Botfield is an ancient Norman name that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Botfield family lived in Shropshire. The name, however, is a strange contraction of the phrase of the Inn, resulting from the fact that an early member of the family was the proprietor of such an establishment. "The name is derived from the mansion or inn at Stretton, in the county of Salop, (Shropshire) to which the freehold lands of the family, with various detached copyholds, were attached. " [1]
The surname Botfield was first found in Shropshire where they were Lords of the Manor of Church Stretton. Traditionally, the name was originally Botfield or Botville, and Geoffrey and Oliver Bouteville came into England from a distinguished family in Pictou in France about 1180. [1] [2] Fancifully, the name Thynne was supposedly derived from John Boteville who was a counselor at Lincoln's Inn and became known as "John of th'Inn." [2] More likely, the Botvilles intermarried with the Thynne of Norton, in Northampton who held a family seat there from ancient times. Nevertheless, the two names became interchangeable, bearing the same history.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Botfield research. Another 94 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1547, 1546, 1578, 1639, 1601, 1629, 1605, 1670, 1640, 1670, 1610, 1669, 1660, 1640, 1714, 1544 and 1608 are included under the topic Early Botfield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Botfield, Botville, Boteville, Botfeld, Botevile, Thynne, Tyne, Tine, Tynes, O'Tyne, Thinn, O'Thinn, Thin, Then, Them and many more.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William Thynne (d. 1546), editor of Chaucer's works who claimed to have been younger son of John de la Inne. "His family bore the alternative surname of Botfield or Boteville, and he is often called 'Thynne alias Boteville.' " [3]
Sir Thomas Thynne (ca. 1578-1639), of Longleat, Wiltshire, was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1601 and 1629; Sir James...
Another 75 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Botfield Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Botfield family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Botfield or a variant listed above: John and Anton Them who settled in Ohio in 1890; G. Than who settled in New York in 1849; John Tine, his wife Margaret, and daughter Elizabeth, who settled in Barbados in 1679.