Hessee History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Hessee

What does the name Hessee mean?

The Anglo-Saxon name Hessee comes from when the family resided in the village and township of Hessay, which is in the parish of Moor Monkton in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The surname Hessee belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Hessee family

The surname Hessee was first found in West Yorkshire at Hessay, a village and civil parish that dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was first listed as Hesdesai. 1

By the 12th century, the place name had evolved to Heslesaia and literally meant "marshland or island where hazels grow," from the Old English words "haesel" + "sae" + "eg." 2

A search through early rolls showed: Robert de Hessey in the Curia Regis Rolls for Yorkshire in 1208 and Robert de Hessay in the Assize Rolls for Yorkshire in 1219. 3 (These entries may be for the same person)

The Hundredorum Rolls for 1273 proved the widespread use of the name in early times as a search found John de Hesey, Cambridgeshire and Henry Hesee, Salop (Shropshire) as both holding lands in their respective shires.

Sewal de Hessay was listed as a Freeman of York, 2 Edward I (during the second year of the reign of King Edward I.) Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Willelmus de Hessay, Robertus de Hessay and Nicholaus de Hessay, of Hessay. 4

Early History of the Hessee family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hessee research. Another 111 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1272, 1273, 1307, 1379, 1773, 1780, 1785, 1786, 1814, 1818, 1870 and 1892 are included under the topic Early Hessee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hessee Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Hessee has been recorded under many different variations, including Hessey, Hessy, Hessay, Hesee, Hesey and others.

Early Notables of the Hessee family

James Augustus Hessey (1785-1870), an English publisher who co-founded the publishing company Taylor and Hessey with John Taylor. James was an acquaintance of John Keats, one of the principal poets of the English Romantic movement as Keats wrote a letter to him on October 9, 1818. James was the son of James Hessey (gent.) who had purchased...
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hessee Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hessee family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Hessee or a variant listed above: Daniel Hessey, who sailed to Philadelphia, Pa. in 1840.

Sources +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)