Brief Life History of Ridgewell
When Ridgewell Beard was born in 1841, in Chesterton, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom, his father, William Beard, was 28 and his mother, Sarah Ridgwell, was 29. He married Sarah Ann Archer on 30 December 1860, in Bundarra, New South Wales, Australia. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 2 daughters. He lived in Impington, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom in 1851. He died on 2 October 1914, in Bundarra, New South Wales, Australia, at the age of 73, and was buried in Bundarra, New South Wales, Australia.
Photos and Memories (12)
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Family Time Line
Sources (14)
- Ridgwell Beard in household of William Beard, "England and Wales Census, 1851"
- Ridgwell Beard, "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975"
- Beard, Frederick Lewis m Marjorie Vera Cross. Certificate of Marriage.
Spouse and Children
Children (12)
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Parents and Siblings
World Events (8)
1841
George Grey appointed Governor of South Australia.
1843
Dickens A Christmas Carol was first published.
1867
End of transportation to Western Australia.
Name Meaning
English:
nickname for a bearded man (from Middle English berd, Old English beard). To be clean-shaven was the norm in non-Jewish communities in northwestern Europe from the 12th to the 16th century, the crucial period for surname formation. There is a placename and other evidence to show that this word was used as a byname in the Old English period, when beards were the norm; in this period the byname would have referred to a large or noticeable beard. In North America, this surname has absorbed cognates and equivalents in other languages, in particular German Barth 1.
habitational name from a place called Beard in Derbyshire (now represented by Beard Hall and Beardwood Farms in New Mills parish), which derives its name by dissimilation from Old English brerd ‘rim, bank’.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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