A Whole Lotta Family - Person Sheet
A Whole Lotta Family - Person Sheet
Notes for John de Crabtre
"CRABTREE was first used as a surname in the late 14th century in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and the man who assumed it was John de Crabtre, a resident of Sowerbyshire. There are several other early records, one as far back as 1301, of persons in different parts of England who were described as living near a crabapple tree, but there is no evidence that any of these examples developed into a surname. The descriptions took the form of a first name followed by 'atte', 'de', 'at' or 'of' Crabtre. For three hundred years, there were variations in the spelling of the surname ... Crabtre, Crabbtree, Crabetre, Crabtrie, Crabtry, Crabtrey, Crabtrye and Krabtree have all been found, the most common being Crabtre ... but by the end of the 17th century the variations had virtually disappeared. It is likely that these different spellings can be attributed to the fact that none of the Crabtrees could then read or write, and interpretation of the spelling was left to the local minister or church clerk."1