Erney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Erney family

The surname Erney was first found in Hampshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Winton, held by Waleran Hunter of the Venables family in Normandy who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

Early Lancashire records show Robert Herneys as holding lands there in the 13th century and later, Phelipot Herneys was found in Bedfordshire in 1337. 2

Early History of the Erney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Erney research. Another 155 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1068, 1100, 1327, 1510, 1535 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Erney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Erney Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries. For that reason, spelling variations are common among many Anglo-Norman names. The shape of the English language was frequently changed with the introduction of elements of Norman French, Latin, and other European languages; even the spelling of literate people's names were subsequently modified. Erney has been recorded under many different variations, including Ernies, Erneys, Ernes, Hernes, Hernies, Ernyes, Hernis, Herneys, Ernest, Earnest, Harneys, Harney, Herneys and many more.

Early Notables of the Erney family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

the Erneys (Ernies) family of Speke (Espeake) in Lancashire

Erney migration to the United States +

To escape the uncertainty of the political and religious uncertainty found in England, many English families boarded ships at great expense to sail for the colonies held by Britain. The passages were expensive, though, and the boats were unsafe, overcrowded, and ridden with disease. Those who were hardy and lucky enough to make the passage intact were rewarded with land, opportunity, and social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families went on to be important contributors to the young nations of Canada and the United States where they settled. Erneys were some of the first of the immigrants to arrive in North America:

Erney Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Erney, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1872 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Erney (post 1700) +

Thomas V. Erney, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Ohio 15th District, 1990 4
Dewey Erney, vocalist who made two albums with guitarist Ron Eschete for the Discovery and Sounds Great labels in 1982 and 1984

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html