The ancestors of the bearers of the Heighdind family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found in one of a variety of similarly-named places. Settlements called Heydon were found in Dorset, Somerset, and Wiltshire. Cambridge and Norfolk both had places called Heydon, and Haydon Bridge was in Northumberland. The surname Heighdind belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
The surname Heighdind was first found in Norfolk, where Sir Thomas de Heydon (circa 1185-1250) was on record as a judge, who was given the office of "Justice of Eyre," under a provision in the Magna Carta. His son, William de Heydon, remained in Norfolk, continuing the line that obtained estates at Heydon and Baconsthorpe. A younger son of Sir Thomas, Johannes (John) de Heydon, settled in Devon in the 13th century beginning a well known Devon branch of this family name.
Edmund of Hadenham (fl. 1307), the early English chronicler, "was a monk of Rochester, to whom is ascribed, on the authority of William Lambard, the Kentish topographer, a historical work preserved in the Cottonian Library (Nero, D. II.) in the British Museum. This manuscript, according to Wharton, contains a chronicle in one handwriting down to 1307, which is a copy of Matthew of Westminster, excepting that it contains a number of interspersed notices relating to the history of Rochester. " [1]
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included: Richard de Haydon, or Heydon, Yorkshire; John de Haydon, Somerset; and Agnes de Heydone, Oxfordshire. [2]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heighdind research. Another 163 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1280, 1200, 1303, 1327, 1583, 1574, 1586, 1651, 1656, 1658, 1583, 1629, 1667, 1669, 1723, 1746, 1503, 1479, 1623, 1653, 1667 and 1629 are included under the topic Early Heighdind History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Heighdind include Hayden, Haydon, Hadenham and others.
Distinguished members of the family include John Haidon (d. 1583) Sheriff of London; John Heydon (1629-c. 1667), English philosopher and Rosicrucian (a legendary and secretive Order); as well as Sir John Heydon, English, Governor of Bermuda in 1669.
George Heyden (fl. 1723), was an English composer and organist at the church of St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey. On 6 January 1746 he was elected a member of the Madrigal Society. [1]
Sir Henry Heydon (d. 1503), was a country gentleman, belonged to an old family seated at Heydon in Norfolk. As early as the thirteenth century one of the family resided in Norfolk, and...
Another 142 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Heighdind Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Heighdind family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Heighdind or a variant listed above: John Hayden settled in New England in 1630; another John settled in Virginia in 1670; Samuel Hayden settled in New England in 1666; Thomas Hayden settled in Virginia in 1654.