Guild of One-Name Studies
One-name studies, Genealogy
Study: Heseltine   
Variants: Haseltine, Hazeltine, Hazelton
Category: 2 - A study where research using core genealogical datasets and transcriptions is well under way, but currently in some countries only.
Guild hosted website: heseltine.one-name.net
Contact: Mr Michael Heseltine
My family history research has concentrated on the HESELTINE families in Bishopdale in the Yorkshire Dales. Bishopdale is a side valley of Wensleydale and has three small villages Newbiggin, Thoralby and West Burton and about about twenty scattered farms. In the Censuses of 1841 to 1911 there were a large number of Heseltine families in the valley. Now there are hardly any. In my genealogy research I have attempted to link these various families and to trace them as far back as possible. In doing so I have made contact with many other Heseltine researchers in England, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
I have also made some use of DNA studies to link the Heseltines in my tree to other branches. Unfortunately YDNA is of little use to me as my grandfather was almost certainly illegitimate. I have bben more successful with autosomal DNA but know there is much more to be discovered. I am in contact with Lance Haseltine in the USA who has recently set up a Haseltine project with FTDNA and would be pleased to have more people joining that project.
I would be happy to receive details of other branches and trees which could be added to the Heseltine One Name Study. My tree also includes also many other related Dales families which may be of interest to other researchers. These include WEBSTER, THWAITE, METCALFE, PICKARD,COATES,DINSDALE.
I have registered three variants with the study, Heseltine (which seems to be the most common in England), Haseltine and Hazelton (which appear more common in the USA).
There are a variety of other spellings which will be encountered particularly as you go further back in time. Common variations of the surname Heseltine include Hazeltine, Hazelton, Hazletine, Hasleden, Hazleton, Haseltine, Haselton, Hasletine.
It is likely that the surname Heseltine belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. It literally meant "valley where hazels grow”.
The name Heseltine probably comes from when the family resided in one of a variety of similarly-named places. The parishes of Cold Hesleton (Hesleden) and Monk Hesleton (Hesleden) in County Durham date back to Saxon times when they were collectively known as Heseldene c. 1050, Heslerton and Heslington (both East Riding parishes) and Haslingden in Lancashire dates back to 1241 when it was known as Heselingedon, Hazelton is in Gloucestershire, where the manor dates back to before the Norman conquest.
The earlier records in Wenleydale area show the name as being more commonly spelt Hesletine gradually evolving to Heseltine in the 1800s. In Wharfedale and Ribblesdale Hesleden is a commom variant. It was only when looking at a walking route my wife was planning that I spotted on the Ordnance survey map of Littondale the hamlet of Nether Hesleden. I now strongly suspect this was the orgin of tha name in the area.
Early examples of the name are Judith de Hesilden who married William de Lumley of Chester le Street around 1175 and died at Raby Castle, Durham in 1220. Robert de Heseldene in the Assize Rolls for Durham in 1243; Alexander de Haselinden in Kirkstall, Yorkshire in 1258; Reginald de Haselden in the Hunredorum Rolls for Warwickshire in 1275; and William de Heseldenn in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in in 1296. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included: Willelmus de Hesledyn; and Jeppe de Hesilden as both hold lands there at that time.
Frequency of common variants in England 2014
Frequency of common variants in 1880/1881 (USA/England)
In England the surname Heseltine was most common in the North East of England, particularly North and West Yorkshire and County Durham. In the 1881 Census for England and Wales by far the largest concnetration of Heseltines are found in the Aysgarth Poor Law District with 1678 per 100 000, the next highest being Pickering with 169 per 100 000.
Haselton and similar variants such as Hazelton were more common in the South East particularly Suffolk, Essex, and Kent. This suggests a separate origin for the variants, the former resulting from the northern place names in Durham and Yorkshire and the other from the South East.
Hazelton is by far the most common variant in the United States, along with Hazeltin and Haseltine. Heseltine is much less common than in England, in 2014 it is concentrated in small pockets in particularly Los Angeles, California; Essex County, New Jersey; Greene County Missouri and Cook County Illinois. In 1880 it is found mainly in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. suggesting a migration mainly from southern England.
My research started with the Bishopdale Series of booklets produced by Jean Kington as part of the Bishopdale Archives. Particularly the Bishop's Transcripts for Aysgarth Parish and the Censuses 1841 to 1891 for Bishopdale and Newbiggin, Thoralby and Burton-cum-Walden.
With the advent of online databases I have used Ancestry, My Heritage, Findmypast and Family Search.
I have received much help from Heseltine researchers in the Upper Dales Family History Group and made extensive use of the Thoralbythroughtime website https://www.thoralbythroughtime.net/ and Dales Genealogy http://www.dalesgenealogy.com/
I am compiling a spreadsheet of the Heseltines and variants found in the amin datasets and the results of online searches. This currently has over six thousand individuals who I need to index.
I have a 12 marker YDNA test taken a few years ago with FTDNA which I have recently upgraded to 111 markers (awaiting results). Lance Haseltine has recently set up Haseltine project group at FTDNA. Unfortunately YDNA will not be much help with my Heseltines ancestry as my great-grandmother had children to at least three different fathers and my great-grandfather is almost certainly not a Heseltine.
More recently I have done an autosomal test with Ancestry. Thus so far this has produced no startling revalations but has confirmed much of my research.