Welcome to the Causey family one-name study. This study aims to highlight the common heritage of all those whose surname is CAUSEY and its varied spelling.  This site is offered to those Causey Cousins and other interested parties to read, assess, and share in the research already accumulated and to continue research on a global scale. According to Forebears.com there are more than 16,645 people who bear this surname worldwide, the vast majority are in the United States. Those of you Causeys who find your way to this one-name study are invited to participate. This Causey surname site is set up to provide an overall introduction to the Causey surname (and variants of that spelling) through two main associated internet sites which provide additional and ongoing research.

First, Family Tree DNA Causey Y-DNA Project:  This project aims to document the most common paternal ancestor of each genealogical line of Causeys. Currently there are eleven participants in the project. The majority (8) of surname Causey/Cossey participant's Y-DNA Haplogroup is T-M70. Information from Family Tree DNA states, "With a 95% probability, the most recent common ancestor of all members of haplogroup T-M70 was born between the years 16,610 and 12,208 BCE. The most likely estimate is 14,261 BCE, rounded to 14,000 BCE." With a high degree of probability the Causey surname in America associated with the T-70 haplogroup can trace to a common ancestor in 1670 A.D. named John Causey of Dorchester County, Colonial Maryland. With a lesser degree of probability John Causey is the grandson of Nathaniel Causey, "an old soldier" of  Captain John Smith of the Jamestown Colony. Nathaniel arrived in Jamestown in 1608. For substantiating research see the Causey Clan Blog 

IMPORTANT! We are hoping to find help from Causey/Cawsey/Cossey cousins in the United Kingdom to participate in the Causey Y-DNA Project. Any help from across the waters would be greatly appreciated. Email me at causeyworld@gmail.com

That second website is a blog set up by the coordinator of this Causey One-Name Study, Windle Ray Causey. You will find his blog at the Causey One-Name Blog. 

The Causey name has many variants. The most common way to distinguish the Causey name from the common pronunciation of the name "Kaycee" is that regardless of the letter spelling Causey, Cawsey, Cossey, etc., it will always sound out "KAW-SEE". In the centuries between when surnames became prevalent and when the majority of the western world could read and write, scribes spelled PHONETICALLY. Surnames might be spelled three or four different ways in the same document.

According to multiple sources the surname Causey is an English polygenetic surname, having evolved in different locations and attached to or adopted by various families independently. By the end of the first millennium European nobility had begun adopting surnames to distinguish themselves from others with the same Christian name. One line of today's surname Causey is said to date back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in the Pays de Caux (Seine-Infèrieure) in Normandy. Another family whose surname evolved was the DeCoursey family originally of île-de-France .  However, most members of today's Causey lines most likely derive from the early English causce, embankment or raised way. By the time taxation came about in England, everyone required a more specific identity. Therefore, John who lived by the causce (causey) became identified as John Causey. Of course, other names like De Coursey became shortened to Coursey then Cawsey or Causey. I suppose uniformity of surnames are another product of the printing press. No longer was the phonetic spelling based on the sound heard by the scribe. Occasionally, the reverse occurred. 

According to several sources including the website House of Names, Our Causey family lines can be traced back to England and the Norman conquest. Stephen Lancaster, in 'The Heritage of Craven County, North Carolina', 1984, edited by B. M. H. Thorne, Vol. 1 , wrote on page 102, "Causeys or Causways in America are descended from the English family of Norman French extraction. Robert Le Caucies, or Le Calceis, came to England from Normandy with William the Conqueror in 1066 and settled in Lincolnshire." "William Le Causcets was listed in the Curia Regis Roll in Nottinghamshire in 1212. Robert De Calceto is listed in the Assize Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1202. Robert Causey (Causay), first modern English spelling, was listed in the Sussex Records in 1327 as Norman French, a family which had come from pays De Coux, the present Department of eine-Infericure in France. A Henry Atte Cauce is recorded in Somerset in 1356. Nycholas Cawsey was living in Suffolk Co., England in 1524." The daughter of Sir John DeCoursey, Earl of northeast Ireland's Ulster Province, married Sir Henry Dillon, descendant of the ancient monarchs of Ireland. Dillon was a Norman from Lyon in Brittany, Aquitaine, and secretary to Prince (later King) John of England. He accompanied King John on his trip to Ireland in 1185. Henry was the first Dillon in Ireland He acquired large tracts of land in County Westmeath, where he built manors, castles and monasteries. It is said Henry Dillon was a Crusader and the three crescents on his coat of arms are said to represent three Saracens killed in hand-to-hand combat. Dillon died in 1244. Sir John DeCoursey may well be the earliest Causey ancestor in Ireland. It is noted that in early Virginia and Maryland records appear the names Causey, Cawsey, Cossey, Coursey and 'DeCoursey'. Elsewhere, in England can be found many Causey place names, e.g., there is a Causey's Field in Middlesex, England and the first railroad bridge built in England is in Devon, named 'Causey Bridge'. Coats-of-Arms and shield blazons later cited in hereditary lineages became popular after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 AD. The 'General Armory' identifies a Causey (of Hyngham) coat-of-arms to be 'a griffin segreant sa.' This simple design of the coat-of-arms further indicates an early Norman origin of the Causeys, and harkens back to the Norman Conquest of England at Hastings in 1066 AD.”

    An early namesake of significant position in England was Sir John Cassey. In the year 1400 on the 23rd day of May Sir John Cassey was honored by his burial at St. Mary's Church in Deerhurst, Tewkesbury Borough, Gloucestershire, England. The latin Inscription reads "Here lies John Cassy, knight and formerly Chief Baron of the Exchequeor of our Lord the King, who died on the 23rd day of May, A.D. 1400. And Alice, his wife, on whose souls may God have pity". He is dressed in judges robes with a lion at his feet. John wears a close fitting skull cap and a mantle over a long robe with close sleeves.

Sir John Cassey Coat of Arms. (Deerhurst, co. Gloucester). Ar. a chev. betw. three falcons' heads erased gu. beaked or. Crest — Out of a ducal coronet two branches of laurel in orle ppr.

    In the Archives of Great Britain can also be found:
1495 Thomas Causey of Suffolk
1498 John Causey Farmer
1504 John Cawsey in Brodewodewyger, Devon RE: estate Litigation
1509 John Causey of Worcester
1523 John Cawsey of Somerset RE: Landed estates Litigation
1536 Hugh Cawsey of Somerset RE: Landed estates Litigation
1509 John Causey of Worcester Co. Defendant charged with Assaults
1552 Robert Causey sold "all... property in Tavistock, Devon
1568 Deed Zachary Cawsey to Robert Causey of Romney Marsh, Kent
1618 15 Oct John Causey of Chittlehampton, Devon RE: will
1658 Will of Symon Causey of Chittlehampton, Devon
1694 Will of Samuel Causey, Mariner of London

By the late 1500s the largest population with the surname Cawsey or Causey looks to be in County Devon.

Surname - CAUSEY - Frequency and Distribution

Table 1 Date:2014

Table 2 Date: 1901

Source: Causey Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History (forebears.io)

Racial Distribution of Surname Causey in the United States

The most recent Census of the United State with data available is the 2010 census data. In that census the race/ethnic origin breakdown for the surname Causey was:

74.30%, or 8,461 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic White Only".
21.63%, or 2,463 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic Black Only".
0.39%, or 44 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only".
0.39%, or 44 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native".
1.69%, or 192 total occurrences, were "Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races".
1.60%, or 182 total occurrences, were "Hispanic Origin".

*********************************

Historical Distribution of Surname Causey

The map below shows the primary counties where our Causey surname was most prevalent during the 14th - 17th centuries when many of our surname were emigrating to the Americas, especially Virginia and Maryland.

***************************************

Distribution of Surname Causey in Great Britain - Early History

1. DEVON:  Cawsey family can be traced back to Atherington, a village south of Barnstaple, in the early 16th century. Walter Cawsey or Causy, who was listed as a tax payer in the 1524 and 1544 Subsidy Rolls, seems likely to have been the father of James Cawsie who was born in about 1524.
2. 1571-1608 Lancashire:  Ormskirk Parish: Cawsey (Causey, Cosev, Cowsey),  Ann, Anes, Catherine, Edward, Elizabeth Ellen, Fleetwoode, Hugh, Ja: James, John, Johne, Margaret, Mary,Robert, Thomas, William.
3. 1452-1479 Norfolk: Tho. Cossey, John, Niccolas, and Richard.
4. 1532 Buckinghamshire: John, son and heir of Thomas Coursy.
5. 1524 Somerset: John Hugh Cawsey, 1542 Richard Cawsey, et al.
6. 1558-1579 Kent: John Cawsey, Zachary Cawsey and Robert Cawsey: parishes of St. Nicholas in New Romney and St. Mary in Romney Marsh.
7. 1628 Middlesex:  Richard Cawsey in entry for John Cawsey. 

In 1984 phone directories 2 persons surname Cawsey/Causey were found in Middlesex County.

Note regarding DNA connection to Middlesex:  My (Windle Causey, Kit # B865204) Confirmed Haplogroup is T-CTS6280. There are two individuals northwest of London in Middlesex County who also are T-CTS6280*.

*While there is a even chance that the two matches shown on the map may be immigrants from Europe or the Middle East, it is also possible they are native to the area and distant Causey Cousins.

*******************************************

1790 US Census - Surname CAUSEY

Total Persons: 90+, Distribution: (NY-5), (MD-7+), (NC-44), (SC-34), Spelling Variations: 10

The Causey’s of America grew in number slowly from the first migrants in 1607 Jamestown until the 1790 first US Census. Most of the Causeys had settled in and around Dorchester County, Maryland for the first hundred years or so. Then as the Crown opened up land for settlement in North and South Caroline a substantial migration of Causeys left Maryland and moved south to North Carolina, some on the Great Wagon Trail to Guilford and Randolph counties, others down the coast to Craven County and Pitt Counties.

The 1790 US Census was the first for the Federal Government. Based on my research, the total number of 90 persons with variations of the surname Causey is very low. At the time of the census large numbers of families were in the process of migration.  Migrants often camped for long periods before becoming established.

1800 US CENSUS

In 1800 the total number of the Causey clan had grown to over 196. They were distributed among four states: North Carolina-107, Maryland-36, Delaware-17, South Carolina-36. Spelling Variations: CAUSEY, COSWAY, CAUSWAY, CAWSY, AND COURSEY.

Causey families more than doubled in number as of the 1800 US CENSUS. The population of Guilford and Randolph counties made up  most of the increase in the North Carolina Causey population, Almost all the result of a steady migration of Causeys from Caroline (formerly Dorchester) County, Maryland.

1810 US CENSUS

By 1810 the population of Causey families grew to a total of more than 328. The distribution of population was spread over five states: North Carolina 26, Maryland 12, New York 4, South Carolina 4, and Pennsylvania 3. Spelling Variations included: CAUSEY, COSWAY, CAUSWAY, CASWAY, CAUSSE, CARSEY AND COSEY.

1850 US CENSUS

By 1850 the Causey Surname was found in 19 States under Various Spellings, there were 814 Total Individuals listed on this census.

When President Andrew Jackson moved most of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek and Seminole tribes to Oklahoma then Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi opened up new Federal lands to eager pioneers. Population of Atlantic seaboard states were reduced as Causey families moved south and west; see the population breakdown by state below. 

Rhode Island                1

New York                      5

Florida                           7

Missouri                        8

Iowa                              9

Virginia                       10

Louisiana                    13

Texas                            14

Delaware                     22

Kentucky                     30

Tennessee                    32

Indiana                        39

South Carolina          55

Illinois                          66

Alabama                      83

Mississippi                  87

Maryland                    92

Georgia                      122

1920 United States Federal Census results for Surname Causey

Lists 4,051 Individuals in 36 states in 1920

*********************************

MAP OF THE NUMBER OF CAUSEY FAMILIES IN THE UNITED STATES
GREEN = 1-19 FAMILIES
BLUE = 20-56 FAMILIES
PURPLE = 57-112 FAMILIES

By the time of the 1920 US Census the Causey surname was well established in the United States. Spelling variations had settled to a few, Causey, Cossey (for many lines the switch to Cossey began with their move to Tennessee in its early statehood), and Cawsey.

So far in my research of the Causey family originating in Dorchester-Caroline Counties, Maryland, nothing has tied their descendants together like the quest for the land called “Lloyds Forrest.” Those acres of land in Caroline County, Maryland were purchased Edward Lloyd by Thomas Causey’s sons and grandsons, Solomon Causey-I, William Causey-II, Beachum aka Beauchamp Causey-I, and Frederick Causey-I, all in the year 1775. Some twenty years later Peter Taylor Causey began a quest to bring much of the Lloyds Forest plantation back under Causey ownership. But who was this Peter Taylor Causey?
Peter Taylor Causey (1767-1828) of Sussex County, Delaware, was very likely the son of William Causey-II son of Thomas Causey-I. Patrick Causey (1746–1812) of Worcester County, Maryland also had a son named Peter to which this lineage has oft been attributed. However, Peter Taylor’s son Peter Foster Causey, (1801-1871), 38th governor of Delaware, named his sons William Frederick Causey, Peter Foster Causey, Jr., John W. Causey and Robert H. Causey, all names found among the Dorchester/Caroline County, Maryland Causeys. Additionally, based on the British naming convention generally used in the Causey family, there would have been a Patrick among the sons of Peter Foster Causey if his grandfather had been Patrick Causey. However, his firstborn was named William probably after the grandfather, William Causey-II.
The Causey families of Maryland and Delaware should be researched geographically without political boundaries of county and state in mind. Many of us see political boundaries as somehow having impact on lineage. It doesn’t. Besides that, a border conflict between Pennsylvania and Maryland known as Cresap's War led in 1750–1751to a survey known as the Transpeninsular Line, (the Mason-Dixon Line) which established the southern boundary of Sussex County and made it part of Delaware not Maryland. The Causeys of both states were all brothers, uncles, and cousins with close Causey clan ties. As far as I can tell they all had a common ancestor.

I want to turn your attention now to the attached PDF file. You should be able to open it directly and read "The Rest of the Story of the Amazing Hunt."

CAUSEY SURNAME - ONE-NAME DNA STUDY

• Archaic DNA Match

Regarding Causey Surname Y-DNA: While all Causeys of our clan fall into the T-M70 Y-DNA Haplotree, Y-DNA mutates over time so that now our Confirmed Y-DNA Haplogroup is T-FTE36788. Based on this, there is a 95% probability our clan's most recent common male ancestor was born between 1553 - 1863 CE. Thomas Causey-I and Philip Causey-I were probably brothers. There are Causeys from both lines, (Thomas-I and Philip-I) who possess the same Y-DNA haplogroup T-FTE36788. (See FamilyTreeDNA.com Causey Surname Project). Therefore, their father who was probably William but may have been John Causey, would very likely be the FIRST of this Y-DNA haplogroup, a late mutation from the T-M70 haplogroup.

A mutation occurred sometime before 1800AD in the Thomas Causey line; most likely in Thomas Causey-3. Here is an extract from FamilyTreeDNA.com relating to this mutation:

Our DNA provides a wealth of information. We focus on genealogy but genetic testing can accurately predict a small number of traits and diseases. Genes can also reveal information about complex traits and behaviors. It can help us trace our chronological and geographical family past based on various DNA segments on our chromosomes. These DNA segments past down through scores of generations gives us a sense of identity in a world of randomness. DNA helps us touch at answers to the nagging questions shared by all, "Who am I, where did I come from, and why... ? Part of my answers came from Archaic DNA:

Windle Ray Causey has in common with the Rathlin 1 boy of 2,000 BC chromosome Segments  larger than 3.0 cM. which are found on chromosomes 2,9,11, and 12

“Three male skeletons provide clues to help scientists explain what happened. They were uncovered on the island of Rathlin, off the coast of Northern Ireland.

Let’s call them the Rathlin boys.

…Genetically, the lads have a very close affinity to the populations of modern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

They have the code that causes blue eyes, and genetic markers for certain diseases that are common in the Irish to this day. Interestingly their DNA appears to have originated in the steppes of what is now Ukraine and southern Russia, and spread westwards through central Europe to its outermost fringe in Ireland.

No-one is saying for sure that these were Celts. No-one knows what languages these people spoke. But the scientists on the DNA project say the genetic affinity with the modern Irish people “invites the possibility of the introduction of Indo-European, perhaps early Celtic, language" at the time they arrived, around 4300 years ago.

Their remains belong to the Bronze Age, meaning their tools and weapons were metal, rather than stone.

Historians have long known about these great technological shifts in Ireland’s history; first, the introduction of agriculture around 5750 years ago, then secondly the advent of metalwork around 4300 years ago. But there’s been great debate about what happened to the people.”

Source: GEDmatch Archaic Matches. Thanks to Felix Immanuel for making these ancient DNA samples available to GEDmatch users. More information on ancient DNA is at Genetic Genealogy Tools . 

What a coincidence!

We want to hear from our Causey cousins in Australia, Ireland, Scotland and England to enlist.

Join the discussion of the Surname CAUSEY at the  CAUSEY CLAN BLOG 

Here are a number of links to sites that facilitate in-depth genealogical research:

United Kingdom Archives: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ 

Huntington Collection of Maryland State Archives Security Microfilm. This collection is a treasure trove for original research into original documents including wills, probate records, etc. from the colonial period and early Maryland statehood. http://guide.msa.maryland.gov/pages/series.aspx?ID=TE1

The Official Federal Land Records Site
Welcome to the Bureau of Land Management(BLM), General Land Office (GLO) Records Automation web site. We provide live access to Federal land conveyance records for the Public Land States, including image access to more than five million Federal land title records issued between 1788 and the present. We also have images of survey plats and field notes, land status records, and control document index records. Due to organization of documents in the GLO collection, this site does not currently contain every Federal title record issued for the Public Land States.