Show ContentsWeatherbee History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Weatherbee is a name of ancient Norman origin. It arrived in England with the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Weatherbee family lived at Wetherby in West Yorkshire, a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds. "The Saxon name of this town, whence the present is obviously deduced, was Wederbi, a term intended to designate its situation on a bend of the river Wharfe." [1] Today in the United States, there are two towns listed: Weatherby, Missouri; and Weatherby Lake, Missouri

Early Origins of the Weatherbee family

The surname Weatherbee was first found in West Yorkshire where one of the first records was of Ivo de Werreby in 1214; and Richard de Wetherby in 1302. [2] Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Robertas de Wethirby as living there at that time. [3]

Conjecturally the Wetherby family are descended from Ralph of Intwood, who held the lands and village of Intwood from Eudo, Steward to William the Conqueror. Intwood consisted of a church, a mill, nine horses, and thirty sheep, as recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086. [4]

Wetherby is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Wedrebi, thought to derive from wether- or ram-farm or else meaning "settlement on the bend of a river". [5] Local folklore has it that when heavy snow storms hit the county, Wetherby does not get as much because the "Weather Goes By."

Early History of the Weatherbee family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Weatherbee research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1461 is included under the topic Early Weatherbee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Weatherbee Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Weatherbee are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Weatherbee include Wetherby, Weatherby, Wetherbie, Wetherbee, Witherby and many more.

Early Notables of the Weatherbee family

More information is included under the topic Early Weatherbee Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Weatherbee migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Weatherbee, or a variant listed above:

Weatherbee Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • G. Weatherbee, aged 40, who landed in America from London, in 1892
Weatherbee Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Amy H Weatherbee, aged 40, who landed in America, in 1906
  • Mary A Weatherbee, aged 20, who immigrated to the United States, in 1906
  • Edwin H Weatherbee, aged 40, who settled in America, in 1906
  • Kennith Bradford Weatherbee, aged 32, who landed in America, in 1907
  • Mrs. Weatherbee, aged 50, who landed in America, in 1909
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Weatherbee (post 1700) +

  • Artemus E. Weatherbee (b. 1918), former American Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
  • Randolph A. Weatherbee (d. 1976), American politician, Justice of Maine State Supreme Court, 1966-76 [6]
  • Artemus Weatherbee (b. 1869), American Republican politician, Member of Maine State House of Representatives from Penobscot County, 1919-20; Member of Maine State Senate 10th District, 1931-32 [6]


  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, 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. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  5. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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