Show ContentsSnathe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Snathe family

The surname Snathe was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat in the West Riding in a village a few miles from Goole. 1

In 1191, Henry Snayth was a Freeman of York. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed. But Saxon surnames survived and the family name was first referenced in the year Ithelard Snayth held estates in the year 1250. Later, William de Snayth was listed in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1338 and Henry Snayth was listed in Cheshire in 1381. 2

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list: Ricardus de Snayth; Thomas de Snayth; and Alicia de Snayth. 3

Today Snaith is a market-town and parish, in the union of Goole, chiefly in the Lower division of the wapentake of Osgoldcross. "This place is of considerable antiquity, and at a very early period a priory for Benedictine monks was founded here as a cell to the abbey of Selby, to which establishment the church of Snaith had been given by Girard, Archbishop of York, in the year 1106. The priory flourished till the Dissolution, and was granted by Edward VI. to John, Earl of Warwick." 4

Early History of the Snathe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Snathe research. Another 114 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1381, 1455, 1487, 1645, 1721, 1751 and 1798 are included under the topic Early Snathe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Snathe Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Snaith, Snayth, Sneith, Snathe, Sneath and others.

Early Notables of the Snathe family

Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Snathe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Snathe migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Snathe Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Maria Snathe, (Snath), aged 23, who arrived at Ellis Island, New York aboard the ship "Kroonland" in 1907 5
  • Terez Snathe, (Snath), aged 11 months, who arrived at Ellis Island, New York aboard the ship "Kroonland" in 1907 5

West Indies Snathe 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. 6
Snathe Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Richard Snathe, aged 19, who arrived in Barbados in 1635 aboard the ship "Falcon" 7


  1. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  5. Ellis Island Search retrieved 9th February 2023. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  7. 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)


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