Introduction
The Herriott Heritage Association was formed as a result of action by those present at both the 1985 and 1988 national reunions.
STATEMENT OF FORMATION AND PURPOSE
We, who are attending the 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 stimulate 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.
Since our inception in 1985, we have had only three presidents.
Virgil Herriott, Brookings, SD (1985-2000)
Gerry Rankin, Des Moines, IA (2000-2009)
Scott R. Herriott, Fairfield, IA (2009-present)
We have strived to fulfill the above purpose by our genealogical research, reunions and publications. W have compiled a number of family genealogies and present them in pdf format In addition to conventional genealogical research, we have been at the forefront of using DNA technology, our Herriott Surname Project, to aid and guide the pursuit of conventional methods. Our archives contain origininal source documents.
We have held reunions on a three year rotation to maintain and expand our fellowship among all Herriotts including the many variant spellings. See Upcoming Reunion for information on our next reunion. The reunions we have had are given in Reunion History.
One of our publications is our newsletter, the Herriott Herald published semi-yearly. Its publication began in 1985 with Dean Herriott as Editor. Upon Dean’s passing in 1991, our president Virgil Herriott assumed the editorial duties. Ray Harriot took over the editorial duties in 1995 soon after discovering our organization. Ray continued as editor until 2015. Since then our president Scott Herriott has also been the newsletter editor.
The HHA has published our association “book” with new editions once every three years to coincide with our reunions. Our book contained genealogical files and other documents relating to Herriotts and the HHA. Initially it was in hardcopy print form and called A Family Named Herriott. The first edition in 1985 was authored by Carroll F. Herriott, A. Dean Herriott, Marylouise Sator, Scott R. Herriott and Virgil H. Herriott. Virgil Herriott took primary responsibility for several editions, up through 1994. Then Ray Harriot, our historian took over putting the book together, starting with the 1997 edition. Ray continued this task through the 2018 edition. When the book became too big for a hardcopy version, it was published on a CD. It outgrew the limits of a CD and was on a DVD but then it outgrew that and in 2018 was published on a thumb drive, amounting to over 10 GB. Ray Harriot has been a prolific historian for the HHA, authoring and compiling this huge information base. He has authored books as well, viz., Beyond Trabroun: Heriots of Scotland (1400-1700) and A Historical Perspective, the Heriot and Herriott Families of South Carolina, which have been HHA publications.
We went online with our website in 2004 as a method of publicizing the HHA and our work. The site now contains the information that was in the association book, i.e., thumb drive published in 2018. With the book information available on the website, the Board of Directors in their 2020 meeting deemed the book no longer necessary and discontinued it. Our website has a public area which anyone can access and a members’ area which only logged-in members can access. Becoming a member is simple and free. Register for free, use your password and you’re in the members-only area. There are no subscription costs. Our members-only area includes the information that formerly required purchasing of our publications.
Initially the focal point of the HHA was on the descendants of David Herriott (1661-1725) who immigrated to Perth Amboy, New Jersey from Scotland in 1685. This is our so-called New Jersey Line. With the exception of several of the Belfast Line, early HHA members were almost all part of the New Jersey Line. As we evolved, we have expanded to a global focus including all with the name in all its variant spellings. This encompasses quite a number of “lines.”
We have assembled a collective record from which family researchers can elaborate upon and continue our history with a degree of direction. We hope that publication of this material on our website will cause new information to surface thus enabling periodic updates. We solicit and invite submissions of data and documents so that the records can be as accurate and complete as possible.
We have come a long way since the early days of the Herriott Heritage Association in 1985 when a handful of dedicated researchers spent countless hours visiting courthouses, writing letters, and combing official documents to piece together our heritage. The first compilation of ancestors presented in 1985 contained no more than a few thousand people. Many of the relationships had still not been proved and there were several errors. However, these individuals planted the seed for things to come and the HHA owes them a lot. Our New Jersey Line now has over 90,000 people in it for example.
Finally, we apologize for our omissions and errors. We are not professionals but do our best. Inquiries and new information should be directed to:
Ray Harriot, HHA Historian
519 Oklahoma Avenue
Sykesville, MD 21784
rayh28@verizon.net