Of all the
Anglo-Saxon names to come from Britain, Bilston is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived in one of several places called
Bilton in the counties of
Northumberland,
Warwickshire,
Essex, or Yorkshire.
Early Origins of the Bilston family
The surname Bilston was first found in
Yorkshire at Bilton, a chapelry, in the parish of Swine, union of Skirlaugh, Middle division of the
wapentake of Holderness. "This place, called in
Domesday Book Biletone, at an early period gave name to a family resident here."
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print. As previous mentioned, there are numerous places name Bilton and part of the reason is that the place name literally means "farmstead of a man called Bill or Billa."
[2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) Bilston(e) is similarly popular with places in
Staffordshire and Leicestershire.
Early History of the Bilston family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bilston research.
Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 165 and 1650 are included under the topic Early Bilston History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Bilston Spelling Variations
The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few
hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time,
spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Bilston has been spelled many different ways, including Bilton, Biltoune, Bilston, Bilson, Bilsden and many more.
Early Notables of the Bilston family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Bilston Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Bilston family to the New World and Oceana
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Bilston Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Thomas Bilston, English convict from Warwick, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on July 29th, 1823, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia [3]CITATION[CLOSE]
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1823 with 151 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1823 - Joseph Bilston, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Argyle" on March 5th, 1831, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia [4]CITATION[CLOSE]
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Argyle voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1831 with 251 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/argyle/1831