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My mother's maiden name was Bissett. She was born in South Africa in 1908. Her family lived in Bloemfontain. I think her father and grandfather, farmers, were also both senators in either the regional government or possibly central government and were elected by the Africans in their area with whom they had a good relationship. I don't know when they originally left Scotland and I haven't been able to find out anything more.
Do you know of any Bissetts who went to South Africa from Scotland.
Adam Ritchie
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The following is an extract from information available on the web: Posted to the Bissett list in 1996, updated in December 1999 According to David Dorward in his book, Scottish Surnames the surname Bissett was from the Old French adjective “bis” which means “brownish-grey” and referred to a bird of that colour, the rock dove. Bisset was the dimunitive form of the word and in French the surname is Bizet. He states that the Bissetts came to Scotland as part of William the Lion’s feudalism efforts and that they arrived in Selkirkshire by way of Nottingham before 1200. George Black in his classic work, originally published in 1946, The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origins, Meaning, and History lists the primary spellings of the surname as Bisset and Bissett and includes two dozen variants from the 12th through 17th centuries in Scotland. Black states that the surname was a personal name derived from the dimunitive of the Old French for rock dove. As part of my research into Bisset family history, I have been keeping a list of variant spellings I have encountered in records, reference works, and data bases. Here are the ones I have found thus far. Most of these are from Scotland and are included in the section on the Bisset surname in Black’s book. Additions, corrections, and feedback about my list is welcome—please contact me by email ([email protected]) or postal mail (PO Box 219, Mt. Horeb, WI 53572 USA). Some Variant Spellings of the Bisset Surname: Basok, Beceit, Besack, Besat, Besate, Besek, Beset, Bessat, Bessette, Bis, Biscet, Biset, Biseth, Bifset, Bifsett, Bissait, Bissaite, Bissart,Bissat, Bissate, Bisse, Bissed, Bisset, Bisseth, Bissett, Bissette, Bissit,Bissott, Bizat, Bize, Bizet, Bizett, Bizette, Biziet, Bizitt, Bizzet,Bizzett, Buset, Buiseid, Buseit, Byuset, Byset, Byseth, Byssate, Bysot,Byssot.