| ![Show Contents]() Hesdon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England Early Origins of the Hesdon familyThe surname Hesdon was first found in west London at Heston, now a suburban area of the London Borough of Hounslow. The village is actually just north of Hounslow, and has been settled since Saxon times. The first record of the village was in c. 1125 when it was listed as Hestone and meant "farmstead among the brushwood. " 1 While it is generally believed that the surname originated in the area of this village in the year 1321 when William de Hewstone was listed as a merchant there, 2 Histon, Cambridgeshire was established over one hundred years before the London village and was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Histone. More recently, the villages of Histon and Impington, Cambridgeshire have grown so entwined that many of the villagers today do not know where one village ends and the other begins. Walter Heston (fl. 1350), was a Carmelite, a "Cambridge scholar and doctor of divinity, who is said to have obtained a great reputation as a philosopher and theologian. He belonged to the Carmelite house at Stamford. He is said to have died and been buried at Stamford. He is also called Hessodunus, Nestonus, or Keso." 3 Early History of the Hesdon familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hesdon research. Another 140 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1455, 1487, 1745, 1802, 1810 and 1824 are included under the topic Early Hesdon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Hesdon Spelling VariationsIt is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Hesdon are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. The variations of the name Hesdon include: Heston, Hesdon, Hesdin, Hestin, Histon, Histin and others. Early Notables of the Hesdon familyDistinguished members of the family include Edward Warner Heston (1745-1824), American officer in the Sixth Company, Seventh Battalion of the Pennsylvania militia during the American Revolutionary War and later a Pennsylvania State Senator (1802-1810). After the war, he...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hesdon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Hesdon familyMany English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Hesdon or a variant listed above: the name was represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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