History: The first records of Hubberstey that I can find are in the 1200's. From that time we have evidence of at least three possible concentrations of Hubbersteys. Area 1 was near Cockerham, south of Lancaster in an area called Hobyrstaih, Hobirstad or Hobyrstad. Area 2 was near Yealand Conyers (north of Lancaster). Area 3 was in the Kendal area, even further north. This is where we find Hubbersty Head and references to Ubberstede.
Spellings: Even though there are not many Hubbersteys there certainly have been a lot of ways to spell Hubberstey. We can start with the versions from above Ubberstede, Hobyrstaih, Hobirstad, and Hobyrstad and then add Hubberstie, Huberche (a latin spelling), Hubbersty, Huberstay, Hubbersley, and Habberstay just to name a few! So if you are ever checking old records (including the census) remember to check spelling variations.
Religion: By the 1700s there seems to have been a split between religions with the Catholic "Hubberstey"s being located in an area around North Preston and Protestant "Hubbersty"s being in an area around Kendal. Of course the split by religion is not consistent as several times we have Hubbersteys in the Preston area spelling Hubbersty, although we do not see Kendal "Hubbersty"s varying their spelling. So sometimes spelling works as a guide and sometimes it does not.
Kendal Lines: There were two "Hubbersty" lines that I traced out of the Kendal area. One was from the Fallen Yew/Underbarrow area, and the other possibly from Yealand Conyers, but ending up in Wirksworth, via Haygarth, Docker. Ultimately however these lines seem to have petered out. Because I do not have all current records it is possible that these lines may still be active, but at the time of the 1911 census there were only a few members left, and my last confirmed record for either line is from 1958.
Preston Lines: From the late 1700's I believe it is possible to trace all current "Hubberstey" or "Hubbersty"s (subject to my note under Kendal) to only a few lines coming out of the area around North Preston. The lines are:
1. Samlesbury: This line can be traced from Robert Hubberstey and Mary Culcheth in the Samlesbury area (just east of Preston) from around the early 1700's. I am all but certain that this line also includes another line that I have called John Hubberstey/Anne Swarbrick. I just have not fully completed establishing the link, although new information that I have received strongly suggests that the link is there.
2. Bambers: In the early 1800's, 2 sisters (Margaret and Alice) married two "Hubberstey"s (James and John). The two families gave many of their children the same names indicating a close relationship. It is possible, but not confirmed that the two Hubbersteys were brothers. If they were then this is one line, if not then it is two.
3. John and Isabella Weaton: Also from the North Preston area we have the Weaton/Waiton line. I originally had this as two separate lines (because of the different spelling of Isabella's surname), but I am pretty sure that this was in fact one single line. Update: New information that I have received says that this line is actually a very early branch from the Samlesbury line. If this is correct, and it looks to be, this narrows our tree even further.
A Further Note on the "Hubbersty" spelling:
The more I look into it, the more it seems clear that almost all of the remaining people who use the "Hubbersty" spelling come from one offshoot of a Preston line that ended up in Warrington in the early 1900's. The original users of the "Hubbersty" spelling, the two lines out of Kendal, appear to have now ceased to exist.
Rose Alice Hubberstey (b.1873) , a daughter of Richard Hubberstey and Elizabeth Horn (Waiton/Weaton line) had two sons (Ignatius and William Patrick) before she married Thomas McCann in 1907. These two sons, and all their offspring have used the "Hubbersty" spelling, and account for almost all the current "Hubbersty"s that I can find. This is also another case where children born to a Hubberstey female, who was not married at the time, have actually carried on the Hubberstey name. In fact, there would be a lot less Hubbersteys today without these not infrequent additons from unmarried Hubberstey women.
More links?: The ultimate question of course is are these three lines connected even further back? I'd have to say there is a good chance because it is quite likely that they all originally came from the Cockerham cluster just north of Garstang. Unfortunately the records going back further are not always the best. Ultimately, once the cost comes down, it might be interesting to do some DNA analysis to test out the hypothesis.
If you think the DNA link is far fetched, there is already one company offering a discount to Hubbersteys for DNA testing related to research that they are doing on the original Quakers (the Valiant 60 which included two Hubberstys). So...who knows what they will find.
A Game: In our family we played a little game with a picture I found on the internet. I looked at it and immediately knew who the male Hubberstey was. Then I asked our family members and several other Hubbersteys. Every one guessed correctly...so I am assuming there may just be a "Hubberstey" look. Click on the picture to get a bigger shot, then guess away.
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