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An excerpt from www.HouseOfNames.com archives copyright © 2000 - 2016
Chalk is an Anglo-Saxon
name. The name was originally given to a whitewasher. Medieval buildings weren't painted, for paint was very expensive in the Middle Ages. Instead, they were whitewashed; covered in a paint-like emulsion of lime. It served to protect the houses against water, as well as look better. However, it didn't last very long; houses needed to be whitewashed at least twice a year, in the spring and fall. A "chalker" was a professional whitewasher; the name was originally derived from the Old English word cealcian,
which meant "to whiten."
The surname Chalk was first found in Kent
, where "this name is principally found, there are [is] a parish and a hundred
so designated, and there is also in county Wiltshire
, a parish called Broad-Chalk." 
More recently, Chalk is a suburb which adjoins the east of Gravesend, Kent
. The place name is derived from the Old English word Cealc and was listed as Cealca 
in the 10th century and as Celca 
in the Domesday Book
. "The church is very ancient, and has various figures carved over the entrance, the origin and meaning of which have caused much controversy." 
One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Chalk has appeared include Chalk, Chaulk, Chaulke, Chaulkey, Chalke, Chalker, Chalkley, Caulk and many more.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chalk research. Another 273 words (20 lines of text) covering the years 162 and 1624 are included under the topic Early Chalk History in all our PDF Extended History products
More information is included under the topic Early Chalk Notables in all our PDF Extended History products
At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England
was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England
at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Chalk arrived in North America very early:
Chalk Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Joseph Chalk, who settled in Virginia in 1635
- Jo Chalk, aged 25, arrived in Virginia in 1635
- Francis Chalk, who landed in Maryland in 1658
Chalk Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Peter Chalk, aged 23, arrived in Virginia in 1773
- Steven Chalk, who arrived in Virginia in 1774
Chalk Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- James Chalk, who was naturalized in New York in 1806
- Thomas Chalk, who arrived in New York in 1825
- Bella Chalk, aged 24, who landed in America from Burton on Trau, in 1892
- Walter Chalk, aged 38, who emigrated to America, in 1893
- Ellen Chalk, aged 25, who landed in America, in 1896
Chalk Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
- Henry R. Chalk, aged 37, who settled in America from London, England, in 1907
- George Edmund Chalk, aged 40, who landed in America from Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1907
- Gertrude Alice Chalk, aged 32, who settled in America from Malvern, England, in 1907
- Edgar Ells Chalk, aged 31, who emigrated to the United States from London, England, in 1908
- Alfred Chalk, aged 21, who landed in America from Christepurth, England, in 1908
Chalk Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
- Edmd Chalk, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Chalk Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
- Robert Chalk, who was recorded in the 1871 census of Ontario
Chalk Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century
- Joseph Chalk, aged 24, who emigrated to Catalina, Newfoundland in 1917
Chalk Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Hannah Chalk arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Gipsy Queen" in 1850
- Peter Chalk, American Democrat politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly 126th District, 1966
- Margaret Chalk, American politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1948
- Henry P. Chalk, American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in Bassorah, 1905-06
- Harold Chalk, American politician, Candidate for University of Michigan Board of Regents, 1939; Candidate for Michigan State Auditor General, 1944
- Al Chalk (b. 1990), African American voice actor and actor, known for his work in In Living Color, Five Men and a Limo (1997) and Story of a People: The Black Road to Hollywood
- Oscar Roy Chalk (1907-1995), English-born, New York financier and entrepreneur who owned real estate, airlines, bus companies, newspapers and more
- David Lee Chalk (b. 1950), American former Major League Baseball player who played from 1973 to 1981
- Robin Chalk (b. 1981), English film and stage actor, best known for his role as Neil Kellerman in the West End production of Dirty Dancing
- Frederick Gerald Hudson "Gerry" Chalk DFC (1910-1943), English cricketer
- Gary Chalk (b. 1952), English illustrator and model-maker
- ^ Lowe, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- ^ Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- ^ Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
- ^ Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Bullock, L.G. Historical Map of England and Wales. Edinburgh: Bartholomew and Son, 1971. Print.
- Weis, Frederick Lewis, Walter Lee Sheppard and David Faris. Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists Who Came to New England Between 1623 and 1650 7th Edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0806313676).
- Fairbairn. Fairbain's book of Crests of the Families of Great Britain and Ireland, 4th Edition 2 volumes in one. Baltimore: Heraldic Book Company, 1968. Print.
- Marcharn, Frederick George. A Constitutional History of Modern England 1485 to the Present. London: Harper and Brothers, 1960. Print.
- Burke, Sir Bernard. Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry: Including American Families with British Ancestry. (2 Volumes). London: Burke Publishing, 1939. Print.
- Crispin, M. Jackson and Leonce Mary. Falaise Roll Recording Prominent Companions of William Duke of Normandy at the Conquest of England. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. Print.
- Burke, Sir Bernard. General Armory Of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Ramsbury: Heraldry Today. Print.
- Dunkling, Leslie. Dictionary of Surnames. Toronto: Collins, 1998. Print. (ISBN 0004720598).
- Colletta, John P. They Came In Ships. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1993. Print.
- Chadwick, Nora Kershaw and J.X.W.P Corcoran. The Celts. London: Penguin, 1790. Print. (ISBN 0140212116).
This page was last modified on 9 October 2015 at 10:57.
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