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![Show Contents]() Keesey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The name Keesey has a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. The name comes from when a family lived in the settlement of Kearsley in Lancashire. The surname Keesey 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 Keesey familyThe surname Keesey was first found in Lancashire at Kearsley, now part of Greater Manchester. The first records of the place were found in 1187 when it was spelt Cherselawe and a few years later as Kereleie (c. 1220. ) The name literally means "clearing where cress grows" having derived from the Old English words caerse + leah. 1 There is another Kearsley, a township in the parish of Stamfordham, in Northumberland, but this township has remained rather small in comparison as a census in the late 1800s listed only 11 inhabitants, while the former township in Lancashire had 3,436 inhabitants in the same census.
Early History of the Keesey familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Keesey research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1210 is included under the topic Early Keesey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Keesey Spelling VariationsSpelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Keesey have been found, including Kearsley, Kearsey, Keasley, Kersley and others. Early Notables of the Keesey familyMore information is included under the topic Early Keesey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
 Keesey migration to the United States | + |
Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Keesey, or a variant listed above:
Keesey Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Jacob Keesey, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1731 2
Keesey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Samuel Keesey, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1823 2
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- 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)
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Keesey migration to the United States 
