Show ContentsWestburay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Westburay surname is a habitational name from any of various places named Westbury, for example in Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Shropshire, Somerset, and Wiltshire. These place names all come from the Old English words "west," or "west," and "burh," which is a fortress or fortified town.

Early Origins of the Westburay family

The surname Westburay was first found in Buckinghamshire, where a family took on the name of the Parish of Westbury: a Walter de Westbury held the manor before 1198 and was succeeded by his son, William de Westbury prior to 1203. Other earcly records of the name occur in Worcester, where the first on record appears to be Wiiliam de Westbir listed there in 1208 in the Liber Feodorum. A John de Westbyr is listed in that same volume in Hampshire in 1242. A deed of a gift of land in Enfield (greater London) in 1433 record a John Westbury junior, and his brother William Westbury.

Early History of the Westburay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Westburay research. Another 29 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1385, 1417, 1419, 1438, 1442, 1447, 1448, 1784, 1793 and 1851 are included under the topic Early Westburay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Westburay 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 Westburay has undergone many spelling variations, including Westbury, Westburie and others.

Early Notables of the Westburay family

Notables of the family at this time include William de Westbury (c. 1385-1448), justice of the King's Bench in Wiltshire in 1438; John Westbury of Hill Deverill, Wiltshire (died ca. 1448), also called John de Westbury and John of Westbury, English Member of Parliament for Wiltshire in 1417 and...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Westburay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Westburay family

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 Westburay were among those contributors: Ann Westbury, a servant sent from Bristol to Barbados in 1659; Prudence Westbury, who arrived in Virginia in 1664; Edward Westbury, who settled in South Carolina sometime between 1670 and 1677.



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