Witten, Bulkely

Notes:

From Salisbury Family: Family lore has it that the Wittens came from Prussia on the Elbe River to England in the 4th century. The first recorded Wittens in England has them residing in Yorkshire in 856. OR
The Wittens of Witton


English surnames are, as a rule, derived from one of four sources: a place name (e.g. Joan LONDON), a proper name (Clarence THOMAS), an occupation (Bobby CARPENTAR) or a nickname (Bobby SHORT.) I consulted P.H. Reaney's Dictionary of British Surnames (one of my favorite resources) and found nothing close to Witten-- but Reaney makes a point of emphasizing that the one sort of surname he does NOT cover is the place name.

As usual, the answer (I hope) to the origin of the family name Witten came up in some papers I had which I had forgotten-- photocopies of a chapter titled "The Homes of Family Names," author and book title unnoted. It covered tax and conveyance rolls of Norwich 1285-1350 which showed families from other parts of England present in Norwich-- and one family was designated "Witton" for (no doubt) their home village of Witton, in medieval NORFOLK [according to this chapter.] This does not mean that this specific family was ours-- only that it is likely that at some point our ancestors, too, left Witton to live elsewhere, and were identified in their new home by their place of origin.

Or, if not Norfolk, they could have come from Yorkshire. The Blue Guide for England describes the present-day village of Witton-le-Wear (on the river Wear) as being "attractive," and adds "Its striking but altered castle of 1410 stands S of the river; the grounds are a public park with a camping and caravan site." Is this the Witton our ancestors left?

Also, were these two places-- Norfolk Witton and Yorkshire Witten-le-Wear-- the sites of a "witenagemote," an Anglo-Saxon council which met from time to time to advise the King? A participant in one of these councils was called a "witan" from the Old English for a sage or an adviser. Come to think of it-- perhaps Witten is not a place name, but a nickname for someone wise in the village who would give sound advice (or a real buttinski: "That guy thinks he's a regular witan!") Who knows. Well, I started out to shed some light but I find I am dazzled with more possibilities than I started with.

Any ideas?

Billye Higdon

http://www.charweb.org/gen/whitten/witton.html

Thomas married Bulkley, Mary on 31 Dec 1656 in Christ Church, Barbados, BWI. Mary (daughter of Bulkeley, Capt. William and , Frances) was born in 1636 in Barbados, BWI; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

After his death, Mrs. Witter (presume this is an error and they are really Witten's, based on all other info) was asumed to have gone back to Barbados, BWI, and children remained with Thomas Wheeler and Thomas Jenkins of Charles Co, MD based on an undated Charles Co court document in 1686, cited by Jourdan (Elise Greenup Jourdan.)

Thomas married Bulkeley, Audrey. Audrey was born between 1590 and 1610; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

lived in "New England" which at the times could be anywhere in the very new colonial US

William married , Frances about 1635 in Barbados, BWI. Frances was born about 1619; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Peter married Allen, Jane on 12 Apr 1613 in St. Mary's Church, Goldington, England. Jane (daughter of Allen, Thomas and Faircloth, Mary) was born on 17 Jan 1587 in Odell, Bedfordshire, England; died on 8 Dec 1626 in Odell, Bedfordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Edward married Irby, Olive in 1566 in Goldington, Co Bedford, England. Olive (daughter of Irby, John and Overton, Rose) was born about 1547; died on 10 Mar 1615 in Odell, Bedfordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Thomas married Faircloth, Mary. Mary (daughter of Faircloth, Thomas and Barr, Millicent) was born about 1555; died in Apr 1631 in Goldington, Co Bedford, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]