The ancestors of the bearers of the Edom family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found in the region of Eden in Durham. The surname Edom is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came.
The surname Edom was first found in Suffolk. Hellaby Hall in Stainton, in the West Riding of Yorkshire was an ancient mansion on the property of Sir R. J. Eden, but is now a farmhouse. [1]
Some of the family have recently branched to Windleston in Durham. "It comprises by computation 1250 acres, and has been long the property of the Eden family, of whom Sir Robert Johnson Eden, Bart., rebuilt Windleston Hall about twenty years since [(1860s.)] " [1]
West Auckland in Durham also had some early records of the family. "The place gives the title of Baron to the family of Eden, who formerly resided here: the estates now belong to Sir R. J. Eden, Bart." [1]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Edom research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1270, 1521, 1576, 1521, 1535, 1544, 1544, 1546 and 1645 are included under the topic Early Edom History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Edom include Eden, Edin, Edden, Edens and others.
Distinguished members of the family include Richard Eden (1521?-1576), English translator, born in Herefordshire about 1521, and studied at Queens' College, Cambridge, 1535-1544, under Sir Thomas Smith; he held...
Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Edom Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Edom family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Edom or a variant listed above: