Chesnay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Scotland

Early Origins of the Chesnay family

The surname Chesnay was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France where the family has been known from ancient times.

The family goes back to Louis Chenu in 1481. A branch of this family was established in the sixteenth century and goes back to Pierre, a horseman, who was also Lord of Charantonay in the French region of Berry and part of Ravières, Nuits-sous-Ravières, and Villiers-les-Haut in 1533. His son Claude, Lieutenant of fifty soldiers who was made a Knight of the King's Order, was killed at the siege of Poitiers in 1569.

Their descendants have carried the titles of Barons of Nuits-sous-Ravières and Fulvy. Other branches of the family were formed and were mostly represented by members who served in the military. One of the branches was even in charge of a military school in 1766. 1

Early History of the Chesnay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chesnay research. The years 1601, 1662 and 1787 are included under the topic Early Chesnay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chesnay Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Chenu, Chenue, Chenus, Chenues, Chenou, Chenoue, Chenous, Chenoues, Chenoux, Chenut, Chenout, Chenuts, Chenouts, Chenud, Chenoud, Chenuds, Chenouds, de Chenu, du Chenu, Cheynous, Cheenu, Cheynue, Cheynut, Cheynou, Cheynoux, Chenoux, Chaynu, Cheynew, Chanew, Chanut, Chanuts, Shaynu and many more.

Early Notables of the Chesnay family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Claude, Knight of the King's Order, killed at the siege of Poitiers; and Pierre Hector Chanut (1601-1662), French Ambassador and state counselor.François Chanot was the son of a violin-maker, born in 1787 at Mirecourt in France. He entered the army as an engineer under the Empire, but quitted it after the Restoration. Returning to Mirecourt, he made special studies on the construction of the violin, and ultimately built one which deviated considerably in form from the accepted pattern. Believing that, in order to make every part...
Another 93 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Chesnay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chesnay migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Chesnay Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jean Chesnay, who arrived in Louisiana in 1718-1724 2

Citations +

Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. Print.
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)