The Swedish noble family Belfrage originates from Scotland with Giulielm Belfrage of Pennington and Tulliochie, Kinross in the county of Kinross, as oldest recorded head of family/ancestor. Said Giulielm Belfrage married Margaret Mercer – the Mercer family built and developed Aldie Castle, Fossaway, Kinrosshire from the 15th century (no Belfrage has lived in the castle, but it has certain obvious connection to the family). The Belfrage family may be a branch of the widely spread family of Beveridge in England and Scotland, but the families are represented by different coat of arms. Both families are noble.
Giulielm (William) Belfrage’s grandson’s grandson Hans (John) Belfrage (b 1614, d 1688), who initially in Sweden called himself Befritz, was born in Kircaldy in the county of Fife in Scotland and emigrated to Sweden in 1624 with his mother Joneta. Hans’ mother was thus Joneta Balram, daughter of Jacob Balram and Elisabeth Stuart. They left Scotland in order to join husband/father Henry/Henrik, who emigrated from Scotland earlier (but never traced him; he may have joined the protestant Swedish King Gustavus Adolfus’ army to the great 30-year war in Germany etc).
Hans was first professionally active in the western Swedish city of Brätte, a o in timber trade, and later became magistrate and mayor of the neighbouring city of Vänersborg. Hans was being considered to be knighted by the Swedish king for his public services also in support of the King, but had to, firstly, prove his heritage and relations with the old Scottish family Belfrage. The magistrate of the city of Culross in Scotland was asked and issued a formal letter where his true heritage to the Scottish family of Belfrage was confirmed. A contemporary family tree was also drawn up, likely by Lord Lyon King of Arms in Edinburgh (kept in the Swedish House of Nobility in Stockholm.
Hans was beknighted in 1666 in the Royal Palace of Stockholm by the King Karl XI’s guardian government with the name of Belfrage and coat of arms presented by Hans to represent his family in Sweden (three beaver heads and a half-moon in the middle against a silvercoated shield background; not the same as the early Belfrage coat of arms in Scotland – a blue cross with four red dots in each segment). Hans and the family Belfrage was introduced in the House of Nobility in 1668 as family no. 782. The family was raised into the 2nd class of noble-men, the Knights, in 1778. Members of the family live in the USA and New Zealand but the Swedish family is the largest in number. No members of the Belfrage family remain in Scotland, there may be a few Belfrages in England. A well-known Belfrage in England was Bruce Belfrage, internationally known as ‘news anchor’ of BBC during World War II.