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ArchivesSilkwood name origin
I've traced the name back as far as Barzilla Silkwood B 1763 D 1817. Can't find any details on the Origin of the Silkwood surname name nor the given name of Barzilla for that matter. My father claimed it was Scotch but have been unable to confirm that. C.W.Silkwood
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I heard Silkwoods were on the losing side of the clan wars. I do not know where that originated. The person also did not know if they started in England, then went to Scotland or vice versa. All Silkwoods in the U.S. are related. VA-KY-IL, then spread across America. Also, I have never found the parents of Barzilla and Solomon Sr.
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So here's what I've found, I did a deep dive on Ancestry.com.
Margaret Silkwood was aboard a prisoner's ship called the Forward from Middlesex, England bound for Maryland from September 1725 to December 1725. She is notated as being 14 years old, and travelling alone. Often, if folks were sentenced of some crime, be it petty or severe, they were deported to the colonies in America.
I thought to myself, "Why would a 14 year old girl be deported alone to Maryland?" I looked in the ship's log, and there is no crime notated next to her name. Many of the other passengers are notated with their crimes next to their names.
I dug a little deeper and found that she had been wed to a William Dayes in 1723 in London, in a clandestine marriage. She would have been 12 at the time. This was forbidden, as at the time, one would have had to have parental consent and/or been over the age of 21 to be married at that time in London. I went back and checked the ship logs for a William Dayes. He was not on the register.
It's possible that she could have been pregnant with illegitimate children and that William Dayes was perhaps otherwise engaged with another woman or wife, and he had her shipped off to the colonies to relieve himself of the burden of having to care for his child bride.
Or, less salaciously so, perhaps he followed her afterwards to Maryland on a different voyage. But the fact that she was on a prisoner's ship doesn't bode well for their marriage, two years after they were wed.
Anyway, there's a solid link from the Silkwood name from England to Maryland and perhaps also Virginia, as they are quite close to one another.
Happy researching!
Margaret Silkwood was aboard a prisoner's ship called the Forward from Middlesex, England bound for Maryland from September 1725 to December 1725. She is notated as being 14 years old, and travelling alone. Often, if folks were sentenced of some crime, be it petty or severe, they were deported to the colonies in America.
I thought to myself, "Why would a 14 year old girl be deported alone to Maryland?" I looked in the ship's log, and there is no crime notated next to her name. Many of the other passengers are notated with their crimes next to their names.
I dug a little deeper and found that she had been wed to a William Dayes in 1723 in London, in a clandestine marriage. She would have been 12 at the time. This was forbidden, as at the time, one would have had to have parental consent and/or been over the age of 21 to be married at that time in London. I went back and checked the ship logs for a William Dayes. He was not on the register.
It's possible that she could have been pregnant with illegitimate children and that William Dayes was perhaps otherwise engaged with another woman or wife, and he had her shipped off to the colonies to relieve himself of the burden of having to care for his child bride.
Or, less salaciously so, perhaps he followed her afterwards to Maryland on a different voyage. But the fact that she was on a prisoner's ship doesn't bode well for their marriage, two years after they were wed.
Anyway, there's a solid link from the Silkwood name from England to Maryland and perhaps also Virginia, as they are quite close to one another.
Happy researching!
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I have heard that Scotland was the origin of the name Silkwood. The story I was told at the time of Bonny Prince Charley members of the Clan MacLeod left Scotland for the Hebrides Isles , and when they left the Hebrides Isles some change to Silkwood. This is the story I got from my parents in the early 50s. I have seen nothing in writing to this effect since being told this. W.A. Silkwood
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Barzilla/Barzillai Silkwood and his brother Solomon are listed as having come from England as you can see at tinyurl.com/kafzhf9. The surname probably comes from a place so named such as Silk Wood in Gloucestershire or Silkwood Top in Devon.
Barzillai is a biblical name as you can see at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barzillai#Barzillai. It means 'of iron' in Hebrew.
Barzillai is a biblical name as you can see at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barzillai#Barzillai. It means 'of iron' in Hebrew.
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Thank you Marc,that was very helpful.
C.W.Silkwood
C.W.Silkwood
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