Bissiker

This unusual surname recorded in the spellings of Bisacre, Bessiker, Bisseker, Bisiker, Bysaker, and possibly others as well. The surname is a derivative from the Yorkshire village name 'Beesacar', itself of Anglo-Saxon origin. The village stands in the Doncaster rural district of Yorkshire and is first recorded as "Beseacra" in the 1182 Pipe Rolls of the county. The origination lies in the Olde English pre 7th Century word "beos", meaning reed, or rush, plu "aecer", an area of land cleared for agricultural use. Reeds were used extensively both for roofing materials and also for a primitive form of carpet. Locational surnames, such as this, were originally given either to the lord of the manor, or as an easy means of identification to those who left their birthplace to settle elsewhere. Regional and dialectal differences subsequently gave rise to several variations on the original spelling of the name. Examples of the early recordings include Robert Bysacre, noted in the Friary Roles of Yorkshire in the year 1382, whilst on April 20th 1545, Henry Byssaker and Elsabeth Tayler were married at St. Margaret's church, Westminster, London. Other examples include the marriage of Eliza Bisseker to Joseph Nelson at Christ Church, Spitalfields, London, on December 23rd 1839, and on October 24th 1874, William John Bisiker married Eliza Sherwood at Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ralph de Beseacra, which was dated 1182, in the "Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.