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Saxby History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Saxby History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Saxby first arose amongst the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from their having lived in the parish of Saxby in the counties of Lincolnshire and Leicestershire. The surname Saxby is an example of a habitation name which forms a broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came.

Early Origins of the Saxby family

The surname Saxby was first found in Lincolnshire where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Saxby family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Saxby research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1616 and 1658 are included under the topic Early Saxby History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Saxby Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Saxby has appeared include Saxby, Saxbe, Saxbie, Saxby and others.

Early Notables of the Saxby family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Colonel Edward Sexby (Saxby) (1616-1658), an English Puritan soldier and Leveller in the army of Oliver Cromwell, he later turned against Cromwell and plotted his assassination

Saxby migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Saxby arrived in North America very early:

Saxby Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Saxby, who arrived in Virginia in 1666 1
John Saxby, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1685 1
John Saxby, who settled in Philadelphia in 1685 with his wife and five children

Saxby Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Mr. Saxby, who landed in Georgia in 1738 1

Saxby migration to Australia +

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

Saxby Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

George Saxby, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Katherine Stewart Forbes" in 1839 2
Sarah Saxby, aged 22, a cook, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Nashwauk" 3
Joseph Saxby (aged 33), a bricklayer, who arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Eliza"

Saxby migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Saxby Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Saxby, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
Benjamin Saxby, aged 19, a farm labourer, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Olympus" in 1841
William Saxby, aged 43, a farm labourer, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Olympus" in 1841
Mary Saxby, aged 32, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Olympus" in 1841
James Saxby, aged 4, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Olympus" in 1841
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Saxby (post 1700) +

Ted Saxby, English co-founder of Saxby Bros Limited, a food manufacturing plant based in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire in 1904
Stephen Martin Saxby, English Lieutenant in the Royal Navy who developed the Saxby Weather System, eponym of the Saxby Gale which hit Eastern Canada October 5, 1869
Sir Robin Keith Saxby FREng (b. 1947), English Chief Executive and then Chairman of ARM Holdings from Derbyshire
Graham Saxby (d. 2015), British photographer and pioneer in the science of holography; he developed a technique of 3D imaging in the 1940s
Eric Saxby, New Zealand field leader and coordinator in Antarctica, eponym of the Saxby Range and the Saxby Pass, Antarctica
Lily Saxby, British stage and film actress in the early 1900s
John Saxby (1821-1913), British engineer from Brighton who invented and developed the interlocking system used in railway signaling
Kerry Saxby (b. 1961), retired Australian Olympic race walker
Henry Linckmeyer Saxby (1836-1873), English-born ornithologist who worked extensively on the Shetland Islands
Willard Saxby Townsend (b. 1895), American Democratic Party politician, Served in the U.S. Army during World War I ; Candidate in primary for U.S. Representative from Illinois 1st District, 1940; Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1948

The Saxby Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Sit saxum firmum
Motto Translation: Let the stone be firm.

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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) KATHERINE STEWART FORBES 1837 arrived Holdfast Bay, near Adelaide, on October 17, 1837. . Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1837KatherineStewartForbes.htm
South Australian Register Monday 14th May 1855. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Nashwauk 1855. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/europa1855.shtml