Preist History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The founding heritage of the Preist family is in the Anglo-Saxon culture that once dominated in Britain. The name Preist comes from when one of the family worked as a priest having derived from the Old English word preost, which means priest. It was also a nickname given to a person with a priestly character, and probably also given to a person with the exact opposite character. A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nickname surnames referred to a characteristic of the first person who used the name. They can describe the bearer's favored style of clothing, appearance, habits, or character.

Early Origins of the Preist family

The surname Preist was first found in Hertfordshire, where they held a family seat before the Middle Ages.

Early History of the Preist family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Preist research. Another 391 words (28 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1558, 1379, 1615, 1557, 1579, 1621, 1645 and 1735 are included under the topic Early Preist History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Preist Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Preist has been spelled many different ways, including Preost, Priest, Prest, Preist, Prestt, Press and many more.

Early Notables of the Preist family (pre 1700)

Notables of the family at this time include Agnes Prest (died 1557), an English Protestant martyr burned at the stake at Southernhay in Exeter; Degory Priest (ca. 1579-1621), A London...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Preist Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Preist family to Ireland

Some of the Preist family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 46 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Preist migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Preists to arrive in North America:

Preist Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Digerie Preist, who arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 ^[1]
Fra Preist, who arrived in Virginia in 1663 ^[1]

Preist Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Eliz Preist, who landed in Virginia in 1704 ^[1]
William Preist, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1716 ^[1]
James Preist, who landed in America in 1744 ^[1]
Joseph Preist, who arrived in America in 1744 ^[1]

Preist migration to Australia +

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

Preist Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Preist, British Convict who was convicted aboard the HMS Hibernia for 6 years, transported aboard the "Clara" on 28th January 1864, arriving in Western Australia, Australia ^[2]

Citations +

^ 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)
^ Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clara