11/25/07 VERSION: BEDSOLE HISTORY FROM 1673 ... - NCGenWeb

he spelled it as Bledsoe. But I also know that it was quite common for numerous
Bedsoles to say their last name was Bledsoe. That also applied to numerous
Bledsoes, who claimed Bedsole as their last name. A very major problem caused by
all that uncertainty, was the inability to determine with any degree of certainty in a lot
of cases, if the "Bedsole" being researched was really a Bedsole or Bledsoe. And
that is something which one must frequently decide without much or any, additional
information.
So for example, when a "John Bedsole" is listed on the 1790 Census' for Wake,
Cumberland and Anson counties. It is likely that one of those Johns was the one
born about 1730 and the other is the one born in 1753. Or one or more Johns moved
during the Census counts or, that third John is either the same guy counted twice, or
there was a John Jr. or Sr. in one or more, of those counties. It is also possible that
they counted John Bledsoe in one and John Bedsole in the other, misspelling
Bedsole or Bledsoe, or both. From studying all this and everything else I've come
across, it makes me think that the early, and consequently many current, Bedsoles
and Bledsoes are intermixed to the point of impossibility in defining them, with any
degree of certainty, beyond ones best guess.
While some Bedsoles took on the Bledsoe name and vice-versa, for various
reasons, currently, there is a seperate line of Bledsoes and another of Bedsoles.
That seperate line is further strengthened by the fact that many earlier Bledsoe's
eventually moved to Indiana, but the Bedsole's did not. The Bedsole's initially moved
almost simultaneously, from North Carolina to Tennessee, Alabama, Florida,
Louisiana, Texas and Georgia. Despite that separation, some with the Bledsoe
name or spelling are also in those same southern states at the same time as the
Bedsoles, a big problem is, theres no way to know which of those in the north or
south were born as Bledsoes and which were born as Bedsoles, and worse, even
when born, they may not have actually been a Bedsole or Bledsoe. It gets incredibly
confusing, when you are trying to figure out who is whom, 300 years later, with no
one to ask.
When a Scribe back then showed up at some Bedsoles house, after 15-20 years, for
whatever purpose, selling something, land transfers, trades, legal problems,
whatever, who knows what our ancestors answered when asked for their last names
and ages. On top of that, who knows what was written, after he heard their answer,
trying to spell it like it sounded, when the Scribe was English and the person
answering was German, who spoke no english. For example, the Scribe somehow
asks "What is your name ?". The answer the best he can understand it is like this: "
Vilhelm Bahssow, Bessow, Bhatson, Blitsuh, zumzing like zatt". Scribe:." Do you
know how to spell it" Answer: "Nein, nein sprechen sie englishen". So what do you
think the Scribe wrote for the persons name ?. Now, 300 years later, along comes
J.D. Bedsole, reading stuff and trying to figure out not only who all these people
were, but how they were all related, where they lived and when, with no one to ask,
and all he has to look at to figure all that out is what that Scribe wrote that day and
nothing else.