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Gracey History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Gracey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

Gracey comes from the kingdom of Dalriada in ancient Scotland. It was a name for a person who worked as a shoemaker. The Scottish surname is derived from the Gaelic word greusaich or griasaich, which originally meant a decorator or embroiderer but later came to mean a shoemaker.

Early Origins of the Gracey family

The surname Gracey was first found in Argyllshire (Gaelic erra Ghaidheal), the region of western Scotland corresponding roughly with the ancient Kingdom of Dál Riata, in the Strathclyde region of Scotland, now part of the Council Area of Argyll and Bute, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

The English Gracy or Grancey variant is Norman in origin as "Grancey is on the confines of Champagne and Burgundy, an gave its name to a great Burgundian family, several times Constables of the province, that ended in the fourteenth century with Eudo de Grancey. The feudal castle of Grancey, dating from this time, was only pulled down at the beginning of the last century. [(1700's)] The first trace I could find of the family in England was at Warford in Cheshire; the seat of the Grascys, Grasties, or Greestys, for many successive generations." 1

Early History of the Gracey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gracey research. Another 161 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1613, 1639, 1651, 1653 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Gracey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gracey Spelling Variations

The translation of Gaelic names in the Middle Ages was not a task undertaken with great care. Records from that era show an enormous number of spelling variations, even in names referring to the same person. Over the years Gracey has appeared as Gracie, Gracey, Grassy, Greacey and others.

Early Notables of the Gracey family

More information is included under the topic Early Gracey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gracey Ranking

In the United States, the name Gracey is the 11,543^rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Gracey family to Ireland

Some of the Gracey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 102 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gracey migration to the United States +

Ancestors of many of the Dalriadan families who crossed the Atlantic still live along the east coast of the United States and Canada. Some Scottish settlers arrived in Canada during the American War of Independence as United Empire Loyalists, while others stayed south to fight for a new nation. The descendants of Scottish settlers in both countries began to rediscover their heritage in the 19th and 20th centuries through Clan societies and highland games. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Gracey or a variant listed above:

Gracey Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Elizabeth Gracey, who settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1767
Joseph Gracey, who arrived in South Carolina in 1772 3

Gracey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Robert Gracey, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1808 3
William Gracey, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 3
John Gracey, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1857 3
Miss Margaret Gracey, aged 18, British settler who arrived in New York aboard the ship "Cynosure" in 1863
Joseph A Gracey, who arrived in Texas in 1892 3

Gracey migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gracey Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Daniel Gracey, aged 52, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Harmony" in 1838
Mary Gracey, aged 23, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Harmony" in 1838
Mr. John Gracey, aged 2 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "New Zealand" departing 20th May 1847 from Newry, Ireland; the ship arrived on 3rd July 1847 but he died on board 4
T Gracey, who arrived in Victoria, British Columbia in 1862

Contemporary Notables of the name Gracey (post 1700) +

Dr Clayton Gracey, American inventor of the Gracey curette, used in the periodontal care of human teeth in the 1940s
Chad Gracey (b. 1971), American drummer for the bands Live and The Gracious Few
Yale Gracey (1910-1983), Disney Imagineer, writer, and layout artist artist for Pinocchio; he also designed some of the special effects for the Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion attractions at Disneyland
James Steele Gracey (b. 1927), retired United States Coast Guard admiral, 17th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1982 to 1986
William M. Gracey, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Wellsburg, West Virginia, 1933-34 (acting, 1933-34) 5
Wilbur Tirrell Gracey (1877-1945), American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Foochow, 1899-1902; U.S. Vice & Deputy Consul in Foochow, 1902-04, 1905; Nanking, 1904-05; U.S. Vice & Deputy Consul General in Hong Kong, 1905-06 5
Spencer P. Gracey, American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Fuchau, 1898; U.S. Consular Marshal in Fuchau, 1898 5
Samuel Levis Gracey (1835-1911), American politician, U.S. Consul in Foochow, 1890-93, 1897-1911 5
Lewis A. Gracey, American politician, Mayor of Penn Yan, New York, 1953 5
Adolph Gracey, American politician, Dry Candidate for Delegate to New York convention to ratify 21st amendment, 1933 5
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 77)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html