Whiteway Central

A web site for Whiteways worldwide, by Roger Whiteway

• Early history: the Whiteway name almost certainly originated in Devon, England.  
   It is derived from the Anglo Saxon words wyte and weye. It is tempting to think it
  refers to a road, the 'white way'; but other possibilities exist. I don't think  
  'wyte' meant 'white', so something like 'wheat weigh' may be just as likely.     

• A salt house called Wyteweye is recorded in the Devonshire Domesday Book of 1086.
  It still exists as a farm called Whiteway Barton. (A 'Barton' is a manor or manor
   grounds, or area enclosed for animals.)                                           

• The above property used to belong to the de la Torre family, in around 1100 A.D. 
  A younger son of this family is said to have taken the name of the property - so 
  becoming the first Whiteway.                                                     

• Perhaps the best-known branch of the family is that responsible for Whiteway's   
   Cyder. The company, based in Whimple, Devon, was taken over by the Showerings     
  Group, and went out of existence in 1989 / 1990. An absorbing book, Whiteway's   
   Cyder: A Company History, written by E.V.M. Whiteway, was published in Devon by   
  David & Charles in 1990)                                                         

• I have traced my immediate ancestors to the pretty village of Harberton, near    
   Totnes in Devon. During the period 1800-1900 there were many Whiteways in this    
   region, including Henry (the founder of Whiteway's Cyder). Most of them were      
  tenant farmers, but few (if any) Whiteways remain today in this immediate area.  

• I think ALL Whiteways originated in Devon (but I'd love to hear of any different 
  view). Also, there is strong evidence to suggest that the Whiteaways belong to   
  the same happy band. Welcome!                                                    

• I would be pleased to hear from Whiteways worldwide. Through the Web, I know we  
   are represented at least in England, Canada, the USA and South Africa. If you know
   where your family came from 'originally', please mention this. I am looking into  
  parish records (births and deaths) in Devon, and may be able to trace your       
   forebears.                                                                        

• I have located a version of a Whiteway coat of arms, beneath a C19th memorial in 
  a church in Devon. If anyone has a sample or just a recollection of any such     
  arms, please write via the e-mail connection below. I am having an (expensive!)  
   search done at The College of Arms in London.                                     

• These pages are best viewed at 1024x768 screen resolution.                       
  

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