Hessie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Hessie

What does the name Hessie mean?

Hessie is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the village and township of Hessay, which is in the parish of Moor Monkton in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The surname Hessie belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Hessie family

The surname Hessie was first found in West Yorkshire at Hessay, a village and civil parish that dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was first listed as Hesdesai. 1

By the 12th century, the place name had evolved to Heslesaia and literally meant "marshland or island where hazels grow," from the Old English words "haesel" + "sae" + "eg." 2

A search through early rolls showed: Robert de Hessey in the Curia Regis Rolls for Yorkshire in 1208 and Robert de Hessay in the Assize Rolls for Yorkshire in 1219. 3 (These entries may be for the same person)

The Hundredorum Rolls for 1273 proved the widespread use of the name in early times as a search found John de Hesey, Cambridgeshire and Henry Hesee, Salop (Shropshire) as both holding lands in their respective shires.

Sewal de Hessay was listed as a Freeman of York, 2 Edward I (during the second year of the reign of King Edward I.) Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Willelmus de Hessay, Robertus de Hessay and Nicholaus de Hessay, of Hessay. 4

Early History of the Hessie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hessie research. Another 111 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1272, 1273, 1307, 1379, 1773, 1780, 1785, 1786, 1814, 1818, 1870 and 1892 are included under the topic Early Hessie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hessie Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Hessie family name include Hessey, Hessy, Hessay, Hesee, Hesey and others.

Early Notables of the Hessie family

James Augustus Hessey (1785-1870), an English publisher who co-founded the publishing company Taylor and Hessey with John Taylor. James was an acquaintance of John Keats, one of the principal poets of the English Romantic movement as Keats wrote a letter to him on October 9, 1818. James was the son of James Hessey (gent.) who had purchased...
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hessie Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hessie family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Hessie surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Daniel Hessey, who sailed to Philadelphia, Pa. in 1840.

Sources +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)