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Source:  The Hall of Names, Certification # 943320-12.10 H-28155

Click here to view a scanned image of a shrunken xerox copy of the original certificate.

 

 

The Ancient History of the Distinguished Surname Honeycutt

Of all the ancient surnames of England few have left their mark so vividly on the pages of time as Honeycutt.  Of Norman origin, the history of this family name entwines itself throughout the fabric of the ancient chronicles of England.

Examination of the ancient manuscript reproductions such as the Domesday Book (compiled in 1086 by William the Conqueror), the Ragman Rolls, the Wace poem, the Honor Roll of the Battel Abbey, The Curia Regis, Pipe Rolls, the Falaise Rolls, tax records, baptismals, family genealogies, local parish and church records reveals the first record of the name Honeycutt was found in Somersetshire where conjecturally they are descended from William, a Norman noble who was a subtenant of Roger de Courseulles, and was Lord of manor of Hunecote or Hunnecota, and was recorded in the Domesday Book taken in 1086, and the manor is recorded as being “two nuns, as a royal grant”.

Through the ages, your name, Honeycutt, occurred in many references  with different spellings, Honycott, Hunnicott, Huncote, Honicote, Honeycott, Honeycutt, Hunnicot, Hunecott, and these changes in spelling occurred even between father and son.  Three major events of a person’s life, birth, marriage and death were recorded.  Frequently, all were different, all three spellings relating to the same person.

The surname Honeycutt is believed to be of Norman origin, a race commonly but mistakenly assumed to be of French origin.  More accurately they were of Viking origin.  The Vikings landed in Orkneys and Northern Scotland about the year 870 A.D., under their King, Stirgud the Stout.  Thorfinn Rollo, his descendant, scion of a Viking explorer clans who may well have visited North America, landed in northern France about the year 910 A.D.  The French King, Charles the Simple, after Rollo laid seige to Paris, finally conceded defeat and granted northern France to Rollo.  Rollo became the first Duke of Normandy, the territory of the North Men.  Rollo married Charles’ daughter and became a convert to Christianity.  Descended from Rollo was Duke William of Normandy who invaded England in 1066 and was victorious over the Saxon King Harold at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

William granted his Norman nobles much of the land of England for their assistance at the Battle of Hastings.  Those estates which were still held by these families in 1086 were granted in perpetuity, for ever, hence, the name of the census was called the Domesday Book.  From amongst these Normans a noble is believed to have been your distant ancestor.  After careful analysis the researchers found that the first evidence of your surname was found in Somersetshire.  In the next few centuries the name continued to make important social contributions in this area, and branched to Hornacot in Cornwall to the west of, where they gave their name to the village of that name.  They flourished on their estates for several centuries, intermarrying with other distinguished families of the area.  Notable amongst the family at this time was Honycott of Somersetshire.

During the 15th, 16th and 17th century, England, Scotland and Ireland were ravaged by religious and political conflicts as first one element, then another, fought for control.  This created the unrest that was to produce a great exodus, either voluntarily, or by banishment, as first one side acquired control, then another.  They tyranny assumed the proportions of an inquisition, and many innocent men were either banished to the colonies, imprisoned or hanged, drawn and quartered.  Alliances were crucial to survival.  Arranged marriages assured families of protection, added to their possessions and estates, and gained them influence in the right quarter.  Some family names were almost obliterated, names such as Percys, the Nevilles and the Fenwicks, once the great clans of the north of England, were reduced to obscurity.  Electing loyalty to the wrong side could cause disastrous results to the future of a whole family name.

Manipulation of families known to be loyal to the cause in power was the only way to national survival, there being no standing army.

Subjugation of Ireland became the objective of a succession of monarchs.  Many families were freely “encouraged” to migrate to Ireland, or to the “colonies”.  Lands were granted free, or at nominal payments.  Some families were rewarded with grants of lands, others were banished.

In Ireland, settlers became known as the “Adventure for land”.  One of the conditions of settlement they undertook was to maintain the Protestant faith within their families and amoung all those who worked for them.  There is no evidence that this distinguished family migrated to Ireland, but this does not preclude the possibility of their scattered migration to that country.

But the New World beckoned and migration continued, some went voluntarily from Ireland, but mostly directly from England or Scotland, their home territories.  Some clans and families even moved to the European continent.

Kinsmen of the family name Honeycutt were amongst the many who sailed aboard the armada of small sailing ships, tiny vessels ships known as the “White Sails” which plied the stormy Atlantic during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.  These overcrowded ships were pestilence ridden, sometimes 30% to 40% of the passenger list never reaching their destination, were buried at a sea.

Amongst the settlers which could be considered a kinsman of the surname Honeycutt, or a variable spelling of that family name was William Huncote settled in Virginia in 1635.  The trek from the port of entry was also hazardous and many joined the wagon trains to the prairies or over the Rockies to the west coast.  The War of Independence found many loyal to the crown making their way north to Canada about 1790.  They became known as the United Empire Loyalists.

Present-day notables of this surname, Honeycutt, include many distinguished persons, Wallace Blair Honeycutt, Dentist, North Carolina; Lex Edward Honeycutt, City Official, North Carolina.

Research has determine the above Coat of Arms to be the most ancient recorded for this family surname Honeycutt [see scanned image for the coat of arms].