Sebright History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Sebright name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in Sebright in the county of Essex which was later known as Great Seabright in Great Beddow in Essex. This surname is also of patronymic origin in that it was originally derived from the baptismal name Seabert, taken from the Old English personal name Saebeorht.

Sebert, Saberet or Saba (died 616?) was the first Christian king of the East-Saxons, son of Sledda, king of the East-Saxons. Sebert is said to have founded Westminster Abbey, but this is a late legend. "In 1308 a tomb, said to be that of Sebert, was opened in Westminster Abbey for the purpose of translating the relics, and the right hand and forearm of the body were found undecayed." 1

Early Origins of the Sebright family

The surname Sebright was first found in Essex where "William Sebright of Sebright, in Much Beddow, living in the reign of Henry II is the ancestor of this ancient family who removed into this county (Worcestershire) at a very early period." 2

Early History of the Sebright family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sebright research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1585, 1645, 1658, 1668, 1679, 1692, 1702, 1706, 1729, 1736, 1764 and 1796 are included under the topic Early Sebright History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sebright Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Sebright has undergone many spelling variations, including Seabright, Sebright, Seabricks, Sebricks and others.

Early Notables of the Sebright family

Notables of the family at this time include

Sir Edward Sebright, 1st Baronet (c. 1585-c. 1658) of Besford in the County of Worcester, High Sheriff of Worcestershire
Sir Edward Sebright, 2nd Baronet (c. 1645-1679)
Sir Edward Sebright, 3rd Baronet (1668-1702)

Sebright migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Sebright were among those contributors:

Sebright Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Eliza Sebright, who landed in Virginia in 1695 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Sebright (post 1700) +

Sir John Saunders Sebright (1767-1846), 7th Baronet, English politician and agricultural innovator, known for selective breeding the Sebright chicken
Sir Hugo Giles Edmund Sebright (1931-1985), 14th Baronet, English peer
Sir Giles Edward Sebright (1896-1954), 13th Baronet, English peer
Sir Guy Thomas Saunders Sebright (1856-1933), 12th Baronet, English peer
Sir Edgar Reginald Saunders Sebright (1854-1917), 11th Baronet, English peer
Sir Egbert Cecil Saunders Sebright (1871-1897), 10th Baronet, English peer
Sir John Gage Saunders Sebright (1843-1890), 9th Baronet, English peer
Sir Thomas Gage Saunders Sebright (1802-1864), 8th Baronet, English peer
Sir John Saunders Sebright (1725-1794), 6th Baronet, Colonel of the 18th Regiment of Foot (1762-1794)
Sir Thomas Saunders Sebright (1723-1761), 5th Baronet, English peer

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)