Heslin Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Heslin Family History

Heslin Family History

The Heslin ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. The name Heslin is derived from the Gaelic O'hEislin sept that was located in Breffny, which in modern times is Counties Cavan and Leitrim. A sept or clan was a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. There are a number of variants of this Gaelic name including O'Heslin, Heslenan, Hislin and Hisleane. Families of the name were centered around the Mohill area in County Leitrim. In the seventeenth Leitrim and Longford 'Fiants' the name is recorded as both as O'Hisleane and O'Hiselunane. Another early record refers to a Cormack O'Heslenan who in the year 1629 was arrested for suborning a witness against a Phelim O'Byrne in County Wicklow. In modern times the surname is quite widespread throughout the southern part of Ireland. The Heslin family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Heslin descendants.