Wetherley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Wetherley came to England with the ancestors of the Wetherley family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Wetherley 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 Wetherley family

The surname Wetherley 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 Wetherley family

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

Wetherley 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 Wetherley 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 Wetherley include Wetherby, Weatherby, Wetherbie, Wetherbee, Witherby and many more.

Early Notables of the Wetherley family

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

Wetherley migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Wetherley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Francis Wetherley, English convict from Hertford, who was transported aboard the "Andromeda" on October 16, 1826, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 6

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Andromeda voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1826 with 147 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/andromeda/1826