde region of Scotland at Biggar, a parish and market-town, on the road from Dumfries to Edinburgh. "The original name of this place, as it occurs in several ancient charters, is generally written Biger, or Bigre, and is supposed to have been derived from the nature of the ground on which the castle of the family of Biggar was situated (in the centre of a soft morass), and to have been thence applied to the whole of the parish; and from the same circumstance, the castle assumed the name of Boghall. The manor was granted by David I. to Baldwin, a Flemish leader, whose descendants still retain the surname of Fleming; they appear to claim a very remote antiquity, and the name of Baldwin de Biger appears in testimony to a charter, prior to the year 1160." 1 "Baldwin de Bigir, who appears as sheriff of Lanark in the reign of Malcolm IV is the first known to bear the territorial designation. Between 1147-1160 Balwinus de Digir (Bigir) witnessed the grant by Arnold, Abbot of Kelso, of the lands of Douglas to Theobaldus Flamaticus. Sometime after 1170 Baldwin de Bigre, sheriff of Lanark, granted the church of Innyrkvp beyond the Moors (ultra mores) to the monks of Paisley. Waldeve, Baldwin's son, was taken prisoner at Alnwick along with King William the Lion in 1174. In 1228 Hugh the son of Robert de Bygris appears in a grant to St. Machute of Lesmahagow, in which he is styled Hugo de Bygris films Roberti filii Waldevi de Bigris." 2 To the south in England, one of the first records of the family was "Nicholas de Bichar" who witnesses a charter of William de Granavilla to Gateshead: and was, without doubt, the same Nicholas, mentioned in the Rot. Cur. Northumbriae, who was Lord of Byker, near Newcastle, in the reign of Henry III. This manor was anciently held in grand serjeancy, by carrying the King's writ between the rivers Tyne and Coquet, and making distresses of goods for the King's debts.- Hutchinson's Northumberland. The family continued there till 1346. Richard de Bicker was summoned to attend the great Council at Westminster in 1324.- Palgrave's Parl. Writs. "The name is found at a rather earlier date in Lincolnshire, where Gerard de Bikere occurs in the Rotul. Cancellarii of 1202, and was presumably the owner of Bicker, 'a very ancient and pleasant village, nine miles from Folkingham.' " 3 Early History of the Biggert familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Biggert research. Another 248 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1153, 1160, 1174, 1292, 1329, 1368, 1433, 1614, 1621, 1664, 1828, 1863, 1878, 1890, 1912 and 1927 are included under the topic Early Biggert History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Biggert Spelling VariationsSound and intuition were the main things that scribes in the Middle Ages relied on when spelling and translating names. Since those factors varied, so did the spelling of the names. Spelling variations of the name Biggert include Biggar, Bigare, Bigger, Bigir, Bygar, McGivern, Bigger and many more. Early Notables of the Biggert familyMore information is included under the topic Early Biggert Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Biggert family to IrelandSome of the Biggert family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. Migration of the Biggert familyIn North America, the monarchy was thousands of miles away and Scots were free to settle on their own land and practice their own beliefs. The American War of Independence provided an opportunity for these settlers to pay back the English monarchy and forge a new nation. Recently, this heritage has survived through North American highland games and Clan societies. Early North American immigration and passenger lists have revealed a number of people bearing the name Biggert or a variant listed above: Gilbert Bigger who settled in Baltimore in 1754; David Bigger settled in New Hampshire in 1718; James Biggart settled in Pennsylvania in 1772.
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