Widney Family History & Genealogy
Widney Last Name History & Origin
AddSummary
Widney is the phonetic spelling of the much older Scottish surname Udny, also written Udney, Udnie, and Woodney. Native Scottish folk singer Jock Duncan has this to say in reference to a Scottish song about the Aberdeenshire town of Udny, seat of the family of Udny of that Ilk : "I've heard many versions o it - an tunes an aa, fen I wis young. Widney wis the pronunciation. Never naebody heard o Udny: ''It's Widney boy - are ye gaun doun tae Widney the nicht?'' See bottom of the page at
History
The transformation from Udny to Widney as a surname appears to begin with Oliver Udny, who in 1607 took oath as captain of a company in the Scots Brigade in service of the United Netherlands. He was listed in Brigade records in 1608 and 1609 as Wodney, then in 1610 as Udny. In 1621, Oliver Udny was leased part of the townland of Cran in County Cavan, Ireland as a servitor to the Crown, which typically meant someone who had served Britain in the military. His military career and move to Ireland likely are the source of the mistaken Widney family tradition of a Dutch origin. (Many family traditions have their origins in fact but get more or less muddled while being passed from one generation to the next.) In 1630, then, Oliver Owdny and Nicholas Owdny were recorded on the Muster Roll for County Cavan under Sir Francis Hamilton.
Irish records having been decimated, nearly a century passed from 1630 to the next surviving record of the surname in Ireland. In 1713, James Widney was one of four Commissioners who petitioned the Presbyterian Church in Ireland for the establishment of a new, separate congregation for certain members of the congregation of Kinaird, Presbytery of Monaghan. In 1724, James Widney the elder and James Widney the younger entered into a marriage contract for the younger's marriage to Ann Carlisle, conveying to James the younger the sum of fifty pounds sterling and one-half the townland of Killymurry. The property remained in the Widney family until 1784, when John and Mary (Wilson) Widney's son, also named James, sold it and left for the New World. His brothers Charles and John also making the journey To Franklin County, Pennsylvania, the Widney family got its start in America.
In the meantime, a 1731 will was recorded for Nicholas Widney of Killymurry, County Monaghan, Ireland. The will itself was lost in the 1922 Dublin courthouse fire, but the index of wills survived. Considering the rarity of Widneys and Udnys in Ireland and the known equivalency of Widney and Udny, the familial connection between Nicholas Widney of Killymurry and Nicholas and Oliver Wodney of County Cavan can hardly be doubted.
Contributor: Loretta (Lynn) Layman at [contact link]. See:
Sources include but are not limited to the following:
1. "Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade in the Service of the United Netherlands 1572-1782", Vol. I 1572-1697, Edit. James Ferguson, Edinburgh (1899), pp. 72, 74, 227
2. "An Historical Account of the Plantation of Ulster at the Commencement of the Seventeenth Century, 1608-1620", Rev. George Hill, Belfast (1877), p. 454
3. 1630 Muster Roll of County Cavan, Extracts from LDS #1279327
4. Militia, Yeomanry Lists and Muster Rolls, par. 1, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
5. PRONI Pre-1858 Wills and Administrations: Clogher Diocese Wills
6. "Records of the General Synod of Ulster, from 1691 to 1820", Vol. I. 1691-1720, The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Belfast (1890), p. 298
7. "History of Congregations of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland", Rev. W. D. Killen, D.D., Belfast and Edinburgh (1886), p. 153
8. PRONI Marriage License Bonds, Diocese of Clogher, Ireland
9. Republic of Ireland Registry of Deed Grantors : Book 121, 254-55, Registered No. 82844; Book 368, pp. 65-66, Registered No. 246042
Name Origin
Widney is a form of the Scottish surname and place name Udny/Udney/Udnie.
Spellings & Pronunciations
Udny, Udney, Udnie, Owdney, Wodney, Woodney. Wid-knee is the phonetic pronunciation of the original Scottish name Udny.
Nationality & Ethnicity
Scotland
Famous People named Widney
Are there famous people from the Widney family? Share their story.
Early Widneys
These are the earliest records we have of the Widney family.
Widney Family Members
Widney Family Photos
There are currently no family photos associated to the Widney family.
Widney Family Tree
Discover the most common names, oldest records and life expectancy of people with the last name Widney.
Updated Widney Biographies
Popular Widney Biographies
Widney Death Records & Life Expectancy
The average age of a Widney family member is 77.0 years old according to our database of 137 people with the last name Widney that have a birth and death date listed.
Life Expectancy
Oldest Widneys
These are the longest-lived members of the Widney family on AncientFaces.
Other Widney Records
Share memories about your Widney family
Leave comments and ask questions related to the Widney family.
Loretta Layman Followers & Sources
1. We now have a page from Clogher Diocese marriage bonds showing that Mary Wilson married John, not James, Widney in 1751. The James Widney who sold Killymurry in 1784 was born in 1753, two years after his parents' marriage.
2. Thus, the 1753 James Widney was a son of John and Mary (Wilson) Widney, a grandson of James and Ann (Carlisle) Widney (that James being "the younger" in the 1724 deed of marriage contract), and the great-grandson of James Widney "the elder" and his unnamed wife.