Heggarte History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland

The spelling and overall form of Irish names tend to vary widely over time. The original Gaelic form of the name Heggarte is "O hEigceartaigh," which is derived from the word "eigceartach," which means "unjust."

Early Origins of the Heggarte family

The surname Heggarte was first found in County Londonderry (Irish: Doire), a Northern Irish county also known as Derry, in the province of Ulster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Heggarte family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heggarte research. Another 86 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1715 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Heggarte History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heggarte Spelling Variations

Official documents, crafted by early scribes and church officials, primarily contained names that were spelled according to their pronunciation. This lead to the problem of one name being recorded under several different variations, creating an illusion that a single person was many people. Among the many spelling variations of the surname Heggarte that are preserved in the archival documents of the time are Hegarty, Hegerty, Heggarty, O'Hegarty and others.

Early Notables of the Heggarte family

Notable among the family name at this time was Lt.Col. Hegarty, Lally's Regiment who for his efforts was acknowledged by King Louis XV of France; Peter O'Hegarty, Governor of the Isle...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Heggarte Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Heggarte family

In the 18th and 19th centuries hundreds of thousands of Irish people immigrated to North American shores. The early settlers were enticed by the promise of their own land, but they were moderately well off in Ireland when they decided to emigrate. Therefore, they were merely carrying out a long and carefully thought out decision. The 1840s saw the emergence of a very different trend: thousands of extremely desperate people crammed into passenger boats hoping to find any type of opportunity. The Irish of this decade had seen their homeland severely stricken by crop failures which resulted in widespread disease and starvation. At whatever time the Irish immigrants came to North America, they were instrumental in the rapid development of the emerging nations of the United States and what would become known as Canada. An exhaustive search of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many persons bearing the name Heggarte, or one of its variants: John, Michael, Robert, and Thomas Hegarty who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1840 and 1860.

The Heggarte Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Nec flectitur nec mutant
Motto Translation: They neither bend nor change.