Crabtree Family History
Origins
CRABTREE
was first used as a surname in the late 14th century in the West
Riding of Yorkshire, and the man who assumed it was John de Crabtre, a resident
of Sowerbyshire.
There
are several other early records, one as far back as 1301, of persons in
different parts of
For
three hundred years, there were variations in the spelling of the surname –
Crabtre, Crabbtree, Crabetre, Crabtrie, Crabtry, Crabtrey, Crabtrye and
Krabtree have all been found, the most common being Crabtre – but by the end of
the 17th century the variations had virtually disappeared. It is likely that these different spellings
can be attributed to the fact that none of the Crabtrees could then read or
write, and interpretation of the spelling was left to the local minister or
church clerk.
Distribution
During
the 1400s and 1500s, the surname was almost entirely restricted to two small
areas of the West Riding, one on the west side in the Halifax and Bradford
area, and the other on the east side around Snaith. There was also a toehold gained on the
north-eastern side of
The
1600s saw considerable increase in the number of Crabtree families, including some
distribution of them through the middle part of
The
first Crabtree to emigrate to
The
1700s brought an even faster growth, still mainly concentrated in the counties
of Yorkshire and
Emigration
was sparse in the 1700s. There were a
few who sailed to America, the most notable being William and Jane who settled
in Maryland about 1705 and gave birth to a family that multiplied and spread to
such an extent that many Crabtrees in the United States today can trace their
roots to this family. This century saw
the arrival of the first Crabtrees in
DNA
The
Crabtree DNA Project welcomes all participants.
I encourage you to join.
Participating
is an opportunity to uncover information not provided in the paper records,
which will help with our family history research. We shall discover which family trees are
related, and gain pointers as to where to focus additional research into
documented sources. You can see the
progress of the project to date by visiting www.familytreedna.com/public/Crabtree.
The
y-DNA test tells you about your direct male line, which would be your father,
his father, and so on back in time. You
must be male to take this test, and you should have the Crabtree surname. Nonetheless, if you believe there is a
Crabtree or variant in your direct male line, although you have a different
surname, you are also welcome to participate.
If you are female, ask a male in your family tree to participate. I encourage males who order a y-DNA test to
order 37 markers, if possible. If you
order less markers, you can upgrade later, though this costs a little more.
The
mt-DNA test provides information for both males and females interested in
learning about their direct female line, which would be their mother, their
mother’s mother, and so on back in time.
For this purpose, you would order an mt-DNA test. For matches in a genealogical time frame,
order the mt-DNA Plus test. Further
information may be found at www.FamilyTreeDNA.com,
the website of the company hosting this project, or you may contact me at the
link provided below.
Book
In 2004, I published a
book describing the origins, growth and spread of the CRABTREE surname from
1300 to 1800. Entitled CRABTREE
Dweller by the Wild Apple Tree, my book examines many available records to
trace the towns and hamlets where the early Crabtrees lived, their trades and
occupations, their levels of wealth, and the rate and directions in which they spread. I also surmise their lifestyles based on the
social pressures over the 500 year period.
The book contains 350
pages, including eight colour plates.
All sources are referenced, and the book is fully indexed. The Foreword has been written by Dr.George
Redmonds.
For further details,
you can contact me using the e-mail link below.
Peter Crabtree
This
page was first published on 18 November 1998, and was last updated on 7 January
2009
Additions
since last update: Marriages 1907 &
1908;