Harnedy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Early Origins of the Harnedy family

Early History of the Harnedy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Harnedy research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Harnedy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Harnedy Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, a standardized literary language known by the general population of Ireland was a thing of fiction. When a person's name was recorded by one of the few literate scribes, it was up that particular scribe to decide how to spell an individual's name. So a person could have several spelling variations of his name recorded during a single lifetime. Research into the name Harnedy revealed many variations, including Harney, Hartney, O'Harney, Hartney, Harnedy, Harnet, Harnett, Hartnet, Hartnett, Haherny and many more.

Early Notables of the Harnedy family

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

Migration of the Harnedy family

In the 18th and 19th centuries, thousands of Irish families fled an Ireland that was forcibly held through by England through its imperialistic policies. A large portion of these families crossed the Atlantic to the shores of North America. The fate of these families depended on when they immigrated and the political allegiances they showed after they arrived. Settlers that arrived before the American War of Independence may have moved north to Canada at the war's conclusion as United Empire Loyalists. Such Loyalists were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Those that fought for the revolution occasionally gained the land that the fleeing Loyalist vacated. After this period, free land and an agrarian lifestyle were not so easy to come by in the East. So when seemingly innumerable Irish immigrants arrived during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s, free land for all was out of the question. These settlers were instead put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. Whenever they came, Irish settlers made an inestimable contribution to the building of the New World. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name Harnedy or a variant listed above, including: Edward Harnet settled in Salem Massachusetts in 1640; and he was reported from "suffering from favouring the Quakers"; James, Ann, John, Patrick and William Harnet all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.