From the Life and Letters of John Albert Broadus:
EARLY in the eighteenth century, Edward Broaddus
came from Wales to Gwynn's Island, Virginia.
All the American Broadduses seem to be descended
from him, and the family name is most often met through-
out the South and Northwest It is certain that the
family is not properly of Welsh, i. e. t Celtic origin, but
is Anglo-Saxon. The name was originally Broadhurst,
and in that form still lingers in South Wales and is com-
mon in England, while it is found also in Kentucky and
other States of the Union. Dr. John A. Broadus him-
self wrote :
The name Broaddus, according to tradition in the family, is a contraction of Broadhurst, One of the family [J. A, B.] found some years ago in London that whenever he gave his name to a shopkeeper or the like for sending home a package, it was without hesitation written Broadhurst. The name corresponds to Whitehurst, Deerhurst, Penhurst, Medhurst, etc. The word Hurst alone is also a family name. It signifies a wooded hill or knoll, so that all the
names of the group are primarily territorial. While the name is evidently Anglo-Saxon, it is a tradition that the family came from Wales. The late Professor Benjamin Davies, of Regent's Park College, London, explained this by stating that there has long been a consldeiable Anglo-Saxon settlement in South Wales. He once lived there and remembers the name Hurst as existing among them.
. . The name Bioadhurst is frequently found in London, and Henry Broadhurst is now a member of Parliament, and was a member of Mr. Gladstone's last government.'
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