Eldreth History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsEtymology of EldrethWhat does the name Eldreth mean? The name Eldreth comes from a name for a person noted for giving good counsel 1 or perhaps it was "an Anglo-Saxon personal name." 2 Early Origins of the Eldreth familyThe surname Eldreth was first found in Cambridgeshire, at Aldreth, a hamlet that dates back to 1170 when it was listed as Alrehetha in the Pipe Rolls. The name literally means "landing-place by the alders" from the Old English words for "alor" and "hyth." 3 4 However, the surname dates back further and is recorded in the Domesday Book as Ældred, Ældret, Aldret, Eldred, Eldret 5 as holding lands under the Norman King William soon after the Conquest in 1086. 6 In fact, Aldred was a famous ecclesiastic, who was Bishop of York from 1044-1060, and Archbishop of York from 1060-1069, and it was he who crowned the Conqueror. "Edred or Eadred (died 955) was an ancient Saxon king of the English, youngest son of Eadward the elder and Eadgifu, and was chosen in 946 to succeed his brother Eadmund. At his coronation he received the submission of the Northumbrians, the Northmen, the Welsh, and the Scots. " 7 Aldred the Glossator (10th cent.) was the "writer of the glosses in the Northumbrian dialect which are inserted in the Latin manuscript of the Gospels, known as the 'Lindisfarne Gospels,' or 'Durham Book,' and written about the year 700 in honour of St. Cuthberht. " 7 Aldred (d. 1069), was an early English divine, Archbishop of York who first appears as a monk of Winchester. 7 Early feudal rolls provided the king of the time a method of cataloguing holdings for taxation, but today they provide a glimpse into the wide surname spellings in use at that time. Freqently found in early rolls in Latin, as a forename or in the singular from, we found Aldret de Windegate c. 1145-1165 in Northumberland, Eldredus in 1161-1177 in Herefordshire, Golding Aldred c. 1224 in Clerkenwell, Isle of Man, and William Aldret in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1275. Eilredus de Mannest was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for Kent in 1198, William Eyldred in the Assize Rolls for Kent in 1317, and Maud Aildred was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Essex in 1327. 5 The Excerpta e Rotulis Finium in Turri Londinensi (London) listed Aldred filius Roger and the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed Aldred Ander in Cambridgeshire. 8 In Somerset, we found two early records: Nicholas Alrede and William Aired, both listed 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III.) 9 Early History of the Eldreth familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Eldreth research. Another 59 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1198, 1200, 1552, 1561, 1563, 1586, 1588, 1624, 1632, 1646 and 1653 are included under the topic Early Eldreth History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Eldreth Spelling VariationsUntil 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 Eldreth include Aldred, Aldreth, Aldret and others. Early Notables of the Eldreth familyNotables of the family at this time include John Eldred (1552-1632), an English traveler and merchant. Born in New Buckenham, Norfolk, after his parents moved from Suffolk, he traveled to Tripoli and returned home with a ship full of goods that were sold making him a wealthy man with a large fortune. His son, Sir Revett Eldred, 1st Baronet of Saxham Magna Suffolk (d. c. 1653) held the title but became extinct on his death. Thomas Eldred (1561-1624)... Migration of the Eldreth familySearching 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 Eldreth or a variant listed above: Robert Aldred, who settled in Virginia in 1635; William Aldred arrived in Philadelphia in 1834 and moved westward.
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