The Bartlett Name Website
Welcome to the Bartlett Name Website.
The name is not that common; but
it is not that rare either. It started in England and at specific
locations within England and spread, as migrations started, first to
America and then to Australia and elsewhere where English-speaking
people went.
I can see three strands to this journey:
A Lineage. The name
can be said to have a pedigree, both in England and
America. In England, a Bartlett lineage can reputedly be traced back
to the Norman Conquest in 1066; in America, to the Mayflower generation
of colonists that first landed on Plymouth Rock in the 1620's.
Sea Farers. Many
Bartletts were seafarers. That perhaps is their Dorset
heritage. Two prime examples are Captain Bob Bartlett, the
Arctic explorer, and Captain Charles Bartlett who captained ocean
liners and was known as "Iceberg Charlie."
And An Underclass. There were, however, many more Bartletts who were poor and struggling and whose stories were rarely handed down. They existed in the underclass of society in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and they probably exist there today as well. They need celebrating too. My own Bartlett connection in all likelihood comes into this category; and that is why perhaps I wanted to remember, where I could, these Bartletts too.
This, in any case, is my own personalized rambling through the Bartlett history. It is meant more as a good read for Bartlett enthusiasts like myself. Some good stories are to be found (there are links from the text to the web story page). And those tracing their roots and ancestors may find some useful pointers here.
I welcome your feedback and your queries and comments.
Colin Bartlett Shelley