Hitney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England
• Ireland

Early Origins of the Hitney family

Early History of the Hitney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hitney research. Another 45 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1377, 1388, 1413, 1436, 1548 and 1601 are included under the topic Early Hitney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hitney Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Whitney, Witney and others.

Early Notables of the Hitney family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

• Sir Robert Whitney of Whitney-on-Wye and Pencombe, High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1377; and Robert Whitney of Whitney-on-Wye, High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1413 and 1436
• Geoffrey Whitney (1548?-1601?), was an English poet, the son of a father of the same name, was born at, or near, Coole Pilate, a township in the parish of Acton, four miles from Nantwich in Cheshire...

Migration of the Hitney family to Ireland

Some of the Hitney family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hitney family

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Hitney name or one of its variants: Joe Whitney and his son, who settled in New England in 1635; John Whitney, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1635, along with Richard and Nathaniel.