| ![Show Contents]() Trehy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Ireland already had an established system of hereditary surnames when the Strongbownians arrived. Often the two traditions blended together quite well due to some of their basic similarities, but the incoming Anglo-Norman system brought in some forms that were uncommon amongst the Irish. One of these Anglo-Norman anomalies was the prevalence of local surnames, such as Trehy. Local names were taken from the names of a place or a geographical feature where the person lived, held land, or was born. Originally, the place names were prefixed by de, which means from in French. This type of prefix was eventually either made a part of the surname if the place name began with a vowel or was eliminated entirely. The local surnames of these Strongbownian invaders referred to places in Normandy, or more typically England, but eventually for those Anglo-Normans that remained in Ireland, the nicknames referred to places or geographical features of the island: they became true local names. The Trehy family appears to have originally lived in the town of Troyes in France; the original form of the surname Trehy was de Troyes. The surname Trehy belongs to the large category of Anglo-Norman habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Early Origins of the Trehy familyThe surname Trehy was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they were granted lands by Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, after his conquest of Ireland in 1172. They were recruited from the family of Try in Gloucester where they were Lords of the manor of Alkington. The family is said to be amongst the highest orders of French nobility. Early History of the Trehy familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Trehy research. Another 135 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1660, 1690, 1698, 1702, 1705, 1717, 1739 and 1823 are included under the topic Early Trehy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Trehy Spelling VariationsSince church officials and medieval scribes spelt each name as it sounded to them; as a result, a single person could accumulate many different versions of his name within official records. A close examination of the origins of the name Trehy revealed the following spelling variations: Troye, Troy, Try, Trye, Trohy, Trohey, Troys, Troyes, O'Trahy, O'Trahey, O'Trehy, O'Trehey and many more. Early Notables of the Trehy familyAnother 41 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Trehy Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Trehy familyDuring the middle of the 19th century, Irish families often experienced extreme poverty and racial discrimination in their own homeland under English rule. Record numbers died of disease and starvation and many others, deciding against such a fate, boarded ships bound for North America. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Unfortunately, many of those Irish that arrived in Canada or the United States still experienced economic and racial discrimination. Although often maligned, these Irish people were essential to the rapid development of these countries because they provided the cheap labor required for the many canals, roads, railways, and other projects required for strong national infrastructures. Eventually the Irish went on to make contributions in the less backbreaking and more intellectual arenas of commerce, education, and the arts. Research early immigration and passenger lists revealed many early immigrants bearing the name Trehy: Daniel, Edward, James, Jeremiah, John, Michael, Patrick and William Troy all arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1770 and 1870; John Trye from England arrived in Virginia in 1624. In Newfoundland, James Troy from Tipperary settled in St. John's in 1813.
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Ireland
England
