Category Archives: Origins

08/22/13

Origins of Upham PT II

Dr. Upham says:

” Hugo, the first of this name of vrhom I have found an}^ notice, is designated Hugo de Upham, Hugo of Upham. Now the ‘ de ‘ not only indicates that he derived his name from his estate, but the lands belonging to him are expressly referred to in the same document, as bearing the name Upham : ‘ Campis de Upham ‘ (Upham fields). We conclude, then, that Hugo, and his ancestors holding possession of and residing on the lands known by the name Upham, received the names of Hugo, etc., de Upham. Continue reading →

08/3/13

Origins of Upham

These verses, speculating on the origin of the name of Upham, were composed, and set to music, by Judge Nathaniel G. Upham, of Concord, New Hampshire (No. 287):

Up high, on an oak-crowned hill
Prepared with sedulous care,
H is home, in the olden time,
An old man erected there.
Many a year have I known his name,
Each passer-by calls it Up-hame, Up-hame!
Up-hame, Up-ham! Up-hame, Up-home!
However you call it, wherever you roam.
The sons of the old man, remember it still.
The name, how it came, from the home on the hill,
Up-hame, Up-ham! Up-hame, Up-home!

They’ll never forget it, wherever they roam.

*Upham is composed of the Anglo-Saxon words, ” Up ” and ” ham,” signifying a home, dwelling, or village. — BoszvortJ is Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon Langitage Ray’s Proverbs atid Obsolete Words. In the age of Elizabeth the name was written with a final e,soon afterward this letter was dropped, and the name assumed its original form. — (N. G. U.)

 

08/3/13

The Upham Name in England

Very little of value has yet been learned concerning this interesting matter, though it is believed there is considerable which might be. Dr. Upham — in the ” Notices ” — said :

” Forty or fifty years subsequent to the date of this entry on the charter rolls, we find from the Hundred Rolls, Temp. Henry HI. and Edward I., vol. 2, p. 240 (these rolls contain inquisitions taken in pursuance to a special commission, issued under the Great Seal. This inquisition was taken by jurors chosen from each hundred, and consisted of returns made under oath of all the demesne lands of the crown, manors of the same, wardships, marriages, escheats, etc.), that another person, holding the office of juror in Selkley Hundred, bore this surname : ‘ Hundr’ de Selkel’ Nich’ de Upham jur’ Com’ Wyltes, Ano. 39, Hen. IH.,’ [1255]. Soon afterward we find in the Fine Rolls (in Turr. Londenensis asservatis Henrico Tertio Rege., vol. 2, pp. 375-1246- 1272. Memb. 9. Henry HI., A. D. 1262, commenced in the sixth year of King John, 1204, and finished under Edward IV., 1483. Continue reading →