Saddington genealogy & family research

Where to start

Saddington is a locative surname — meaning every Saddington alive today ultimately descends from someone who left the village of Saddington in South Leicestershire, England. The single-point origin makes the genealogy relatively tractable: there are known progenitor lines, and the worldwide population is small enough (~2,000) that family connections often emerge.

Three resources to begin with:

1. The Saddington One-Name Study — one-name.org/name_profile/saddington. Registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies in 2006 and administered by Rowan Tanner. Holds 367 marriages (member-only), 220 probate records, and a structured datastore of 405+ items. Covers Saddington and registered variants (Saddlington, Sadinton, Suddington) globally.

2. The Saddington DNA Project — familytreedna.com/groups/saddington. Hosted at FamilyTreeDNA, currently with 15 enrolled male-line participants. Tests Y-DNA (males only, 37-marker minimum recommended) and mitochondrial DNA. Working to determine which Saddington family trees are genetically connected.

3. WikiTree's collaborative Saddington tree — wikitree.com/genealogy/SADDINGTON. 449 documented profiles with sources, dates, and family relationships. Free to view; sign-up required to contribute.

Best-documented lines

For genealogical researchers, the most thoroughly traced family lines are:

The Desford / Fleet Street line — begins with Joseph Saddington (b. before 1677, d. c.1752) of Desford, Leicestershire. His son Bateman Saddington (1728–1804) became a prominent apothecary on Fleet Street, London, rising to Upper Warden of the Society of Apothecaries (1803). His brother John founded the Appleby Magna branch.

The Appleby Magna branch — spans c.1700–1900, centered on Appleby Magna, Leicestershire. Includes Bateman Saddington (1778–1865) as patriarch and produced Samuel Saddington (1807–1875), who emigrated to Macedon, Victoria in 1854 — founder of the largest documented Australian Saddington line.

The Foxton / Great Bowden line — John Saddington (1737–1799) of Foxton, his son Thomas Saddington (1800–1883) of Great Bowden, and the Thomas Saddington (1830–1901) blacksmith family of 9 children that produced multiple branches.

The North Luffenham / Rutland line — Christopher Saddington (1793–1860) and his descendants, captured in the 1881 census's exceptional Rutland concentration of 135 Saddingtons per 100,000 residents.

The Tysoe Warwickshire line — oldest documented, beginning with Robert Saddington (b. abt. 1570) and William Saddington (b. abt. 1595) of Tysoe, Warwickshire. The earliest individuals we have a name for.

The Michigan / Civil War line — Eaton Saddington (c.1831–1892) emigrated from Denford, Northamptonshire to Davison, Genesee County, Michigan in 1851. His brother Thomas served in the 30th Michigan Volunteer Infantry and died in 1866.

The Banff Alberta line — Arthur N. Saddington (1872–1958) was Banff's first postmaster (c.1900–1936). The 1909 Saddington Home on Otter Street is named for him.

Primary sources for Saddington research

For pre-1837 records, parish registers are the foundational source. Saddington's own parish (St Helen's) keeps registers from 1538, with Bishop's Transcripts from 1564. Other key Saddington-bearing parishes: Foxton, Great Bowden, Houghton on the Hill, Harringworth (Northants), Denford (Northants), Raunds, North Luffenham (Rutland), Tysoe (Warwickshire), Appleby Magna, Diseworth, Shepshed, Market Overton, St Ives (Hunts), Church Gresley (Derbys).

For 1837 onward, the General Register Office (GRO) indexes all England & Wales births, marriages, and deaths. FreeBMD (freebmd.org.uk) provides free surname searches. The 1841–1921 UK census is searchable via FreeCEN, FamilySearch, and Findmypast (subscription).

For the Saddington one-name research blog itself — saddington.blogspot.com — years of detailed family research from 2007 onwards. The richest single secondary source for Saddington genealogy.