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Origin of The 
Crabtree Surname

"The Crabtree family originated in Yorkshire, England--the name coming from the fact that they lived by the crabtree in the county of York. The earliest record (from the Crabtrees of Southwest Virginia--no longer in print) was of John Crabtree who lived in Yorkshire around the end of the 14th century; William Crabtree of Yorkshire, during the same time period; William Crabtree of the Parish of Snaithe, Yorkshire 1412; and a bit later, John Crabtree of Halifax, Yorkshire. All the Crabtree's are thought to have common origin in the Crabtrees of Yorkshire." (Crabtree Tule River Patriarchs, Marilyn Meredith, 1984, Golden West Publishers)

The Crabtree name can, with a high degree of accuracy, be traced back to 14th century England. At about that time the use of surnames became popular. As far as we know, the Family Crabtree started in only place, a village in Yorkshire. It seems that this large family group was centered about one large Crabapple Tree! The first known record of a Crabtree coming to America was in 1622 in Massachusetts. The record of these Crabtrees vanishes until some Crabtrees magically appear in Philadelphia and then move on to Baltimore. (Source: "The Crabtrees of Soutwest Virginia")

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Updated 29 April, 2000 by Chris Crabtree [email protected]