We are tracing the Hersey family back through medieval and ancient England
Nearly all Herseys in the current day are related. Join us as we find out how!
Tracing the origins of the Hersey Family
Welcome Herseys! This project is for all people with the surname Hersey or Hearsey regardless of where you live. In fact, the project will only succeed if Herseys from all over join in.
Our goal is quite simple - to discover the medieval and ancient origins of our Hersey ancestors. Most of us (Herseys from the U.K., Australia & the U.S.) are descended from Hersey families that lived in the 1500's in the English counties of Berkshire, Sussex, and Norfolk. But how were those 16th century Hersey families linked, and did we all have common Hersey ancestors? Where were our Hersey families in the 1400s? 1300s? 800s? This is what we want to find out.
My YDNA testing (more on this in a bit) shows my ancient paternal Hersey ancestor was a Celtic man who lived in Western England (marked in red on the map) nearly 4,000 years ago. Is this ancient Celtic man your Hersey ancestor too? Also shown on the map is Nathaniel Hersey, the most distant Hersey ancestor I can trace using paper records. YDNA filled in the rest. As other Herseys do YDNA tests we will all learn how the whole Hersey family is linked together!
Fortunately for us the Hersey surname is relatively uncommon - this will make it quite a bit easier to trace our origins. A whole lot easier than if we were Cooks or Smiths or Joneses. So that's good news.
We need some of you Herseys to step up and help out by joining me in this YDNA study. That's the only way will fill in the past thousands of years.
From the 1100s to the late 1400s, there was a very prominent Hersey family in Nottingham, England. Research has shown this family was from Herce (de Hercé) in Normandy, France, hence the surname “Hersey”, and came to England with William the Conquerer in 1066AD. These Herseys were knights and major landowners who were closely partnered with the Kings of England.
Are we all descended from this ancient family? Or did we "borrow" our surname from the de Herce/Hersey family once people started using surnames in the middle ages?
Through DNA testing and traditional genealogical research we could very well find out.
The project uses the FamilyTreeDNA BigY700 test to gather tens of thousands of years of family ancestry.
The project uses the FamilyTreeDNA BigY700 test to gather tens of thousands of years of family ancestry.
Herseys from America
If you are a Hersey living in the United States or Canada, you most likely are descended from William Hersey who immigrated from Reading, Berkshire, England to Hingham, Massachusetts, USA in 1635. I am Steve Hersey from Alexandria, Virginia (originally from Massachusetts) and I have written a 400+ page genealogy tracin
Herseys from America
If you are a Hersey living in the United States or Canada, you most likely are descended from William Hersey who immigrated from Reading, Berkshire, England to Hingham, Massachusetts, USA in 1635. I am Steve Hersey from Alexandria, Virginia (originally from Massachusetts) and I have written a 400+ page genealogy tracing the history in the U.S. of this branch of the Hersey family. Little is known of William’s family in England, except that his father was Nathanial Hersey, was also from Reading, England and lived there in the late-1500s. This Hersey YDNA project should aid us in discovering how us American Herseys connect in to the greater English Hersey family.
The project uses the FamilyTreeDNA BigY700 test to gather tens of thousands of years of family ancestry.
The project uses the FamilyTreeDNA BigY700 test to gather tens of thousands of years of family ancestry.
The project uses the FamilyTreeDNA BigY700 test to gather tens of thousands of years of family ancestry.
FamilyTreeDNA's BigY700 test is the ONLY DNA test that gives results that trace your paternal Hersey line back tens of thousands of years. Taking this test show the history of your direct paternal ancestors. We need testers from different branches of the English Hersey family to take this test. NOTE: ONLY THE BIGY700 TEST WILL PROVIDE THE
FamilyTreeDNA's BigY700 test is the ONLY DNA test that gives results that trace your paternal Hersey line back tens of thousands of years. Taking this test show the history of your direct paternal ancestors. We need testers from different branches of the English Hersey family to take this test. NOTE: ONLY THE BIGY700 TEST WILL PROVIDE THE RESULTS WE NEED! The lesser YDNA tests just do not go back far enough.
Please click on the FamilyTreeDNA logo and learn all about the test. It is awesome. The only downside is it is pricey. About GBP£340 or USD$449. But you taking the test will forever link you and your children and your children's children into the ancient Hersey family. And to me, that made it very worthwhile.
If you do take the test, let me know. I will give you additional instructions - it is all really quite simple I promise.