In the period before 1650 there
were a multitude of different spellings of the name Haigh / Hague.
all of which are valid and interchangeable. It must be remembered
that in those days most people could not even write their own
names. The surviving records are those written by Clerks who
would have spelled the name as they thought fit.
Whilst it's fair to say that
the name Haigh had many origins, the Haigh's of the Parish of
Darton (Robert
Robucke's ancestors) had
not moved far since the name first became established around
1400 AD. Robert Robucke's Haigh ancestors have been traced back
at least to the 14th century and to the Manor of West Haigh,
somewhere near Kexbrough.
All the Haigh references relate
to a very small locality within the Parish of Darton comprising: West Bretton,
Darton, Kexbrough, Mapplewell, Staincross, Haigh, West Haigh
and Nether Haigh.
On the subject of spellings,
Robert Robucke's Haigh ancestors spelled their name at various
times Hage, Haighe and Haige. Within the earliest Darton Parish
Registers the name was predominantly spelled Haige.
George Redmonds has published
a similar study on the name Haigh. His study concerns a group,
which originates quite close by near Huddersfield. This study
can be found in 'Yorkshire Surnames Series Part 2, Huddersfield
& District' by George Redmonds 1992 ISBN 0 9508526 6 X |