| ![Show Contents]() Bowdidge History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
England
Etymology of BowdidgeWhat does the name Bowdidge mean? The name Bowdidge is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in the settlement of Bowditch, an estate in the county of Dorset. 1 The place name literally means "arched bridge ditch." 2 Early Origins of the Bowdidge familyThe surname Bowdidge was first found in Dorset, in southern England, where they held a family seat from ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest in 1066. "The family of Bowditch anciently held in part a manor and farm in Chardstock, which bore their name. John Bowditch, of Chardstock, gent., had property there in the time of Elizabeth I." 3 Early History of the Bowdidge familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bowdidge research. Another 78 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1554, 1769, 1773, 1791, 1824 and 1838 are included under the topic Early Bowdidge History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Bowdidge Spelling VariationsSound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Bowdidge family name include Bowditch, Bowdich, Bowdidge and others. Early Notables of the Bowdidge familyNathaniel Bowditch (1773-1838), American mathematician and author of "Bowditch's American Practical Navigator," an encyclopedia of navigation.
Thomas Bowdich (1791-1824), was an African traveller, born at Bristol 20 June 1791. His...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bowdidge Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Bowdidge migration to the United States | + |
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Bowdidge surname or a spelling variation of the name include :
Bowdidge Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- James Bowdidge, who settled in New England in 1774
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
- Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
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