Show ContentsFairbey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Fairbey family

The surname Fairbey was first found in Lincolnshire where John de Ferieby was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1212. Later, William de Feriby was listed in Berkshire in 1301 and Wylliam Feraby was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1524. 1

South Ferriby is a parish, in the union of Glandford-Brigg, N. division of the wapentake of Yarborough, parts of Lindsey, in Lincolnshire and North Ferriby is a parish, in the county of the town of Hull, union of Sculcoates, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. "A priory of Knights Templars founded here by Lord Eustace de Vesci, of Bromfleet, was, at the suppression of that order, converted into a priory of Augustine canons. " 2

Early History of the Fairbey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fairbey research. Another 130 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1106, 1432, 1455, 1487, 1510, 1573, 1589, 1591, 1592, 1595, 1600 and 1613 are included under the topic Early Fairbey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fairbey Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Fairbey family name include Fereby, Ferby, Furby, Ferbie, Furbie, Fearby, Fearbie, Fireby, Firby and many more.

Early Notables of the Fairbey family

Distinguished members of the family include George Ferebee, or Feribye, or Ferrabee (fl. 1613), an English composer from Gloucestershire. He was the son of a Gloucestershire yeoman, was born about 1573, and matriculated at Oxford 25 Oct. 1589, aged 16. " He was a chorister of Magdalen College until 1591. He was admitted B.A. 1592, licensed to be M.A. 9 July 1595, and became vicar of Bishop's Cannings, Wiltshire. Wood relates how Ferebe found and ingeniously made use of an opportunity to display his...
Another 83 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fairbey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Fairbey family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Fairbey surname or a spelling variation of the name include : the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..



  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.


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