| ![Show Contents]() Plessy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Normandy is the region of ancient France from which the name Plessy was derived. It comes from when the family lived in the region of Plessis. Early Origins of the Plessy familyThe surname Plessy was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where this distinguished family held a family seat at Plessis. However, we must look to ancient England to find the first record of the family. For is there that we found John de Plessis or Plessetis (died 1263), Earl of Warwick. He was of Norman origin, and was probably a son of the Hugh de Plessis who occurs as one of the royal knights from 1222 to 1227. He was possibly a grandson of the John de Plesseto who witnessed a charter of John in 1204. 1 Early History of the Plessy familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Plessy research. Another 125 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1203, 1585, 1621, 1634 and 1642 are included under the topic Early Plessy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Plessy Spelling VariationsHistory has changed the spelling of most surnames. During the early development of the French language in the Middle Ages, a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there spelling variations of the name Plessy, some of which include Plessis, Plessieies, Plessier, Plessix, Plessy, Plessys, Le Plessis, Le Plessieies, Le Plessier, Le Plessix, Le Plessy, Le Plessys, Du Plessier, Du Plessix, Du Plessy, Du Plessys, Du Plessix, Duplaix, Deplaix and many more. Early Notables of the Plessy familyMore information is included under the topic Early Plessy Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Plessy RankingIn France, the name Plessy is the 6,561st most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 2 Migration of the Plessy familyIn 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec, in 1663 there were only 500, 2,000 migrants arrived during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. Youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Migration from France to New France or Quebec as it was now more popularly called, continued from France until it fell in 1759. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many distinguished contributions have been made by members of this family name Plessy. It has been prominent in the arts, religion, politics and culture in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Plessy were John Louis Plessis who arrived in Quebec in 1713 from Lorraine.
| Contemporary Notables of the name Plessy (post 1700) | + |
- Homer Adolph Plessy (1863-1925), American shoemaker and activist, who was the losing plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson which coined the phrase "equal but separate"
- Jeanne Sylvanie Arnould- Plessy (1819-1897), French stage actress, born in Metz, France
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
- http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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