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![Show Contents]() Kiresey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
Kiresey is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Kersey, a parish in Suffolk. The place-name Kersey is derived from the Old English elements cærse, which means watercress, and eg, the old English word for island. It was recorded as Cæresige c. 995, and as Careseia in the Domesday Book, 1 compiled in 1086. The name as a total means "island where the watercress grows." The surname is derived from the place-name. In the early Middle Ages, local surnames were often proceeded by the word de or atte, which meant of and at, respectively. This custom was brought to England by the Normans after they conquered the Saxon Nobility at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The surname as a whole, de Kiresey, meant "of Kersey." Eventually, the use of de and atte declined, as Old English and Old Norman fused into Old English over the next few centuries. Early Origins of the Kiresey familyThe surname Kiresey was first found in Suffolk at Kersey, a village and a civil parish in the Babergh district which today includes the hamlets of Kersey Tye, Kersey Upland, Wicker Street Green, and William's Green. Originally part of the hundred of Cosford, it comprised about 1,465 acres and an Augustine priory was founded there at an early period dedicated to St. Mary and St. Anthony; at the Dissolution it was granted to King's College, Cambridge. 2 Kersey is the name of a coarse woollen cloth having derived its name from kersey yarn and ultimately from the village of Kersey. Early History of the Kiresey familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kiresey research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1272, 1616, 1690 and 1720 are included under the topic Early Kiresey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Kiresey Spelling VariationsSound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Kiresey family name include Kersey, Kercey, Keresey, Kearsey and others. Early Notables of the Kiresey familyAnother 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kiresey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Kiresey familyFor political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Kiresey surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Thomas Kersey, who came to the Somers Islands in 1673; John Kersey, who settled in Philadelphia in 1731; as well as Thomas Kersey, who settled in Maryland in 1775..
- Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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