Peckham

Ancient History of the Distinguished Surname

Author Unknown

            Few amongst the ancient surnames of England are so highly regarded as Peckham.  This surname is one of the oldest Norman surnames and its history is closely interwoven into the prosaic tapestry which is reflected in the ancient chronicles of all England.

            Professional research into ancient manuscripts such as:  the Doomsday Book (complied in 1086 by William the Conqueror), the Ragman Rolls, the Wace poem, the Honour Roll of the Battel Abbey, The Curia Regis, Pipe Rolls, the Falaise Roll, tax records, baptismals, family genealogies, local parish and church records reveals the first record of the name Peckham was found in Kent where they were seated from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

            The early and middle development phase of the name found many different spellings in the archives researched, typically linked to a common root, usually one of the Norman nobles at the Battle of Hastings.  Although your name, Peckham, occurred in many references, from time to time, the surname included the spellings: Peckham, Pecham, Peckem, Peckam, Packham, and these changes in spelling frequently occurred, even between father and son.    Scribes and church officials recorded and spelled the name as it was told to them, frequently spelling it different ways on each occasion.  It was not unusual that a person would be born with one spelling, married with another, and buried with a headstone which showed another.  All three spellings related to the same person.  Sometimes preferences for spelling variations either came from a division of the family, or had religious reasons, or sometimes reflected nationalistic concerns. 

            The family name Peckham is believed to be descended originally from the Norman race, frequently but mistakenly assumed to be of French origin.  They were more accurately of Viking origin.  The Vikings landed in the Orkneys and Northern Scotland about the year 870 A.D., under their king, Stirgud the Scout.  Thorfinn Rollo, his descendant, scion of explorer clans who may well have visited North America, landed in northern France about the year 940 A.D.  The French king, Charles the Simple, after Pollo laid siege to Paris, finally conceded defeat and granted northern France to Rollo.  Rollo became the first Duke of Normandy, the territory of north men.  Rollo married Charles’ daughter and became a convert to Christianity.  Descended from Rollo was Duke William of Normandy who invaded England in 1066 and was victorious of the Saxon King Harold at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

            Duke William granted his Norman nobles much of the land of England for their assistance at the Battle of Hastings.  Amongst these Normans a noble is believed to have been your ancestor.  After careful analysis the researchers found that the first evidence of your surname was found in Kent where they were recorded as a family of great antiquity seated as lords of the manor and estates in that shire.  They were originally from St. Nicholas in Normandy, through the distinguished family of De Sayes.  Perhaps one of the most distinguished personalities was Archbishop Peckham, in 1272.  James Peckham succeeded him and the family held numerous branches in Kent and Sussex more specifically in Little Green, Upmarden, and Lordington, also at Nyton also in Sussex.  The family seat was in Beaksbourne House at Bridge in Kent where R. Peckham was seated in the 19^th century.  Notable amongst the family at this time was Archbishop Peckham of Kent. 

            During the 15^th, 16^th, and 17^th centuries, England and Scotland were ravaged by religious and political conflicts as first one element, then another, fought for control.  This created the unrest that was to produce a great exodus, either voluntary, or by banishment as first one side acquired control, then another.  The tyranny almost assumed the profile of an inquisition, and many innocent men were condemned either to colonies, or to prison, or to be hanged, drawn and quartered.  Alliances were all important.  Arranged marriages assured families of protection and influence in the right quarter.  Family names became extinct if they chose the wrong alliances.  Loyalty to the wrong power could bring disastrous results to the future of a whole family name. 

            The result was the manipulation of families known to be loyal to the cause.  Subjugation of Ireland became the objective of a succession of monarchs.  Many families were freely “encouraged” to migrate to Ireland, or to the “colonies”.  Lands were granted free, or at nominal payments.  Some families were rewarded with these grants of lands, others were banished.

            In Ireland, settlers became known as the “Adventurers for land in Ireland”.  Settlers undertook to maintain the Protestant faith within their families and all those who worked for them.  There is no evidence that the family name migrated to Ireland, but this does not preclude the possibility of their scattered migration to that country.

            But the New World beckoned and migration continued, some voluntarily from Ireland, but mostly directly from England or Scotland, their home territories.  Some clans and families even moved to the European continent.

            Kinsmen of the family name Peckham were amongst the many who sailed aboard the armada of small sailing ships, tiny, overcrowded vessels known as the “White Sails” which plied the stormy Atlantic during the 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th centuries.  These overcrowded ships were pestilence ridden sometimes 30% to 40% of the passenger list never reaching their destination, their numbers reduced by dysentery, cholera, small pox, and typhoid.

            Principal amongst the settlers which could be considered a kinsman of the surname Peckham, or a variable spelling of that family name was John Peckham settled in Newport in Rhode Island in 1630; J. and N. A. Peckham arrived in San Francisco in 1852.

            The trek from the port of entry was also hazardous and many joined the wagon trains to the prairies or over the Rockies to the west coast.  During the War of Independence, many loyalists made their way north to Canada about 1790, and became known as the United Empire loyalists.

            20^th century notables of this surname, Peckham, include many distinguished persons.  The family name continued to make an important contribution to the political and cultural life of the societies on both sides of the Atlantic.

            During the course of our research we also determined the many Coat of Arms granted to different branches of the family name.

                        The most ancient grant of a Coat of Arms found was:

                                    Ermine with a gold and red quarterly stripe at the top.

                        The crest was:

                                    An ostrich.

                        The ancient family Motto for this distinguished name was:

                                    “Tentanda Via Est”