FAMILY LEGENDS AND PERSONAL THEORIES
CONCERNING HESKEW ORIGINS

According to my mother, her grandmother Mary Matilda Stewart had it passed
down to her by her mother, Josephine Lucinda Heskew and grandmother Mary Ann Tronson that the Heskew name was originally spelled “Esque” and that the family was descended from the French people commonly known as Huguenots. I cannot prove this but there is a fair amount of circumstantial evidence. "Huguenot" was simply a French nickname for Protestant. The Huguenots were savagely persecuted in France and were the victims of the infamous Saint Bartholomew’s day massacre. An interested party could find a good account of the persecutions in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Huguenots fled France in large numbers and one of their favorite destinations in the late 1600s and throughout the 1700s was South Carolina.

I have been able to discover in France the family names “Esquieu” and “Esque”. The name Haskew is apparently British in origin but it isn’t difficult to see how Esquieu could be “Americanized” into Haskew, Heskew, etc. In fact the names Esque, Esquew, Eskew, Eskey, Hasque, Haskew and Askew can all be found in the records of South Carolina and/or Georgia during the period 1800-1850. It is entirely possible that some, most, or even all of these names could be connected to a common source. The first mention of the name “Heskew” that I have found is from a reference to the 1845 will of Moses Heskew in Dallas County, Alabama. Heskew and Hesskew are obviously departures from the original spelling of the family name and it is possible, even probable, that the name has had several shifts or changes through the centuries. Another question is to the state of William Alexander Heskew’s birth. Some records state South Carolina and others state Alabama. Older brother Moses Heskew’s records state South Carolina or Georgia. Information passed down through the family has Alabama written down as William’s birthplace. I am convinced that William was born in South Carolina but spent part of his youth in Alabama before coming to Texas. If a Texas census taker asked “Where are you from?” either South Carolina or Alabama could have served as valid answers.

Another interesting tidbit is that William apparently gave his son Moses (Another Moses!) the middle name of “Horry”. Horry was the last name of one of the most prominent families in South Carolina of French Huguenot descent. Perhaps the Horry family had been friends back in South Carolina or had even come over from France with William’s ancestors. It is also very possible that Horry may have been the maiden name of William’s mother or grandmother or the last name of a favorite uncle. It was very common in the 19th century to assign middle names after this manner. Marvin Schubert (another descendant of William A. Hesskew) has a story related by one Dewey Hesskew which suggests the family was of Scottish origin. In a letter written by Albert Stonell (husband of Martha Heskew, a daughter of William) he states that William was a native of Germany. Unfortunately this letter also contains a glaring error when Albert states that William Heskew and Mary Ann Tronson were married in France. According to a record obtained from the Bexar County (Texas) Archives they were issued a marriage license on December 13,1844 and were married in the county on that same day. These facts certainly call into question Albert's grasp of events.

Perhaps only one theory is correct but due to the intermarriage of families in
each succeeding generation it is possible that two or even all three of them
may have elements of truth. French, Scots and Germans all settled in early
South Carolina. Obviously careful research is still required in order to
either validate or discount our prevailing assumptions.

Sources:
1800 U.S. Census for Spartanburg County, South Carolina
1800 U.S. Census for Union District, South Carolina
1810 through 1860 U.S. Censuses for Marlboro County, South Carolina
1820 U.S. Census for Greenville County, South Carolina
1830 and 1840 U.S. Censuses for Dallas County, Alabama
1830 and 1840 U.S.Censuses for DeKalb County, Georgia
1850 U.S. Census for Campbell County, Georgia
A History of Marlboro County, South Carolina by J.M.W. Thomas
Abstracts of Revolutionary War Pension Files
(an index of) War of 1812 Pensioners
Dallas County, Alabama Geneological Records, Volume 1, page 27
Record of marriage license and wedding obtained from the Bexar County Archives
Albert Stonell letter
Dewey Hesskew letter

  
 

Researched and compiled by F. Scott Hinkle of Scottsdale, Az.  January 15,
1998


POSSIBLE HESKEW CONNECTIONS TO OLD SOUTH CAROLINA AND ALABAMA - additional theories by Scott

HASKEW FAMILIES - Website 3 HASKEW FAMILIES:

JOHN HASKEW OF VIRGINIA 1696-1798
JOHN HASKEW OF NORTH CAROLINA 1735
JOHN HASKEW OF SOUTH CAROLINA 1730-1793
Two of these John Haskew's may be the same person- not yet proven

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet - Huguenot

FONTAINE MEMOIRS; A HUGUENOT FAMILY (France 1500.)

Map of Gonzales County at the time William and Moses lived there in 1860- Shows Hesskews Springs on the Map
HEADRIGHT LAND GRANTS
Map of Texas 1850
Texas Declaration of Independence
Family Bible information from Dewey Hesskew

If you are one of them and would like to say hi or contribute to the saga, let me know here at jack0204@yahoo.com

William Hesskew   Heskew Family Legends   Edward_Hesskew
William Stonnel Letters   Arreny Ann Hesskew   Wm_Roe_Heskew
Moses_Hesskew   Martha Ann Hesskew    

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