Re: The Bigsby Name...
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In reply to:
Re: The Bigsby Name...
6/03/01
No, "Bigsby" is definitely NOT an americanization of "Bixby".
I've seen "Bigsby" written in old English church records which predate settlement in the New World.It appears in many records, about equally with "Bixby".And it's widely used in England today.
The first known arrival of the US line, Joseph Bixby, arrived from England in Massachetts during the 1640's.His name was spelled BOTH ways in a land deed, but written by the clerk.Joseph signed with an "X".Like most people until the 1800's he was illiterate. You can see this document reproduced in the extensive "Bixby, Bigsby, etc." genealogy published in 1914.
Illiteracy was common until the 1800's so spelling varied during an individual's lifetime and a family line's history.Until the 1800's phonetic spelling was common even among the very literate."Correct" spelling is a fairly recent concept.
Jim Bigsby (Canada)