This Swiss and English surname of BIBERSTON was of two-fold origin. It was a Norman habitation name from any of the several places in France called BEAUVOIR, for example in Manche, Somme and Seine-Maritime, or from BELVOIR in Lincolnshire, England. It was also a nickname 'the beaver' possibly referring to a hard worker, or from some other fancied resemblance to the animal. The name has travelled widely in many forms which include BEEVERS, BEBERT, BIEBER, BIBERMAN, BIBERFELD and BIBERSTEIN. Early records of the name in England include Prior de Beuver who was recorded in the year 1273 in County Nottingham. John de Beauver of County York was recorded during the reign of Henry III (1216-1272) and Adam Bever of County Somerset was documented in the year 1273. Juno le Bevere appears in Wiltshire in the year 1300. Edward Beaver married Ellinor Jeffries in Canterbury, Kent in the year of 1675. Bois, son of Osmond Beauvoir, was baptised in 1751 in Canterbury Cathedral. Elizabeth Bever was baptised at St. Thomas the Apostle, London in 1729. During the Reformation, Switzerland was not affected by the religious strife that devastated most of Europe; cities such as Geneva were in the middle of the Reformation and John Calvin became prominent as a Protestant reformer, founding Protestantism. Many people of Swiss origin emigrated from there to seek their fortune in other parts of the world. In the United States they particularly populated the states of Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, Ohio, Texas and California. When the first immigrants from Europe went to America, the only names current in the new land were Indian names which did not appeal to Europeans vocally, and the Indian names did not influence the surnames or Christian names already possessed by the immigrants. Mostly the immigrant could not read or write and had little or no knowledge as to the proper spelling, and their names suffered at the hands of the government officials. The early town records are full of these mis-spelt names most of which gradually changed back to a more conventional spelling as education progressed. In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armoured warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe. |
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