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Sawter History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Sawter History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Sawter comes from one of the family having worked as a manufacturer or dealer in salt, 'the Salter.' "The Salters' Company was early among the London Guilds." 1 2 3 4

"A maker of salt [was] a business of great importance in the middle ages, when the produce of the land was almost entirely consumed on the spot, and immense quantities of victuals of all kinds had to he salted, in order that they might be kept the whole year round." 5

Alternatively the name could have originated with " 'the sautreour,' a player on the psaltery, or 'gay sawtrye,' as Chaucer styles it. A stringed instrument of the harp class." 1

While the first entry is the prevailing understanding of the etomology of the name, one source claims the name was Norman/French as the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae lists William Salatre in Normandy in 1198. 6

Early Origins of the Sawter family

The surname Sawter was first found in various shires throughout ancient Britain. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed John le Saltere, Cambridgeshire; and Nygel le Salter, Wiltshire. 1 In Somerset, Thomas le Saltar was listed there 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign.) 7

Later in Yorkshire, Willelmus Salter; and Thomas de Wollay, Salter were both listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. Janetto la Sautreour was a minstrel of Queen Isabelle, according to the Close Rolls, 2 Edward III. "This would easily get corrupted to Salter, as the form psalterie was in use in the 12th century" 1 "William le Sautreour, [was] minstrel to the Lady Margaret, Queen of England 1304." 8

Back in Somerset, another source notes that Robert and Philip le Salter was listed in the Assize Rolls of 1243 and later in Essex in 1262. Thomas le Selter was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296 and William le Saltere was recorded in the Assize Rolls for Northumberland in 1279. 8

Early History of the Sawter family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sawter research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1383, 1386, 1388, 1397, 1399, 1404, 1541, 1554, 1580, 1650, 1673, 1718 and 1723 are included under the topic Early Sawter History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sawter Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Sawter have been found, including: Salter, Sallter, Saltier, Saltire and others.

Early Notables of the Sawter family

Distinguished members of the family include William Salter (died 1404), English politician, a weaver, one of the wealthiest men in his area, Member of Parliament for Devizes 1383, 1386, 1388, 1397, and 1399.Thomas Salter (fl. 1580) was an English author, is said by Ritson to have been a schoolmaster. If so, he...
Another 52 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Sawter Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sawter migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Among the first immigrants of the name Sawter, or a variant listed above to cross the Atlantic and come to North America were :

Sawter Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Sawter, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1760 9

Sawter Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mr. John Sawter, aged 41, who arrived at Ellis Island, New York in 1840 aboard the ship "Alfred" 10
Mr. George Sawter, aged 32, who arrived at Ellis Island, New York in 1840 aboard the ship "Robert Parker" 10
Mr. Andrew Sawter, aged 20, who arrived at Ellis Island, New York in 1848 aboard the ship "Agenora" 10
Emma Sawter, aged 25, who arrived at Ellis Island, New York in 1863 aboard the ship "Atmosphere" 10
Sam Sawter, aged 2, who arrived at Ellis Island, New York in 1863 aboard the ship "Atmosphere" 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sawter Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Eleanor L Sawter, aged 31, who arrived at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 aboard the ship "Etruria" 10
Fekla Sawter, aged 31, who arrived at Ellis Island, New York in 1912 aboard the ship "Volturno" 10

Sawter migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 11

Sawter Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Roger Sawter, aged 17, who landed in Barbados in 1635 aboard the ship "Falcon" 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Sawter (post 1700) +

George Sawter, American politician, U.S. Consul in Antigua, 1902 12

Historic Events for the Sawter family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. S. Sawter, British Able Seaman from, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 13

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 9th February 2023. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html