The Baden-Powell Surname
The Rev. Prof. Baden Powell is one of the family of POWELLs, whose origins go back to Mildenhall in Suffolk, where Powells still farm the same land today. For their history, see The Powell Pedigree.
Andrew Baden was baptised on 9th August, 1637, and became Mayor of Salisbury in 1682. The seccond of his eight children, Susannah Baden (born 1663) married the Rev. Edward Thistlethwayte (d.1707). They had five children, and their second, Susannah Thistlethwayte, married a David Powell., This couple had seven sons, whom they named James (who died an infant), David, John, Baden (his mother's mother's maiden name), Edward,Thomas and James. Thus it was that the name Baden became a quite usual first name for Powell sons.
The second son, David, had 14 children, one of whom was named Baden.
The youngest son, James, had four children, of whm Hester married her first cousin Baden. see line above.
This couple were the parets of our Reverend Professor Baden Powell, the subject of this WebSite, But there have been many many Powells bearing the name Baden, sometimes as a second name.
Shortly after the Rev. Prof. Baden's death, his widow, in his honour, added his first name to create the Baden-Powell surname, so the remaining children of his third marriage became 'Baden-Powell'; the name was legally changed by Royal Licence on 30 April 1902.
The Rev. Prof's penultimate son, Robert Baden-Powell, joined the army upon leaving school, and achieved world-wide fame for his command of the small town of Mafeking which was besieged by the Boers diuring the South African War.
As a result, many boys were given the name Baden-Powell, and some other branches of the POWELL family - already bearing the name Baden - decided also to hyphenate the name, sometimes legally by deed-poll. But these are not descendants of the Rev. Prof.
As an example, one check, some thirty years ago, on Australian telephone directories revealed 25 Baden-Powells, of whom only nine were descendants of the Rev. Prof. (or their wives). A 2020 check rvealed 35 Baden-Powells in Britain, although there are only nine in Britain and ten in Australia who are descendants (or their wives) of the Reverend Professor's thrid wife, Henrietta Grace nee Smyth, the person who hyphenated the name (and for her pains, was refered to behind her back disparagingly by other members of the family as "Mrs. Hyphen").
