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The present generation of the Birnabee family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in Barnby Hall, in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The name of that place is derived from the Old English personal name Beornwald, which comes from the words beorn, meaning young warrior, and wald, meaning rule. 1 Today, Barnby is also a village and civil parish in the Waveney district of Suffolk.
The surname Birnabee was first found in Yorkshire, where the earliest record is at Barnby Hall, in the parish of Calthorne, in the east riding of Yorkshire. 2 "The township anciently belonged to a family of the same name; mention occurring of Robert de Barneby, who held the lands under Peter de Mauley, lord of Mulgrave." 3
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 lists: Richard de Barneby in Yorkshire; and Henry de Barneby in Lincolnshire. Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed: Thomas de Barmby; and Thomas de Barnby. 4
Barnby in the North Riding of Yorkshire was an ancient family seat. "The township anciently belonged to a family of the same name; mention occurring of Robert de Barneby, who held the lands under Peter de Mauley, lord of Mulgrave." 3
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Birnabee research. Another 64 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1000, 1550, 1838 and 1875 are included under the topic Early Birnabee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Birnabee include Barneby, Barnby, Barnaby, Bernaby, Burnaby and many more.
Notables of the family at this time include Joseph Barnby, born at York Aug. 12, 1838, a chorister in York Minster, and student at the Royal Academy of Music: was for nine years organist of St. Andrew's, Wells Street, London, and contributed much...
Another 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Birnabee Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Birnabee were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: John Barnabie who settled in Virginia in 1620; James Barnaby who settled in Virginia in 1640; Sarah Barnaby who settled in Virginia in 1640.