The ancestry of the name Helsey dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in the county of Devon in an area that was near the hazel-trees. Helsey is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree.
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Early Origins of the Helsey family
The surname Helsey was first found in Surrey where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.
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Early History of the Helsey family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Helsey research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1708, 1839, 1920 and 1927 are included under the topic Early Helsey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Helsey Spelling Variations
Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Helsey have been found, including Halsey, Hallsey and others.
Early Notables of the Helsey family
Notables of the family at this time include Sir Thomas Frederick Halsey, 1st Baronet PC (1839-1927), an English politician; and John Halsey (died 1708) was a colonial American privateer and a later pirate who was active in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans during the early 18th century. According to Forbes, he was the eighth highest earning pirate... Another 57 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Helsey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Helsey family
Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Helsey, or a variant listed above: Thomas Halsey of Geddesden Park settled in Long Island in 1640; John Halsey settled in Boston Mass in 1635 with his brother Richard; George Halsey settled in New England in 1630.
England
