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The name
Gary is said to have been taken from the baptismal name
"Geri" which was in use at the time of the Doomsday Book. It is found on
ancient records in various forms of Gari, Garry, Garrey, Garrie, Gary,
Geri, Geary, Gerre, Gerrie, Gerry, Gurrie, jary, and Jery. Gary and Geary
are the two forms most generally accepted today. Families of this name were to be found at early dates in the English Shires of Bedford, Cambridge, Glouster, Hants, Hertford, Lancaster, Norfolk, and Oxford. They were, for the most part, of landed gentry and yeomanry of Great Britain. Among the earliest records of the name are those of Usor Geri of the Country of Gloucester in the twelfth century; Richard Jery of Hants in 1373; John Gary of Bedfordshire at a slightly later date; Nicholas Gary of Hants; Dionise Geri of Oxfordshire; Walter Gary of Cambridgeshire and Thomas Jary of Norfolk in 1521. In the sixteenth century one William Gary was living at Bishop's Stratford Hertfordshire, and was the father of Nathaniel Gary, who had issue by his wife, Joan, of Arthur and John. Arthur Gary, above mentioned, is believed to have been the first of the name to emigrate to America. He came over to Roxbury, MA. from England about 1635. The "Gary Genealogy", pub.1918, gives the New England line as well as a few pages of the S.C. Gary family, p.189. It is clear to see he did little research on the S.C. line since he called Uriah, wife of Thomas, a male, and stated they came from Buckingham Co., VA. They were in S.C. as early as 1753 (New England Hist. Reg. Vol.1, p. 83, History of VA. Vol. 4, p. 387). One Thomas Gary was living in the Co. of Middlesex England in the early seventeenth century with a brother, John, and wife, Ann. He had at least one son, Sir. Thomas Gary, and probably others as well. One Stephen Gary settled in Charlestown, MA. before 1673. He had a daughter named Ann by his first mariage and by his second spouse, Patience, he is said to have had a son, Stephen, and others. Stephen Gary, Jr. removed to Taunton MA. and md. 1711 Mary Gilbert by whom he had Abigail, Patience, Jemima, Stephen, Elijah, and Ebenezer Gary. General Martin Witherspoon Gary, of our family, stated his ancestors were from Kent Co. England and that the Coat of Arms of his family is the same as that of the Gary family of Kent Co. (ref. Southern Herald and Working man of N. York and Columbia, SC, 13 Feb. 1878). The Coat of Arms of the Gary family of Kent Co. "Gules, two bars argent, on each three mascales azure, on a canton of the last a leopard's face of the second." Crest, Out of a naval crown a dexter hand and arm in a naval uniform all ppr. supporting a flag or, charged with cross coupled gu. "Motto Chase". (ref. Burks General Armory, p. 302) In the history of Virginia pub. 1918, Vol, p. 387 "The Gary family came to virginia from England, the latter part of the Seventeenth century. Different branches of the family lived in Princess Ann, Prince George, King and Queen and Buckingham Co., VA. One prominent branch of the family moved from Buckingham Co., VA. to S.C. in 1760. |