The family name LEDGER, like many others, would most likely have been
taken from the first name of the original bearer's father. This was one
of the ways that family names were formed, and used by the individual
families to distinguish themselves within their communities. The word
/legere/ in Latin means "to read", and may or may not have any bearing
on the origin of the Ledger name. Since the name Ledger could indicate
a scholarly or financial family background, it is entirely plausible,
that the Ledger's originally received their titles and lands because of
some financial service to the King. This however, is conjecture on our
part.
The LEDGER family not only held lands and estates in both France and
England, but were actively allied with other influential families.
There is some evidence to indicate that references to the family name
Ledger can be found as far back as the year 1192. However, other
reports document the Ledger name in ancient medieval records in
Bourgogne in 1287. The Bourgogne records indicate that the name is
originally French. With the Norman invasion of England, the Ledgers
branched out.
The first reference of the name Ledger in England is in medieval
documents in Kent, around 1404. Once the family was established in
England, Robert St. Leger was granted estates at Ulcombe and became Lord
of the
Manor of Ulcombe. Eventually they moved into the new world. (date
unknown)
Some
of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: John
St.
Ledger, who settled in Canada in 1841 and William St. Leger, who settled
in New
Orleans in 1823.
The Ledger family shield is a blue background with silver trellis work
and a
gold stripe at the top. The BLUE represents "Strength, Truth & Loyalty";
the
frettwork or latticework represents "power of persuasion". The GOLD
represents
"Generosity & Elevation of Mind". The family motto is the French phrase
"Haut et
bon.", which means "high and good".
The family crest is a gold griffin.
Spelling variations include: St. Leger, St. Ledger, Leger, Legere,
Sallinger,
Sellinger, and several others.
All sources researched by this site indicate that Heath descends from
Irish &
Scottish origins.
Information on this page has been researched from a variety of places,
including the following sites:
House of Names
TraceIt.com
Fleur-de-Lis
