Blancherd History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe surname Blancherd is derived from a nickname in the Old French. A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nickname surnames referred to a characteristic of the first person who used the name. They can describe the bearer's favored style of clothing, appearance, habits, or character. Early Origins of the Blancherd familyThe surname Blancherd was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat from early times at Grimsbargh Hall. "Ponce Blanchard held twelve fees in Hants (Hampshire), granted by Richard I., and Gilbert and William Blanchard had estates in Lincolnshire." 2 Other very early references to the family include: Blanchard de Morba who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Devon in 1180; Robertus blancard, Rotbertus quippe blancard, who was listed in the Inquisitio Inquests for Suffolk in 1086; and Richard Blanchard who was listed in Pipe Rolls of Lancashire in 1177. The author continues: "The 1086 example is, however, certainly a nickname, probably identical to Robertus Blancardus." 3 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had the following early entries for the family: William Blaunchard in Wiltshire; Reginald Blanchard in Yorkshire; and Robert Blaunchard in Lincolnshire. A few years later the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire listed Nicholas Blaunchard in Lancashire in 1332. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 include: Willelmus Blaunchard; and Elena Blaunchard. 1 "The name of Blanchard or Blanshard, which also occurs in the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire, has long been in the county of Lincoln. John Blauncherde of Lowthe gave £25 for the defence of his country at the time of the expected invasion of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Long before this, in the reign of Edward I., we find the name of Blaunchard in the county in the reign of Henry III. the name also occurred in Wiltshire, and, in fact, Blanchard or Blaunchard is also an old Wiltshire name, occurring in the hundred of Warminster in the 16th century." 4 Early History of the Blancherd familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Blancherd research. Another 112 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1587, 1651 and 1790 are included under the topic Early Blancherd History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Blancherd Spelling VariationsThe Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules, and therefore, Breton surnames have many spelling variations. Latin and French, which were the official court languages, were also influential on the spelling of surnames. The spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules. Therefore, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England after the Norman Conquest, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. The name has been spelled Blanchard, Blanchaud and others. Early Notables of the Blancherd familyNotable of this family during the Middle Ages was William Isaac Blanchard (died 1790), an English stenographer. He was son of a French refugee, who became a... Migration of the Blancherd familyResearch into various historical records has revealed some of first members of the Blancherd family to immigrate North America: Agnes Blanchard who settled in Massachusetts in 1639; Anthony Blanchard settled in Virginia in 1670; Thomas Blanchard settled in New England in 1652; Charles Blanchard settled in Louisiana in 1756..
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