The Book:
A FAMILY NAMED HERRIOTT

The Herriott Heritage Association was formed by those present at both the 1985 and 1988 national reunions.

STATEMENT OF FORMATION AND PURPOSE

July 23, 1988

We who are attending this 1988 National Reunion of the descendants of DAVID HERRIOTT who arrived at "Amboy Perth" of East Jersey from Scotland in 1685 and other Herriott families presently associated do hereby ratify the formation of the HERRIOTT HERITAGE ASSOCIATION.

WE HEREBY DECLARE THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE ASSOCIATION IS:

To encourage interest in our heritage, to simulate and assist researchers and other family members to gather and preserve historical, literary and genealogical materials pertaining to the family, and to assist in expanding fellowship among the descendants.

One of the ways that the above purpose is fulfilled is by periodically publishing a compilation of known descendants of the progenitor, David, complete with historical facts about the family. This is the book, A FAMILY NAMED HERRIOTT.

The first edition was published in 1985 and was distributed at the first National Herriott Family Reunion, held at Lexington, Kentucky, August 1-4 of that year. It was to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the arrival of our immigrant ancestor, DAVID HERRIOTT, in the "Province of East Jersey." Many believe that he arrived at the town of Perth Amboy in 1685, New Jersey from Scotland aboard the ship "Henry and Francis" in the company of Lord Neil Campbell, though there are indications that he might have arrived earlier.

Since that time, the book has been updated every three years corresponding with our national reunion schedule, with the last edition being published in 2006. By this time the book had gotten so large, containing over 31,000 names, that a hardcopy version was no longer feasible. This edition was only published in electronic format on a compact disk (CD). Much of the information on this website comes directly from the book.

The material compiled in the book results from the cooperative efforts of many HERRIOTT kinsmen. Much new information has come to light following each edition. We hoped this would happen! We are still looking for additional information and will plan to continue updating the book. Please contact our historian, Raymond Harriot, with any new information you care to share. We are indebted to all who have helped by furnishing valuable information. Without your help, we couldn't have published such a book. Thanks to all of you!

The book, A FAMILY NAMED HERRIOTT, in CD format, may be purchased for $30 by contacting our historian, Raymond Harriot. All of the software needed to read the CD is readily available and probably resident on most computers. If not, it is available for downloading on the CD itself. The individuals in the family tree are completely hyper-linked which makes it extraordinarily easy to traverse the tree. If you'd like a printed version, you may print the files yourself. We hope you enjoy it.

Raymond Harriot
8107 Bayou Bend Boulevard
Laurel, MD 20724-1958
email: rayh28@verizon.net

The book, A FAMILY NAMED HERRIOTT, is dedicated to the memory of A. Dean Herriott, Dewey, IL, who died May 31, 1991 following an illness of several months. He was truly the DEAN of the Herriott's. Family genealogy was one of his passions. He and his wife Ruth spent countless days researching family history and contacting anyone who might be a descendant of David Herriott who immigrated to "East Jersey" in 1685. While he descended from the line of Ephraim, a grandson of the immigrant, his interest was the entire family. He believed that even those with the family name whose ancestry did not trace back to the immigrant, David, quite probably shared a common ancestry with David's family in Scotland. The challenge was to find the common ancestry!

His search of census records, church records, local histories, tax records, military records, bible records, cemeteries, old family records and correspondence, was unending. When traveling, he liked to look for the family name in the telephone directory and then make a call, either to contact a known family member or to gather information in an effort to expand the family tree. He probably knew, at least by name, and was in contact with more members of the extended family than any other person.

His leadership resulted in the reunion in Lexington KY in 1985 commemorating the 300th anniversary of the arrival in America of David, the immigrant. He, his wife Ruth, and Scott Herriott, then a student at Stanford University, "got the ball rolling." One of Dean's dreams was to see a written record of the family's history, thus the first edition of A FAMILY NAMED HERRIOTT. Another dream was to inspire and motivate a lot of other people to get interested in the family's history and to share the results of their research.

Also, he saw the Herriott Heritage Association as one means for expanding the fellowship among the extended family. His service to the Association, together with that of Ruth, included being a member of the board, treasurer, newsletter editor and researcher.

He loved us all and was most generous in giving himself in our service. His unique and special contributions are sorely missed. We miss his broad smile, his hearty greeting, his warm friendship, his energetic approach to life and his contribution to making us all feel as one family.

He was our brother, we loved him, and we thank God for him.