Hessan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Israel

Early Origins of the Hessan family

The surname Hessan 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 Hessan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hessan research. Another 140 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1455, 1487, 1745, 1802, 1810 and 1824 are included under the topic Early Hessan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hessan Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Hessan has been spelled many different ways, including Heston, Hesdon, Hesdin, Hestin, Histon, Histin and others.

Early Notables of the Hessan family

Distinguished 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 Hessan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hessan migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Hessans to arrive in North America:

Hessan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Jackson Hessan, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1840 4

Hessan migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Hessan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Edward Hessan, aged 16, who arrived in Quebec in 1834
Frank Hessan, aged 9, who landed in Quebec in 1834
John Hessan, aged 13, who landed in Quebec in 1834
Margaret Hessan, aged 7, who arrived in Quebec in 1834
Mary Hessan, aged 15, who landed in Quebec in 1834
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

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
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)