The name has several spelling in the genealogical record: Harber, Harbor, Harbour, Arbour, and Arbar1. All may or may not be related, for the old English meaning of the name is for the occupation of ‘ harbourer’, one who shelters or harbours people, one who provides lodging, in Olde French: hergerge, a lodging, a house. Without an actual record of how the name began, we may draw a conclusion that it is derived from those who may have been inn keepers or individual families that offered protection from foe and the elements for others. Many of the names relating to European heritage have begun because of an occupation, a trade, a place or an action. So the Harbour name seems to have been placed in usage for many persons not related by kinship but rather by some form of haven or respite given to others.
William Clayton Harbour, abt. 1870's.
In the court of Hustings, London, between A.D. 1258 to A.D. 16882, there appears in A.D. 1319 the name Augustine le Herberer on the Calendar of Wills. In Buckinghamshire, England, the name Geoffry John Herbour appears in the Rotuli Hundredorum for the year A.D. 1279. In the Curia Regis Rolls the name Geoffrey le Arbrer is listed for Middlesex, England in 12053. In The History of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, England, the name Richard le Erbrer appears in 13154. In A Dictionary of Surnames the definition of the Harbour name is given as: ‘Harber: English: Metonymic occupational name for a keeper of a lodging house, from late Olde English, herebeorg shelter, lodging (from here army + beorg shelter)5. There is also a reference to a cognitive German form: Herberg (er), Herbrig, Herbrich6. The dictionary lists several variations of the name: Harbo(u)r, Arber, Harberer; Harbage, Herbage, Harbidge, Harbisher7.
The Harbour family name is said to have dwellings for several hundred years in Herefordshire, England. One site on the Internet touts that the Harbour name is a Suffolk, England family tracing its Anglo Saxon origin to before the year A.D. 1100. But neither of these has been substantiated. There seems to be quite a number of Harbours throughout the English historical record.
The branch of the Harbour Family with which we are concerned traces back to Thomas Harbour who it is believed came to the British Colonies between 1700 and 1715. His date of birth has not been accurately placed although some researchers put it at 1675. Most of the genealogical records in the United States claim that Thomas is from Wales. This in spite of the fact that Harbour is an English name. From his arrival in the New World there is ample record of his life after 1728 and his genealogical descendents up to the present day. But preceding 1728 there is a void.
We do know that in about 1715, Thomas married Sarah Witt in Charles City, Virginia. Recently David Whitt compiled a complete history of the “Ancestors and Descendants of William Whitt, (1775-1850) Portrait of an American Family”, in which he conclusively proved that the family of Thomas Harbour’s wife Sarah Witt-Whitt originally emigrated from England to Virgina Circa 1666.
Sources
2. Ibid. Page 216.
3. Ibid. Page 216.
4. Ibid. Page 216.
5. Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges. “A Dictionary of Surnames”. Oxford University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-19-211592-8, page 239.
6. Ibid. Page 239. 7. Ibid. Page 239.
Copyright © 2001 Harbour-Holst Genealogy. All rights reserved.
Revised: March 12, 2006 .
Hi. My branch of the family lived in the far north of England right up to 1940 when my dad moved to London. His dad or more likely his grandad was said to have come from Nantucket, his name we believe was William. We also believe that he may have had some native American blood. If anyone could shed some light on my ancestor, i would be forever in your debt. I look foreward to your reply.
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