Kerkham Genealogy Page

THE KERKHAM GENEALOGY PAGE

It is said that all those with the surname Kerkham (as distinct from Kirkham) are related. Present-day Kerkhams are descended from Kerkhams who lived in The Fens area of south-east Lincolnshire / north-west Norfolk around 1800. During the 19th century Kerkhams were to be found at Fleet, Sutton, Terrington and King's Lynn.

The Origin of the Family Name

Is it Kerkham or Kirkham?

The name "Kirkham" in England dates back to at least the thirteenth century.

Bardsley and Reaney [see list of references below] link it with the Norman(?) name De Kirkham / De Kyrkham / De Kirkeham which dates back to at least 1219

Kirkham / Kyrkham is listed in Marshal and in Whitmore

There are towns named Kirkham in Lancashire (53.47N 2.53W), and Yorkshire (54.05N 0.53W)

In Yorkshire there was a Priory of Kirkham at Folkton, a house of Augustinian canons founded in the 1120s the ruins of which can still be seen today (History of the County of York - East Riding)

There was also a Manor of Carkin / Kerchan / Kerkan / Karkin / Kirkham (History of the County of York - North Riding).

All indications are that the present-day Kerkham family are not linked in any way with the English Kirkhams. The family is more likely to be of continental origin where there are similar names (allowing for anglicisation), e.g.

German: Kirchheim is found in Stokvis v.3. There is a town Kerken in West Germany (51° 26'N 6° 25'E) close to the Netherlands border.
Dutch: Van Kerchem is found in Elias, Van Kerken in De Villiers p.111
French: De Kerken is found in Leenaerts v.2 no.8560, De Kerkhem in Leenaerts v.2 no.10659, v.3 no.17085

Various suggestions have been made as to the origin of the family:

It has been suggested that the Kerkhams are descended from the old English family of Kirkhams, and that a branch of the Kirkhams fell out with the rest of the family and changed their name to Kerkham, but this is unsubstantiated.
The Kerkhams currently living around King's Lynn have a tradition that the Kerkhams are descended from a retainer of William, Prince of Orange, who had assisted his wife Queen Mary to gain the throne of England in 1688. The Dutch or Flemish name Van Kerkhem or Van Kerken could have been anglicised to "Kerkham". William granted land near King's Lynn to William Bentinck, his faithful friend and "right-hand man", and this could explain why there are Kerkhams on former Bentinck farms even today.

References

BARDSLEY, Charles Wareing. A dictionary of English and Welsh surnames. London, 1901.
DE VILLIERS, C.C. Geslacht register der oude Kaapse familien.
ELIAS, Johan E. De vroedschap van Amsterdam 1578-1795. Haarlem, 1903-1905, reprinted 1963.
LEENAERTS, Remy J. Algemeen genealogisch-heraldisch repertorium voor de Zuidelijke Nederlanden.
MARSHALL, George W. The genealogist's guide. London, 1885, 1903.
REANEY, P.H. A dictionary of British surnames. 2nd ed. London, 1976.
STOKVIS, A.M.H.J. Manuel d'historie, de genealogie et de chronologie de tous les etats du globe. Leiden, 1888-1893, repr. 1966.
VAN BERESTEYN, E.A. Genealogisch repertorium.
WHITMORE, J.B. A genealogical guide. London, 1953

The Earliest Known Kerkhams

The earliest Kerkham known who can be linked to the present-day Kerkhams is Richard Kerkham, born c.1758 at Long Sutton, Lincolnshire. He had three sons from whom the present-day Kerkhams are descended.

KERKHAM ?

KERKHAM Richard b. circa 1758 at Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, England, m. Rebecca Ratcliffe on 1783-05-12 at Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, England. Marriage recorded at Long Sutton under Kirkham (sic) (IGI)

KERKHAM Joseph b. 1784-03-26 at Fleet, Lincolnshire, England, m. Mary Ann March on 1809-05-01. Birth recorded at Fleet Baptist Chapel (IGI). Joseph Kerkham lived at "Sutton Marsh" - apparently Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, England. Marriage in Lincolnshire Parish Reg. vol.ii,164. Mary Ann March married Samuel Ratcliffe after Joseph died. Descendants of Joseph live in various parts of Great Britain today, and the South African Kerkhams are also descended from Joseph.

KERKHAM Mary b. 1785-04-29 at Fleet, Lincolnshire, England, m. William Gresswell, farmer of Kelsey Hall, Steeping, Lincolnshire. Birth recorded at Fleet Baptist Chapel (IGI)

KERKHAM Richard b. 1787-02-07 at Fleet, Lincolnshire, England, m. Jane Allen on 1811-09-16 at St Mary, Marylebone, London, emigrated to Tasmania arriving 1821-01-12 on the Midas with 5 children (passenger list in Hobart Town Gazette of 1821-01-13), farmed "The Oaks", Carrick, later "The Liffey", Longford, d. 1863-08-17 at "The Liffey". Birth recorded at Fleet Baptist Chapel (IGI). Many of his descendants still live in Tasmania, others are living in Sydney, with a sprinkling elsewhere in Australia and New Zealand

KERKHAM Francis b. 1788-12-14 at Fleet, Lincolnshire, England, m. M(ary?) Ann Chapman on 1812-11-05 at Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, England, d. 1856-08-28 at King's Lynn. Birth recorded at Fleet Baptist Chapel (IGI). Marriage recorded at Long Sutton as Kirkham (sic) (IGI). Apparently lived at "Rhoon" and King's Lynn (1841 Census). Plaque Stepney Chapel, King's Lynn. Descendants of Francis Kerkham moved to the Terrington and Clenchwarton area during the nineteenth century, and still farm the same land 150 years later. Some of their descendants have moved to other parts of Great Britain.

There are Kerkhams living in the United States, but it is not certain how they link into the above genealogy

Kerkhams Today

Reminiscences of William Andrew Kerkham – My father's reminiscences of his youth in Cape Town in the early twentieth century; includes some family history.

A search on Google or Yahoo for "Kerkham +genealogy" yields about 300 references on the World Wide Web. Some of the key sites are:

Kerkham Genealogy Page (this page)
Web Pages of Mick Kerkham Tasmania
Archives Office of Tasmania - Search the Index to Wills, Search the Colonial Tasmanian Family Links - search for "Kerkham"
Distant Cousin Search Page - search for "Kerkham"
FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service - search for "Kerkham" (tick "Use exact spelling")
MyTrees.com - search for "Kerkham"

The owner of this page, Andrew Kerkham, has further details of the Kerkhams in the King's Lynn area, South Africa and the south Pacific area. Please contact me:

If you would like copies of the information I have

If you have details of other branches of the family

If you can help in extending the genealogy back earlier than 1758.