The surname Elsham was first found in Lincolnshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the village and lands of Elsham, held by Ilbert from the Bishop Bayeux, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.
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Early History of the Elsham family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Elsham research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1700 and 1705 are included under the topic Early Elsham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Elsham Spelling Variations
Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Elsham, Alsham, Elsom, Elsome, Yesom, Elsam and many more.
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Early Notables of the Elsham family
Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Elsham Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Elsham migration to Australia
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Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Mr. William Elsham, Jr., English convict who was convicted in (Lindsey) Lincolnshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 27th May 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 2
Elsham migration to Australia 
England
