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There has been much debate over the origin of the surname
"Feather". Although I don't profess to answer the question, the
following are just some suggestions that have been made over the years.
The Yorkshire Evening Post (or News) Newspaper, by Charles
Hughes. Date unknown.
"What's Your Name number 49. - Feather. The
Feathers turn out to be all over the place, but it seams to be a North Country
name. Featherstone is in Yorkshire and Featherstonehaugh is an immemorial name
in Northumberland. Featherstonehaugh is also one of the longest surnames we
possess, if we omit the coupling up of names on the Blantagenet-Smith principle.
Who was the first Mr. Feather? One might suppose that he was
someone who feathered arrows, when one remembers how many of our surnames do
derive from the craft of Archery, but it is not likely. He probably held the
Anglo-Scandinavian personal name of Feador, which is a form of father in the
Northern dialects.
Why this should be so centered in the Haworth District is
guesswork".
Collections relating to the surname of Feather by George W.
Marshall L.L.D. Worksop, 1887. (Page 24)
"All the Feathers of England sprang from Haworth". So
we were informed years ago, and certainly Haworth figures amongst the earliest
of several Yorkshire places given in Dr. Marshall's valuable pamphlet.
Amongst the wills recorded from Yorkshire Registry of members of
this peculiarly named and comparatively small family, William Feather of Darton
1541, and James Feather of Woulley 1517, precede the mention of Robert Feather
of Oxenhope, in Haworth, 1590, but nearly all the rest of the wills are those of
the Airedale branch.
The Yorkshire Bibliographer Volume 1. pages 134 and 225 Edited
by J. Horesfall Turner, Idle, Bradford 1888.
Feathers of Haworth.
Dr. G. W. Marshall has printed (4 pages) of the Monumental
Inscriptions in the Churchyard at Haworth, respecting the family of Feather, as
a supplementary note to the pamphlet we previously announced. During the holiday
or seaside session, an hour might be well spent in copying the tablets in our
Churches, or the brasses, or the Churchyard gravestones, and probably many would
be pleased to do this if their labours would not be wasted.
"May the Feathers keep flying and may they feather their nests
too".
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The following has been forwarded by Art
Feather of the USA who has links with the Haworth and Oxenhope Feather lines.
He can be contacted on
afeather298@comcast.net
The Ancient History of the Distinguished Surname
Feather;
The history of the most ancient Anglo/Saxon surname of Feather
reaches far into the chronicles of the Saxon race. The Saxon Chronicle,
completed by monks in the 10th century, now reposes in the British Museum.
History researchers have examined reproductions of such ancient manuscripts as
the Doomsday Book (1086), the Ragman Rolls (1291-1296), the Curia Regis Rolls,
the Pipe Rolls, the Hearth Rolls, parish registers, baptismal, tax records and
other ancient documents. They found the first record of the name Feather in
Northumberland where they had been seated from very early times.
Different spellings were encountered in the research of the surname. Throughout
the centuries the name Feather, occurred in many records, manuscripts, and
documents but not always with the exact spelling. From time to time the surname
was spelt Featherston, Featherstone, Fetherstone, Featherstonhaugh, Featherstun,
Fetherston, Featherstonaugh, Featherstonhoe, Fetherstonhoe, Featherstunhaugh,
Fetherstonaugh, Featherstonehaugh, and these variations in spelling frequently
occurred, even between father and son. Scribes and church officials, often
traveling great distances, even from other countries, frequently spelt the name
phonetically. As a result the same person would be recorded differently on
birth, baptismal, and death certificates as well as the other numerous records
recording life’s events.
The Saxon race gave birth to many English surnames not the least of which was
Feather. The Saxons were invited into England by the ancient Britons of the 4th
century. A fair skinned people, their home was in the Rhine valley, some as far
northeast as Denmark. They were led by two brothers, General/Commanders Hengist
and Horsa. The Saxons settled in the county of Kent, on the southeast coast of
England. Gradually, they spread north and westward, and during the next four
hundred years forced the Ancient Britons back into Wales and Cornwall in the
west, and Cumberland to the north. The Angles occupied the eastern coast, the
south folk in Suffolk, and the north folk in Norfolk. Under Saxon rule England
prospered under a series of High Kings, the last of which was Harold.
In 1086, the Norman invasion from France occurred and their victory at the
battle of Hastings. In 1070, Duke William took an army of 40,000 north and
wasted the northern counties, forcing many rebellious Norman nobles and Saxons
to flee over the border into Scotland. Meanwhile, the Saxons who remained in the
south were not treated well under hostile Norman rule, and many moved northward
to the midlands, Lancashire and Yorkshire, away from the Norman oppression.
Nevertheless, this notable English family name, Feather, emerged as an
influential name in the county of Northumberland. The Featherston or Fetherstone
family name is derived from an ancient Saxon Chief who settled on the Tyne in
Northumberland during the eighth century, and built his Featherstonehaugh
Castle. The district abounds with the lightweight stone called Featherstone.
Peter Featherston purchased land in Yorkshire in 1379. In the same year, Simon
Featherston acquired lands and established another estate in Yorkshire. One
branch settled at Kirk Oswald and Staffield Hall in Cumberland and also added
Long Wathby later. By the end of the middle ages, the Featherston family name
had branched off into London. Notable amongst the family at this time was
Featherston of Northumberland.
The surname Feather flourished during the turbulent middle ages, contributing
greatly to the cultural development of England. During the 15th, 16th, 17th, and
18th centuries, England was ravaged by plagues, famine, and religious conflict.
Protestantism, the newly found political fervor of Cromwellianism and democratic
government, and the remnants of the Roman Church rejected all non believers,
each jealously claiming adherents to their own cause. The changing rule caused
burnings, hanging and banishments of all sects and creeds, first one then
another. Many families were freely “encouraged” to migrate to Ireland, or to the
“colonies”. Some were rewarded with grants of lands, others were banished.
Some families were forced to migrate to Ireland, where they became known as the
Adventurers for land in Ireland. Protestant settlers “undertook” to keep their
faith, being granted lands previously owned by the Catholic Irish. There is no
record of this distinguished family migrating to Ireland, but this does not
preclude the possibility of individual migration.
The New World offered better opportunities and some migrated voluntarily, some
were banished mostly for religious reasons. Some left Ireland disillusioned with
promises unfulfilled, but many left directly from England, their home
territories. Some also moved to the European continent.
Members of the family named Feather sailed aboard the huge armada of three
masted sailing ships known as the “White Sails” which plied the stormy Atlantic.
These overcrowded ships such as the Hector, the Dove, and the Rambler, were
pestilence ridden, sometimes 30% to 40% of the passenger list never reaching
their destination.
Amongst the first settlers in North America, which could be a kinsman of the
surname Feather, or a variable spelling of that family name was Richard
Featherston who purchased land in Virginia in 1607, thirteen years before the
“Mayflower” ; Thomas Featherstone settled in Pennsylvania in 1848; John
Featherston settled in Boston, Massachusetts in 1847.
From the port of entry many settlers made their way west, joining the wagon
trains to the prairies or to the west coast. During the American War of
Independence, many loyalists made their way north to Canada about 1790, and
became known as the United Empire Loyalists.
“ In general, Feather is mainly a Yorkshire name, though it was common a couple
of centuries back in Nottinghamshire and London. It was first noted in 1296
(Julianne) in Yorkshire. By the 1600’s it was concentrated around Keighley to
the north, west of Bradford and Halifax. It was said that if you shouted
“Feather” in Keighley nearly everyone would turn around. By 1700 they were in
the villages between Keighley and Halifax, nearly all engaged in sheep farming
and wool products. There is a museum in Keighley featuring Timothy Feather the
last of the hand-loom weavers. In the village of Haworth in the 1841 census (the
earliest) of 4000 inhabitants some 365 were named Feather. By the 1851 census
many of them had moved on, because of the Industrial Revolution, and were in
Bradford and Halifax. Both were “wool” towns, later famous for their carpets.
Haworth was the home of the famous Bronte sisters (Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre,
etc.). They lived in the parsonage and next door was the Post Office run by
Edwin Feather. John Feather was the local Constable and many Feather girls
became pregnant through the attentions of the local gentry. Bastardy was not
uncommon in the village. In Wainstalls Mill at the Cat-in-the-Well a man named
John Feather was murdered by his nephew in 1790. His son, John Feather was a
witness at the trial. Both were shepherds. The pub is still there.
In the mid 19th century, the Feathers multiplied and a statue of Smith Feather,
the Mayor, dominates the town square. Members of the Feather clan moved to
London at the turn of the century and became militant trade unionists. Victor
Grayson Hardie Feather (named after prominent Socialists) became the leader of
all the British Trade Unions in the 1970’s. Even though the Trade Unionists are
not very popular in Britain, Victor was created Lord Feather, Baron of Bradford,
shortly before his death. His son Sandy Feather is about to stand for Parliament
as a Socialist. Many Feathers were killed in the Great War, mostly infantrymen
from the Duke of Wellington’s Own, the West Yorkshires, the York and Lancasters,
the West Ridings and the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.”
Contemporary notables of this surname, Feather, include many distinguished
contributors, Robert Featherstone, an American scientist and educator; and Sir
Francis Fetherston-Godley, a diplomat from the Island of Jersey. More recently
should be mentioned William Feather, an American printer and philosopher.
Many Coats of Arms have been granted to the different branches of the family.
The most ancient grant of the Coat of Arms found was:
Red with a silver chevron between three ostrich feathers.
The Crest was an Antelope’s Head.
The ancient family motto for this distinguished name was “Valens et Volens”.
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