Hellidey was first used as a surname in the Scottish/English Borderlands by the Strathclyde-Briton. The first Hellidey family lived near the mountain called, Holy Day, in the county of Annandale. However, some sources claim the "name is derived from the slogan or war cry of the family 'a holy day, a holy day.' " [1] [2]
The surname Hellidey was first found in Annandale. "The Hallidays of Hoddom, Dumfriesshire, were an old family there, and probably gave their name to Halliday Hill in the parish of Dalton." [3]
One of the first records of the family was found in 1303, when Adam de Halide was a juror on inquest at St. Andrews. A few years later, John Halyday was an archer of the East March in 1404 and Ambrose Halyday and David Halyday were merchants in Edinburgh in 1479. [3]
Despite the general understanding that the family was Scottish in origin, early records in England, specifically the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, list Richard Haliday in Buckinghamshire and Gerard Haliday in Suffolk. Later, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed: Willelmus Haliday, Johannes Halyday, and Adam Halyday. [4] The reader should be reminded that Yorkshire's proximity to the Scottish border probably points to the aforementioned Scottish origin as the borders were extremely mercurial.
One romantic source notes: "A well-known Scottish Border Clan, who from their great animosity against the Southron are said to have adopted the war-cry or slogan of A Holy Day, (Scottice, 'a Haly Day'), because the chiefs and people of Annandale, whenever they made a raid or foray upon the Saxon border, accounted the day spent in rapine and slaughter a holy one." [5]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hellidey research. Another 131 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1120, 1605, 1415, 1593, 1661, 1626, 1550, 1612, 1605, 1606, 1697, 1697, 1516, 1576, 1576, 1570, 1685, 1739, 1637, 1724, 1664, 1688, 1692, 1685, 1728, 1802, 1728, 1788, 1812, 1788, 1789, 1866, 1789, 1812, 1832, 1833 and 1866 are included under the topic Early Hellidey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Medieval Scottish names are rife with spelling variations. This is due to the fact that scribes in that era spelled according to the sound of words, rather than any set of rules. Hellidey has been spelled Halliday, Haliday, Holyday, Holiday, Holliday, Halidays and many more.
Notable amongst the family at this time was Walter Halliday (also spelled Haliday, Halyday, and Holliday), Scottish royal minstrel at the battle of Agincourt in 1415, thought to be son of the chieftain of Annandale in Dumfries, founding member of a minstrels' guild, now known as the Worshipful Company of Musicians; Barten Holyday or Holiday (1593-1661), a clergyman, author and poet, appointed Archdeacon of Oxford by King Charles I in 1626; Sir Leonard Holliday (Hollyday or Halliday) (c. 1550-1612) founder of the East India Company, and a Lord Mayor...
Another 89 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hellidey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Hellidey family to IrelandSome of the Hellidey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 451 words (32 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Many Scots were left with few options other than to leave their homeland for the colonies across the Atlantic. Some of these families fought to defend their newfound freedom in the American War of Independence. Others went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestors of all of these families have recently been able to rediscover their roots through Clan societies and other Scottish organizations. Among them: Joseph Halliday settled in Barbados in 1686; John Halliday settled in Maryland in 1775; James Halliday settled in Petersburg, Virginia in 1822, along with his father David..
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