Heckley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Early Origins of the Heckley family

The surname Heckley was first found in Angus (Gaelic: Aonghas), part of the Tayside region of northeastern Scotland, and present day Council Area of Angus, formerly known as Forfar or Forfarshire, 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. According to Arthurian legend, Sir Ector (sometimes Hector, Antor, or Ectorius) was the father of Sir Kay and the foster father of King Arthur.

Early History of the Heckley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heckley research. Another 93 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1369, 1535 and 1565 are included under the topic Early Heckley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heckley Spelling Variations

The appearance of the printing press and the first dictionaries in the last few hundred years did much to standardize spelling. Prior to that time scribes spelled according to sound, a practice that resulted in many spelling variations. Heckley has been spelled Hector, Heckie and others.

Early Notables of the Heckley family

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

Heckley migration to the United States +

The expense of the crossing to the North American colonies seemed small beside the difficulties of remaining in Scotland. It was a long and hard trip, but at its end lay the reward of freedom. Some Scots remained faithful to England and called themselves United Empire Loyalists, while others fought in the American War of Independence. Much of this lost Scottish heritage has been recovered in the last century through Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important, early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Heckley:

Heckley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

James Heckley, who arrived in Maryland in 1633 1

Citations +

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)