The following information relating to the origins of the Betts name is from another Betts website,  www.bettsfamily.com.

The Ancient History of the Distinguished Surname BETTS

The Saxon Chronicle, compiled by the monks in the 10th century, now reposes in the British Museum. It is a history of the Saxon settlement in England. History researchers have examined reproductions of such ancient manuscripts as the Domesday book (1086), the Ragman Rolls (1291 - 1296), the Curia Regis Rolls, the Pipe Rolls, the Hearth Rolls, parish registers, baptismals, and tax records. They found the first record of the name Betts in Yorkshire, where they had been seated from ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Throughout the centuries your name, Betts, occurred in many records, manuscripts and documents but not always with your exact spelling. From time to time the surname was spelt Betts, Bets, Bettees, Bett, Bette, and these variations in spelling occurred, even between father and son. Scribes and church officials frequently spelt the names phonetically. As a result the same person would be recorded differently on birth, baptismal, marriage and
death certificates.

The Saxon race gave birth to many surnames not the least of which was the
surname Betts. The Saxons, invited to England by the ancient Britons of the
4th Century, were a fair skinned people their home was the Rhine valley. They were lead by two brothers, General/Commanders Hengist and Horsa.

The Saxons settled in the county of Kent, in southern England. During the next four hundred years they forced the ancient Britons back into Wales and
Cornwall in the west, and Cumberland to the north. The Angles occupied under a series of High Kings, the last of which was Harold. In 1066, the Norman invasion from France occurred and their victory at the Battle of Hastings. In 1070, Duke William took an army of 40,000 north and wasted the northern counties, forcing many rebellious Norman nobles and Saxons to flee over the border to Scotland.

The Saxons who remained in the south were not treated well under hostile Norman rule, and many also moved northward. Nevertheless, this notable English family name, Betts, emerged as an influential name in the county of Yorkshire. This name appears in what is probably England's oldest recorded poem about 1200 A.D. called "Piers Plowman", "and bade Bette cut a bow, and beat the betoun therewith." By 1379 the name had acquired a firm foothold in the ridings of Yorkshire where there are many records of estates and manors. By 1500 they had also branched into Hants, Oxford and Kent. Their seats were at Wortham in Suffolk, Preston Hall in Kent. They also became a distinguished family of the U.S.A. and of Australia.

During the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th centuries England was ravaged by plagues, famine, and religious conflict. Protestantism, the newly found political fervour of Cronwellism and democratic government, and the remnants of the Roman Catholic church rejected all non-believers. The changing rule caused burnings, hangings and banishment of all sects and creeds. Many families were freely encouraged to migrate to Ireland, or to the "colonies". Some were rewarded with grants of land, others were banished.

The families who migrated to Ireland became known as the Adventurers for land in Ireland. Protestant settlers "undertook" to keep their faith, being granted lands previously owned by the Catholic Irish. There is no record of this distinguished family in Ireland, however this does not preclude the possibility of individual or scattered migration.

The New World offered better opportunities and some migrated voluntarily. Some left Ireland disillusioned with promises unfulfilled, but many left directly from their home territories. Some also moved to the European continent. Members of the family name Betts sailed aboard the huge armada of three masted sailing ships known as the "White Sails" which plied the stormy Atlantic. These overcrowded ships such as the Hector, The Dove and the Rambler, were pestilent ridden, sometimes 30% to 40% of the passenger list never reach their destination.

Amongst the first settlers in North America, which could be considered a kinsmanof the surname Betts, on a variable spelling of that family name was Richard Betts of Suffolk who settled on the Long Island in 1665; and some of
the distinguished American families were Henry Betts of Danbury, Conn.; Thomas Betts of Guilford , Conn.; Frederick Betts of New York and Fairfield, Conn., Holbrook Betts of New York; Robert Bett settled in Virginia in 1653; T.W. Bett settled in Baltimore, Md. in 1822; Thomas Bette settled in Maryland in 1863.

From the port of entry many settlers made their way west, joining the wagon trains to the prairies on the west coast. During the American War of Independence, many loyalists made their way north to Canada about 1790, and became known as the United Empire Loyalists.

Contemporary notables of this surname, Betts, include many distinguished
contributors, Alan Betts, Dean of the Veterinary College' Air Marshall Betts; Edward Betts, Journalist; Professor James Betts, Fine Arts; Reverend Stanley Betts, Dean of Rochester.

The most ancient grant of a Coat of Arms found was: Black, on a silver stripe three five leaved flowers. The Crest was a leopard. The ancient family Motto for the distinguished name was: "Ostendo Non Ostendo".