The Haight Coat of Arms

The above is a sketch of the Haight Coat of Arms

By: Dwight L. Haight 1959

With the words:  Explanation and description of the symbols and coloring of the above ARMORIAL COAT:

ARGENT:  White or silver, signifies peace and security.

GULES:  or red, denotes military fortitude and magnanimity.

It is also the "Martyr's Colour".

THE CROSS MOLINE: is supposed to represent a mill rind and is often called the "Millers Cross" or a "Cross Miller".

The family Crest: A wolf gules sitting upon a coronet.

EXPLANATION:  The WOLF is a very ancient and uncommon bearing.  It is said by Morgan to denote those valiant and captains that do in the end gain their attempts after long sieges and hard enterprises.  Gullim speaks of it as being as animal that assail or thwart,since its nature is cruel and relentless. Macedon, the grandson of Noah, bore this ensign and also did the NOMADS.

The above German Von Haight Coat-of-Arms are those of Baron Johannes Von Haight who was an Imperial huntsman (Master of the hunt or jaguarin the Bohemian forests for the Holy Roman (German) Emperor.  Baron Johannes Von Haight fled first to Normandy, then to England in the 13th Century, for religious reasons.

The canine oranimal on the helmet is either a wolf or hunting dog.

The color to the symbol on the shield is red (Rouge) and the shield is silver (Argent).

I Dwight L. Haight find this same Coat-of-Arms in several listings of "Old Haight" history.  I suggest you color the above.  (I don't have time). Sorry to not present a better Coat-of-Arms for you it is very outstanding when colored properly.
 
 
 
 

SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR FOLLOWING HISTORY:

Much of it came from William P. Haight 536 Main St. Beacon, New York, who lives very near where our William J. Haight was born.  He has consulted cemetery and church records, early town records, New England family history in libraries in addition to writing and talking in person to many, many Haights.

A certain Mrs. William B. Haight from Cleveland, Ohio, sent me 50 old "Haight" letters written from Orange County, and near, from 1839 to 1870 to her husband (William B. Haight) or rather to his father.  I, at present, am in possession of these letters. 

They cover much of the same period and the same country William J. Haight traveled, Cleveland, Ohio, being near Sandusky, Ohio.

Other Information came from all my brothers, my cousins, and their children.

Perhaps Burl furnished his share.  The Alpha (Martin) Watterson has done much as has everyone else.

There is not room on this page to thank all and to give them their due credit.

To my knowledge the dates are all correct or nearly so.  Some do not agree with dates used by others various times. However, a check reveals that in some cases we have been using the wrong dates.

It is quite likely I have made a number of errors.  Please change any you find and advise me so I can do likewise.

It is my intention to rewrite with a better use of the English Language and especially the punctuation and the spelling but time does not permit.

I have said it before but let me say it again.

Haights were and are "Thicker Than Fleas on a Hound Dog" especially in the New England states and later in the west.

I only hope someone can come up with some old letters or just any tiny bit of information as to William J. Haight's parents or his childhood life.???

As is, the information I have used in all cases is accurate and authentic and comes from state, county, or family and city records.

Dwight L. Haight May 1959

ORIGIN OF THE "HAIGHT" FAMILY

The Haight name is of German Origin, however when they left Normandy and migrated to England it was changed for a time to Hoit or Hoyt.  After coming to the U. S. A., it was changed in most cases back to Haight.  However there is listed nineteen different ways of spelling the name, among them being:  Hoit, Hoite, Hoyt, Hought, Hoight, Hight, Hite, Hyatt, Hayte, Haite, Hayt, and more often Hait.  Some went back to the original, but some kept the adopted version.  Thus many of the above names trace back to the Simon Haight (Hoit) who first came to the U.S.A. with his sons.

Due to religious persecution, the Haights fled from the Bohemian forest country to Normandy in the 13th century.  Not too long after, they went over to England.

It was there Simon Haight (Hoit) was born the son of John and Ruth Haight on 1-20-1590 at Dorchester, Doretshire, England.

Simon Haight married the first marriage Deborah Stowers at the Parish Church in Upwey, Doretshire, England on Dec. (?) 1612.  His wife, Deborah Stowers was the daughter of Walter Stowers, and she was born May 1-1593 and was baptized at Upwey Parish June 5, 1593.  She passed away in1635.  This from authentic records.

In June of 1628 Simon Haight with his wife and three sons, Walter born 1618, Nicholas born 1620, and John born 1614, set sail for the United States aboard the ship "Abigail".  Col. John Endicott was in command and they arrived in Salem Mass.  Later John Endicott was to become governor of the Commonwealth and of the State of Mass., for many, many years.

Shortly afterward, they moved to Charleston, Mass. The early records show that Simon Haight and his family were the first white settlers in seven different early day New England towns.  The first town meeting of those groups as well as early organized churches show that the Haight family held many of the offices held both in the towns and the churches in the early 1600s.  Along about here some placeSimon Haight, after the death of his wife Deborah, married second Susanna Smith. From this union were born Moses, 1636, Samuel, 1643, Benjamin, 1644; also there were three daughters born from the marriages of Simon Haight.

Simon Haight (or Hoit, Hoite) died in Stamford, Connecticut, Sept. 1, 1657, and no doubt his grave can be found at this place.

Simon Haight landing on the east Coast 136 years after Columbus discovered America was indeed a pioneer.  Some of his family, Captain John, I think received a large land grant from the King of England.  Some 1600 Acres the record shows and was near where New York City now stands. The first U.S. Census taken in 1790 shows about 75 Haight Families living in New York State alone.

After settling in Mass. they drifted to Conn. and then to New York State with one branch going north to New Hampshire.

They had extra large families and prospered for a time.  In fact, they were a rich outfit.

Then came the war of 1776, and the D. A. R. lists many, many Haights being in the think of it.  Before that, however, and directly afterward, many were killed by Indians, one family alone being all but wiped out.

A certain Captain John Haight was very active and just north of New York City built a large home.  It was here George Washington visited several times.  This may have been due to the fact that a Haight woman married Robert E. Lee, and she must also have been the direct (Granddaughter) of George and Martha Washington.  Be that as it may, the house just recently (1950) in fact passed out of Haight ownership.  Pages could be written about the important events the Haight family took part in during that time.  Early records prove that fact.

Times were not so good in the early 1800s and the Haights went north from New Your City which is in Westchester county over into Putman county. This was a poor farming country and between them poor farms, mining playing out and having big families most of the Haights went from a rich outfit to one outfit not so rich.

From Putman county on the eastside of the Hudson river, many were crossing the Hudson river over into Orange County where the land was fertile. Living of families came from the soil in those days.

This crossing was known as Fishkill Landing on the east shore and Newburgh on the west shore of the Hudson.  In this year of 1959 what was Fishkill landing is known as Beacon, New York. I find in the Beacon phone book of 1958 about 15 Haight families living there.

Newburgh on the west side of the Hudson has many Haights too, so some got across and just sat down and stayed there.  This is some 50 or so miles south of Catskill where old Rip Van Winkle took his long nap.

Some Haights that crossed over had a family and one of that family was OUR William J. Haight, born August 27, 1826. Which one I am not positive yet but am hot on the trail.  It takes church, city, or state records to prove and they are hard to come by.

A William P. Haight who lives on the east side of this old ferry site along with his wife, his sister and his children is doing no end of work to trace the right family.  To date he has sent me OVER TWO HUNDRED PAGES OF EARLY DAY NEW YORK "HAIGHT" HISTORY.

Through his efforts, I find that there was a Henry Huntley Haight one of California's first governors.  And early day governor of Pennsylvania was also a Haight.

Robert E. Lee's wife or his daughter-in-law was a Haight woman.

General Sherman, of the Civil War's, mother was a Haight woman.

An early day Haight H. W. or H. G. along with a nephew Graham Haight started a bank in about1850 at #9 Wall St. New York, New York.

There was a Haight in the 1839 New York legislature, a rich and influential man.

I, Dwight L. Haight have the original invitation from Martin Van Buren, the 6th President of the United States, to him to attend a social function.

I also have the original invitation from Seward for this Haight to attend some dinner.  This is the Seward who was in the New York legislature and then for ten years or so was governor of New York State. And then several more years was in the U.S. legislature.  He then thought he would receive the nomination for President but they gave it to Lincoln.

Seward become Secretary of State under Lincoln.  It was Seward who bought Alaska--(Seward's Folly-Remember?)

Back to Orange county and New York State during the first half of the 1800s.

It was here not far from Goshen, Newburgh that our William J. Haight was born August 26,1826.

And it was from this country (New York and other New England States) the Haights migrated to all points west , all taking wives and having large families.  Well, most of them.

Some became rich, some not so rich, and some like myself just plain poor.

Most of them are pretty fine people, and all lean yet as they did even back in the 12 or 13thcentury very religious.  A few like to drink now in 1959; some did in the 1800s, but none to excess.

All in all, they stack up as good or better than the average run of the folks in this good old U. S. A.

Be that as it may let from here on follow just one Haight namely William J. Haight born August 27 in Orange County, New York.  He was my father's father, in other words, my grandfather.  The following pages are devoted to him, his children and their descendents.

Signed this May 20, 1959 By:  Dwight L. Haight