Family history

Our Bleasdale lineage has been traced back to our 14^th great-grandfather, William Bleasdale. William was born 1463 at Forest Bowland in Lancashire, England. He married Margaret Parker, daughter of Johannes Parker five children are known to have been produced of this union including Johannes Bleasdale through whom our lineage continued.

Johannes, born circa 1490, married Johanna Bonde, a native of nearby city of Preston, around 1528. Six children are known to have been born to the couple. Johannes made his living as a merchant as evidenced by records of the Court of Halmote, where on November 23, 1529, paid a fee for a license to "sell flesh." The prosperity of he and his family is also found in court records that show a fine paid by for the escape of 6 pigs, the fact that Johannes was of a status acceptable to serve as a juror at the Court of Whalley on 7 April 1527 and as late as 1535.

John Bleasdale, son of Johannes and Johanna, was born 1530 at Forest Bowland. Around 1555 he married Elizabeth Parker, a native of the Chipping. John lived to the age of 72 years before he passed away at Chipping in 1602. Among the four known off-spring of his marriage was our 11^th great-grandfather Henry Bleasdale.

Henry was born at Chipping in 1559. Although Henry had at least seven children it is not known who his wife was. Henry lived in Blackstick a small village west of Chipping. He died in 1616 at the age of 57 years.

John Bleasdale, son of Henry, was the last of this family line to live his entire life in Lancashire England. Born in 1579 he took a wife named Margaret and produced three known off-spring. John was76 years old when died at Chipping Parish in 1655

Our 9^th great-grandmother Margaret Bleasdale, daughter of John and Margaret, was born about 1632. She married Thomas Bracken in 1656 at Chipping Church, Lancashire, England. At least four known children were born to Margaret and Thomas. She was only 39 years old when she died at Salterworth during the birth of her son William in 1671. We are descended through her son William Bracken. William would eventually emigrate to the New World some thirty years later, thus becoming the progenitor of our Bracken family line in America.

Origins of the surname

Research into the history of this Bleasdale family line indicates that the meaning and history of this surname is most likely linked to that area of Europe where the English* language is commonly spoken.

Meaning of the Name

The Bleasdale surname is of Scandinavian origin and is a locational surname from the place called "Bleasdale" or “Baisdell” in Lake District of Lancashire, England. The name means "the bare spot on the hillside", derived from the Old Norse word "Blesi", a light spot or a blaze, used here in the sense of a cleared space or a variation in vegetation, with the Old Norse "dalr", Old English pre 7th Century "dael", meaning "valley". The name Blease is probably an English variant of Blaise. Blaise is a French and English vernacular form of Latin Blasius. Blasius was a Roman family name, originating as a byname for someone with some defect, either of speech or gait, from Latin blaesus ‘stammering’ (compare Greek blaisos ‘bow-legged’).

History of the Name

The Bleasdale place name is recorded in the Lancashire Close Rolls of 1228 as "Blesedale". The marriage of John Belasdale to Mabell Parke was recorded on the 11th June 1590 at Chipping, Lancashire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry Bleasdale (christening), which was dated 1528, at Bowland, North Whalley, Lancashire, during the reign of King Henry V111, known as "Bluff King Hal", 1509 - 1547. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax.

Early Immigrants to North America

During the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries hundreds of thousands of Europeans made the perilous ocean voyage to America. For many it was an escape from economic hardship and religious persecution. For most it was an opportunity for to start over, own their own land, and make a better future for their descendents. Immigration records show a number of people bearing the name of Bleasdale, or one of its variants, as arriving in North America between the 17^th and 20^th centuries. Some of these immigrants were: the family of Richard and Sarah Bleasdale, who arrived at New York from Liverpool in 1829 aboard the ship Thomas Dickason; John Bleasdale who arrived at Philadelphia in 1848; and William Bleasdale who arrived at New York from Liverpool in 1841 aboard the ship Alliance.

*English Surname Meanings & Origins

Although the Domesday Book compiled by William the Conqueror required surnames, the use of them in the British Isles did not become fixed until the time period between 1250 and 1450. The broad range of ethnic and linguistic roots for British surnames reflects the history of Britain as an oft-invaded land. These roots include, but are not limited to, Old English, Middle English, Old French, Old Norse, Irish, Gaelic, Celtic, Pictish, Welsh, Gaulish, Germanic, Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Throughout the British Isles, there are basically five types of native surnames. Some surnames were derived from a man's occupation (Carpenter, Taylor, Brewer, Mason), a practice that was commonplace by the end of the 14th century. Place or locational names reflected a location of residence and were also commonly used (Hill, Brook, Forrest, Dale) as a basis for the surname, for reasons that can be easily understood. Locational surnames such as this one were usually given to the lord of the manor and to those former inhabitants who moved to another area. Nicknames that stuck also became surnames. About one-third of all US surnames in the United States are Patronymic in origin, and identified the first bearer of the name by his father (or grandfather in the case of some Irish names). Acquired ornamental names were simply made up, and had no specific reflection on the first who bore the name. They simply sounded nice, or were made up as a means of identification, generally much later than most surnames were adopted. Source: http://www.obcgs.com/LASTNAMES.htm

Variations of the surname

Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to unfold and expand often leading to an overwhelming number of variants. As such one can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames because in early times, spelling in general and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized.Later on spellings would change with the branching and movement of families. Spelling variations of this family name include: Bleasdale, Bleasdell, Blasdale, Bleasdaile, Blaisdell, Blaisdale, Blesdil, Blesdill, Bleas, Blazey, Blazy, Blease, Blazdell, Blazdill, Blazedell, and many others.

The complexity of researching records is compounded by the fact that in many cases an ancestors surname may also have been misspelled. This is especially true when searching census documents. The Soundex system was developed in an effort to assist with identifying spelling variations for a given surname. Soundex is a method of indexing names in the 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 US Census, and can aid genealogists in their research. The Soundex Code for Bleasdale is B423. Other surnames sharing this Soundex Code; BALLESTEROS | BLACKADAR | BLACKKETTER | BLACKSTOCK | BLACKSTONE | BLACKWOOD | BLAGDON | BLIGHT | BLIGHTON | BLUST | BOLSTAD | BOLSTER | .

Source: Surname Resources at ROOTSWEB

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Direct ancestors

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NAME

BIRTH / DEATH / LOCATIONS

BLEASDALE, William

b: 1463 in Forest Bowland, Lancashire, England

BLEASDALE, Johannes

b: 1490 in Lancashire, England d: in Lancashire, England

BLEASDALE, John

b: 1530 in Lancashire, England d: in Lancashire, England

BLEASDALE, Henrie

b: 15 OCT 1559 in Lancashire, England

d: MAR 1615/16 in Chipping Parish, Lancashire, England

BLEASDALE, John

b: 1579 in Chipping Parish, Lancashire, England

d: 1655 in Chipping Parish, Lancashire, England

BLEASDALE, Margaret

b: ABT 1632 in Lancashire, England

d: 9 SEP 1671 in Salter, Lancashire, England

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Ancestral locations

Researching the locations where our ancestors lived has provided us with valuable evidence needed to fill-in the gaps in our family trees. It has also led us to many interesting facts that enhance the overall picture of each family group. The names of states and counties on the following list were derived from the known places where the persons in the “Direct Ancestors” list (see above) were born, married, and/or died.

COUNTRY

STATE

COUNTY / SUBDIVISION

UNITED KINGDOM

ENGLAND

Lancashire

UNITED STATES

DELAWARE

New Castle

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ANCESTRAL LOCATIONS

Source documents

The documents contained herein have been located during our research of this family, and used as evidence to prove many of the facts contained within the database of this family’s record.

Most of these documents can be considered as primary or secondary. Primary evidence is usually defined as the best available to prove the fact in question, usually in an original document or record. Secondary evidence is in essence all that evidence which is inferior in its origin to primary evidence. That does not mean secondary evidence is always in error, but there is a greater chance of error. Examples of this type of evidence would be a copy of an original record, or oral testimony of a record’s contents. Published genealogies and family histories are also secondary evidence.

Classifying evidence as either primary or secondary does not tell anything about its accuracy or ultimate value. This is especially true of secondary evidence. Thus it is always a good idea to ask the following questions: (1) How far removed from the original is it, (when it is a copy)?; (2) What was the reason for the creation of the source which contains this evidence?; and (3) Who was responsible for creating this secondary evidence and what interest did they have in its accuracy?

SOURCE: Greenwood, Val D., The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, 2^nd edition, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD 21202, 1990, pgs. 62-63

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