Hemingways

Hemingway - The surname Hemingway is traditionally considered to be of English origin, probably a habitation name from a forgotten or unidentified minor place in West Yorks, most likely in the parish of Halifax. The place name would be from the personal name Hemmen or Hemming plus wey or way meaning the way or path of Hemmen or Hemming. There are several spellings of the name, including: Hemenway, Hemingway, Hemmingway, Henneway and Hinningway.

This branch of the Hemingway family in America is descended from Ralph Hemmenway who came to America from England during the period known as the “Great Migration.” Unlike most families, all Hemingway’s in America are said to be descended from this Ralph Hemmenway, regardless of how they spell their name.[1] [2] This would seem unlikely, particularly in that several Hemingway families are known to exist in England, mostly the Yorkshire area, in the late twentieth century. It is not however the intent of this collection to determine the ancestry of the entire Hemingway family nor to detail all those descended from Ralph Hemmenway, rather to list just those descendants of Isaac Hemingway Jr. and his direct ancestors. There are several other studies of other branches of the Hemingway family and anyone interested in a further understanding of the Hemingway family is encouraged to seek out those works.

It is clear that Ralph spelled his name Hemmenway.[3] Although it is not known why or, in all cases, when variations of the spelling began, there is evidence of the name being spelled Hemingway as early as the second generation.[4] When this branch of the Hemingway family began to spell the name as such is not known although by the time of Isaac Hemingway Jr. this spelling is found almost exclusively. For the purpose of this genealogy the name Hemenway is used through the first four generations when it is known that spelling was used. Starting with the children of the fifth generation the spelling Hemingway is used. Any error in spelling is unintentional. Anyone reading this genealogy should be aware of the spelling  problem during that period and should be careful about assuming who spelled the surname in which way at what time. It does however seem that by the early 1800’s the dust had settled and that this family had decided on the spelling ‘Hemingway.’

Around the turn of the century (1800) Isaac Hemingway Jr. emigrated from Massachusetts to ‘up-state’ New York, first in the area around Utica and then later in the area around Rochester. By the 1840’s many of his children immigrated to the Michigan territory. This was a very common migration pattern of the time. In fact Michigan was often referred to as the child of New York. In the middle 1800’s most of it’s inhabitants were born in New York state. An inordinate number of Michigan place names: county, township and cities were named for places in New York.

These Hemingway descendants prospered and grew in Michigan to a very large family. Although these Hemingway descendants can now be found in all parts of the country, the largest concentration can still be found in Michigan. Many of these Hemingway’s have remained in touch with each other and have held family reunions since the late 1800’s. There is a genealogy group among them and a book committee who has published two family publications to date.

Most of what is written in this collection is a compilation of what has been published in those books and in others. The attempt here is to gather together all the various collections of the Hemingway family as it pertains to the ancestors and descendants of Isaac Hemingway Jr. born with the Hemingway name.

Related information here.