Barrett Family History
A Barrett Family History
Nobody knows where the name "Barrett" really comes from! The best guess is that it comes from the French for "little bear" but there are several other guesses too!
What we do know is that our family is descended from immigrants, including from Everdon, Northhamptonshire, England during the great immigration waves of the "melting pot" era of the 19th century.
England
1066
The English Ferris Origins:
The surname is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Ferris family name, derives one of several place names in Normandy, such as Ferriers, in Gastonois, Normandy. The place name in turn, comes from "ferrière," which refers to an "iron works." They were originally a baronial family from Ferrieres, St. Hilary, near Bernai, Normandy. [1] And early records of 1096, show William de Ferres was a chief leader in the Crusade.
Early Origins of the Ferris family
The surname Ferris was first found in Staffordshire, where Henry de Fereres of Ferriers-St. Hilaire, Lord of Longueville, Normandy was on record in the Domesday Book of 1086; his castle was at Tutbury, Staffordshire and he had large holdings in Derbyshire, as well as lands in 14 other counties. He was "Domesday commissioner, and the son of Walkelin, Lord of Ferrières St.-Hilaire in Normandy, who was slain during the minority of William the Conqueror. Wace makes him, as 'Henri le Sire de Ferriers,' present at the battle of Hastings."
Robert de Ferrers (d. 1139), was a warrior, "the son and heir of Henry de Ferrers [q. v.], the founder of the family. He succeeded his father under Henry I, and is first mentioned in the record of a suit between the abbot of Burton and himself."
Other early records include a Henry le Ferrur on record in 1196 in the Curia Regis Rolls for that same county. Said to be descendents of Henry de Fereres, the Norman Ferrers family held the earldom of Derby from 1138 to 1266. [3]
Further to the south in the parish of St. Cleather, Cornwall another early branch of the family was found. "Reginald de Ferrar held in East Fenton and West Fenton, several knights' fees of land of the honour of Trematon, which are now East and West hundreds."
The Irish Ferris Origins:
The Ferris surname comes from the Irish Gaelic Ó Fearghuis or Ó Fearghasa, meaning "descendant of Fearghus," a Gaelic personal name composed of the elements "fear," meaning "man," and "gus," thought to mean "vigor," or "force." Fearghus was the name of an early Irish mythological King of Ulster, a valiant warrior said to have been shipwrecked off the coast of Northern Ireland c. AD 320, at the place known as Carrickfergus ("rock of Fergus").
Early Origins of the Ferris family
The surname Ferris was first found in Connacht, especially in County Mayo, where they held the Parish of Burrishoole in 1303, and were hereditary physicians to the powerful O'Malleys.
Ferris Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Fergus, O'Fergus, Fargus, O'Fargus, Ferris, Ferguson and many more.