Heffernend History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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• Ireland

Early Origins of the Heffernend family

Early History of the Heffernend family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heffernend research. Another 52 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1719 and 1777 are included under the topic Early Heffernend History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heffernend Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, scribes recorded people's names as they saw fit. As a result, surnames often had many spelling variations. For Heffernend some of these variations included: Heffernan, Heffernam, O'Heffernan, O'Heffron, Hefferen, Hefferney, Heffernon, Hefferon and many more.

Early Notables of the Heffernend family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Paul Hiffernan (1719-1777), Irish miscellaneous writer, born in or near Dublin in 1719. "His parents, intending him for the priesthood of the Roman Catholic church, sent him to a classical school in Dublin. When very young he went with...
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Heffernend Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Heffernend family

Irish families began leaving their homeland for North America in the late 18th century. These families were usually modestly well off, but they were looking forward to owning and working on a sizable tract of land of their own. This pattern of emigration continued until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine sparked a major exodus of destitute and desperate Irish people. These people were not leaving for a grant of land in North America because by this time the East Coast had reached its saturation point and free land was scarce. They were merely looking to escape the disease, starvation, and hopelessness that Ireland had fallen into. Although these unfortunate immigrants did not receive a warm welcome by the established populations in the United States and what would become Canada, they were absolutely critical to the rapid development that these two nations enjoyed. They would help populate the western lands and provide the cheap labor required for a rapid industrialization. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many early bearers of the name Heffernend or one of its variants: Patrick Hefferen settled in Alexandria Virginia in 1817; Bridget Hefferin settled in Pennsylvania in 1773; Edmund, Edward, John, Michael, Thomas and William Heffernan arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.