RESEARCHED, COMPILED, ANALYZED, PREPARED AND OWNED IN ITS ENTIRETY, SOLELY BY MYSELF: DR. J.D.BEDSOLE,ASME,BSBA,BSVE,MSEA,PhD,And ScD. NOT FOR SALE Copies Furnished To You By Me, Are Free Of Charge Please read the following copyright Note. © COPYRIGHT 1996,1997,1998,1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,2004,2005,2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. JD Bedsole. All Rights Reserved. Copying this booklet is free for your own use, but copying it, or any part of it for sale, or incorporation into something else for sale, Or the posting or sharing of this book with my name and copyright notes as written, removed, are absolutely not permitted. Drei Beifall Fur Der Betzolds (3 cheers For The Bedsoles) BEDSOLE January 1, 2013 Version BEDSOLE HISTORY, ANCESTORS AND DOCUMENTATION FROM 1663. Author Dr. J.D. Bedsole, ASME, BSBA, BSVE, MSEA, PhD. And ScD. EMAIL: [email protected] or [email protected] Betzold/Bedsole) Deutschland/Germany And U.S. Wappen Fur Der Provinc Von Brandenburgh (Coat Of Arms For The Province Of Brandenburg) BETZOLD /BEDSOLE COAT OF ARMS Meine Vorfahren Kamen Aus Dem Brandenburgischen Provinz Von Deutschland ( My Ancesotors Came From The Brandenburg Province Of Germany) (Notwithstanding the fact that Brandenburg was originally part of Prussia) Note; This Bedsole Coat Of Arms above, was registered in 1650 to Wilhelm Heinrich Betzold in Prussia. I copied it by hand from the original Coat hanging on the wall at the home of Wilhelm. In German, (the W is pronounced as a V ). So his first name was pronounced as “Vilhelm“. (William Henry Bedsole in english). I copied it in Brandenburg, Germany in 1994. The “Official” Bedsole coat of arms as listed on the Certificate For Country Of Origin, a copy of which I have, is yellow and green and shows 2 lambs. I hate it. So I have decided to adopt this one for our “Official” Coat. It was not the surname that restricted the Coat. It was The design that was not allowed to be duplicated when registered. Therefore, there were any number of Coat Of Arms for any surname. In other words, each family with the surname, designed their own Coats. They were called “Coat Of Arms” because they were thick and tough mats or coats and were worn in fights to protect the upper torso, against knives, daggers and swords. Now you know. .................................................................................................................................................................... "NOW EACH OF YOU CAN SEE, JUST HOW IT IS, YOU CAME TO BEE"..............JD Bedsole ………………………………........................................................................................................................ CURRENT VERSION; January 1, 2013 PART ONE; BEDSOLE HISTORY FROM 1663 ANSWERS TO MY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EARLIEST BEDSOLES IN THIS COUNTRY, SUCH AS: 1.How did they get here ? Where did they come from?. Who were they?. Where did they settle here? Did they move around, and if so, where to ?. How did they live?.What was it like ? What were they like ? Was life hard for them ? What hardships did they incur ?. Have things improved for us since then ? 2. Locations, names, relationships, kinships, and documentation on early Bedsoles with records of early Marriages,Census Data,Tax Lists, Land Transactions, Cemeteries and etc. 3. References for current and future Bedsole Researchers (If any ever have the grit to do it). CONTENTS PART ONE...............................Bedsole History And Documentation. PART TWO..............................Ancestors And Descendants List …..................................................................PAGE ONE........................................................................... NOTE; In order to save time, if after you have read this, you want to email me and tell me how you are now more confused than ever, how stupid I am, did I really talk to some people in Germany, and how this was all such a huge waste of time, please don’t bother. I have already been asked and told those things at least a hundred times by those Bedsoles to whom I had freely given a copy. Thanks anyway though, for the thought that I am a tee-total Idiot of the highest order. No need to tell me that though EITHER, as I am already well aware of that !!, and have been since the 4th grade. But I do thank you for that thought too. BEDSOLE HISTORY As you can see, not being a computer Czar, I cannot control the location of the page numbers in this book. When I type it, its fine, but when I transfer it to a file or change the Format, or email it, it gets all out of whack. Then, when I transfer it to you, it will not stay as typed, and the numbers, pages, names, dates and etc. may be any place on the page, as they move around as they please between computers and format changes. I have no idea how to keep all that from happening. Apparently. no one else does either and I have asked every one I know who even MAY know. Anyway, the numbers are theoretically at the bottom of each page. At least we can use the numbers as location markers, so we can say "Its between numbers 156 and 157” or whatever. That will prevent having to guess where something is located. Since this is my last version and I have been all over the internet, telephones and U.S. mail asking for information from other Bedsoles, and receiving next to nothing, if you see something which is wrong or you have additions to make to the List in Part Two, please tell me about it. Remember, until I croak, I will keep a master copy of this book on this computer. When and if I find new information, it will be added to this Master copy which I will update every January and email to anyone who asks for it from time to time. But if you want an updated copy, you must request it. In the beginning, I just wanted to know where I got this name. But as time went on, and I learned more and more about our ancestors and all the unbelievable hardships they endured, I realized that unless I researched,documented and wrote this History and the related Ancestor And Descendant list, all the current and future Bedsole descendants would never know what those ancestors went through and would never know their true roots either. But I also knew that if I did'nt do it, then it would never be done, because I knew that few people have what it takes to spend that many years of their lives to produce this kind of information on their ancestors and descendants, much less have the grit required to do it. As the Manager of the NC State Archives told me, “JD, that book is the most magnificent piece of genealogy I have ever seen in my life and I‘ve been doing this for more than 30 years”. (Thank you sir). After reviewing several other surname research efforts, I have to agree with him. This book is a magnificent piece of work, but that’s as it should be, considering all the time, effort and cost I have put into it, but most of all, ITS FREE. Does that make me some kind of super-human you ask, and that you should bow down in front of me ? YES INDEED !!. I began this project in 1950.This History and List and especially the List, represents more than 60 years of the most demanding, expensive, time-consuming, frustrating, and maddening work I have ever encountered in my life. Now, I give it to all you Bedsoles and relatives most of whom I don't even know, for nothing. I hope you truly appreciate what went into it, and what it represents. I know how priceless it really is and I hope you PAGE 2 do too. Believe me, it becomes more valuable to the point of being absolutely priceless, as you get older. So, keep it, treasure it, and pass it down to your children. But always remember who produced it........ME and me alone. Although I do greatly appreciate the information provided by a precious few who emailed some to me. Regarding the List; Many thanks to those few who made an effort to send me at least some information. As you will read further on though, with the exception of those few, those I wrote, emailed and called for information, were generally suspicious, rude to the point of being hateful, and would tell me nothing useful. To them I say, thanks a lot, for absolutely nothing, but insult after insult. In the absence of most-needed documentation and by reading, researching, analyzing and documenting what little Bedsole information was available, together with all the old records, books, websites, and other relevant historical sources I could find, then flying to Germany in 1993 and again in 1994 and researching there, because my Dad had said Bedsole originated in Germany, I have put together my best, educated and informed guesses in many cases, at what I feel is very close to the facts back then. Some of my conclusions may prove to be wrong in the future, but I invite anyone to prove anything I claim to be true, is actually wrong. The only acceptable proof from someone that I have something wrong however, would be their own documentation and not their best guess. Any best-guess by anyone else, would not be as accurate, and certainly not more accurate than my own and I guarantee that. As you will read, the Bedsoles for our purposes anyway, came from Germany, although they originated in Prussia, parts of which were scattered into and became, parts of Germany. Wherever they lived BEFORE Prussia, is not known and I don't really care.