As can be seen, most BASTINs in the United States today live in, or around, the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This is where the sons of Thomas and Hannah Bastin migrated to from Caswell County, NC in the early 1800's. Their descendants account for the majority of BASTINs alive today in Kentucky.
From Kentucky, significant numbers of the next two generations migrated north, to both Indiana and to Ohio, probably in search of better economic opportunities. Their descendants account for the presence of the BASTIN surname in these states today.
Starting in the late 19th century, and continuing into the early part of the 20th century, another discernible migration occurred from Kentucky to Kansas. Two separate family groups have been tracked, involving both descendants of William Bastin, from the Lincoln, Casey, and Wayne county areas of Kentucky, as well as descendants of William's brother, Thomas Bastin, Jr., from the Hart, Metcalfe, and Barren County, KY areas.
Notice the slight lighter blue color for the state of Washington. As best as can be determined, these BASTINs largely are descended from an English emmigrant who arrived in California in the late 1800's. To date, no migration patterns have been detected or traced linking these BASTINs to BASTINs from other geographic areas within the US. (However, some of the descendants of Thomas and Hannah Bastin are known to have died while on The Oregon Trail enroute to the West. They were buried alongside the trail in unmarked graves.) Further research is needed to determine the family kinship of these BASTINs in Washington, but the clues for this must await the day when both the BASTINs of Kentucky, and before this, of North Carolina, and even earlier, of Virginia, are traced back to England in the 17th Century, and the BASTINs of Washington also are traced back to England in the 17th Century.
An additional group of BASTINs in Pennsylvania has been found. They are descended from an immigrant from Belgium. The BASTINs of Flanders (modern-day France, Belgium, and the Netherlands) are believed to be descended from earlier English ancestors, although some of the Belgian BASTINs believe the name originated in, or around, Charleroi, Belgium. The migration of the surname from England to Flanders probably occurred in the Middle Ages. Records dating back to around 1240 for the surname have been found in England, which, at least, so far, pre-dates any record of the surname on the continent.
An additional group of, as of yet, unrelated BASTINs, has been traced from Essex County, VA to Woodford Co, KY to Missouri, ending up near St. Louis. They account for the presence of the surname in, and around, St. Louis, MO. John and Sarah Bastin of Essex County, VA were contemporaries of Thomas and Hannah Bastin of Caswell Co, NC. Richard Bastin, a son of John and Sarah Bastin, migrated from Essex County, VA to Woodford Co, KY, but died there in the early 1800's (ca. 1815). His widowed wife, along with her brother, and her children moved to Missouri shortly after Richard's death (ca. 1817). Several of the sons, and their sons, grew up and became farmers in the St. Louis area. I suspect that John Bastin, of Essex Co, VA and Thomas Bastin of Caswell Co, NC, were related through an unknown earlier BASTIN set of parents, but no wills, church records, or vital records have been found for either John's parents or of Thomas' parents. If you find, or have, any record of their ancestors, please write! -- Gary Bastin, gbastin@bb.iu.net
Get your own Free Home Page