Show ContentsBreashears History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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  • England
Breashears Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Breashears

What does the name Breashears mean?

Breashears is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Breashears family once lived near a newly cultivated piece of land. The surname Breashears is derived from the Old English word bræc. 1

Early Origins of the Breashears family

The surname Breashears was first found in Shropshire where Peter de la Breche was listed in the Assize Rolls of 1221. A few years later, Peter de la Brach was listed in Surrey in 1248 and Philip atte Breche was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296. Later again, Rose atte Brache was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Bedfordshire in 1309. Robert le Brechere was listed at Oseney, Oxfordshire in 1245, while William le Brechere was found in Cornwall in 1297. 1

Early History of the Breashears family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Breashears research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Breashears History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Breashears Spelling Variations

Sound 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 Breashears family name include Breach, Brech, Britch, Breashears, Breashear and many more.

Early Notables of the Breashears family

More information is included under the topic Early Breashears Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Breashears family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, 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 Breashears surname or a spelling variation of the name include: William Breach junior who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1844; A. Breach arrived in San Francisco Cal. in 1852; Adam Brech arrived in Philadelphia in 1743.

Contemporary Notables of the name Breashears (post 1700)+

  • David Finlay Breashears (1955-2024), American mountaineer, filmmaker, author and motivational speaker who in 1985, he reached the summit of Mount Everest a second time, becoming the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest more than once
  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)

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