Early Virginia Immigrants, Year Arrived, Sponsor, County
Deering	Edmond	1653	Col William Clayborne (Sec of State)	???		
Deering	Thomas	1638	Thomas Beerbye	Upper New Norfolk

The Media Research Bureau in Wash. D.C. did a paper on the Dearing name and I am sending you the following information. If it doesn't all fit I will be happy to send it to you.
Linda
ppepper@pacifier.com

THE NAME AND FAMILY OF DEARING OR DERING

The name of DEERING, DEARING, or DERING is derived from the ancient Saxon baptismal name of Dering and was first taken as a patronymic by the son or sons of one so called. It is found in ancient English and early American records in the various forms of Deryng, Derynge, Deearinge, Deearing , Dearinge, Deeringe, Deringe, Deerieng, Deeryn, During, Dareing, Duryng, Derringe, Daring, Deringer, Derringer, Derring, Diering, Diring, Diringe, Duaringe, Duehring, Duering, Dyring, Dyringe, Dyrryng, Dyryng, Dyrring, Dearing , Dering, Deering , and others, of which the last three spellings are still frequently used.
Seated at early dates in the English Counties of Kent, York, Dorset, Devon, Hampshire, Essex, Sussex, and Hertford, as well as In the city and vicinity of London, the families bearing this name were, on the whole, of the landed gentry and nobility.

The family, like Its name, is of Saxon origin and traces its descent from Ethelward, King of Diera, whose
father, Oswald, was slain in the year 642 A.D. Ethelward, then only four years of age, was deprived of his heritage by his uncle, Osway, and was taken by friends Into Kent. His descendants were called Dierans, having come from that country.. Diering Miles, a descendant of Ethelward, was witness to a deed in County Kent in the year 880. In the early eleventh century one Dering filius (son of) Syrodi was the representative of this line. He was the father of a son named Byred, who was the father of Leofget, who, upon the death of William the Noman I took up arms in behalf of Duke Robert. With the loss of this cause, he retired to Nomandy, where he left two sons, Nomanus or Koman and Robert Dering. The first of these married Matilda, sister and heir of William de Ipes, Earl of Kent, and had issue by her of Deringus or Dering de Morinis, who married Elveva de Raytib and was the father of Deringue Fitz (son of) Dering, the first of the family to bear the surname.

Deringus Fitz Dering was the father of a son named Wymund, who possessed lands at Famingham, County Kent. He was the father of Richard, who left issue by his wife, Claricia Shlllinghelde, of a son named Peter Dering or Deering. This Peter held lands In Kent, Essex, and Leicester. By his wife Agnes, daughter of Ralph de Badlesmere, he had a son named Richard, whose son, Sir John, died in 1364. Sir John was the father of Sir Richard De(e)ring, Lieutenant of Dover Castle in the reign of King Richard the Second. Sir Richard married Joan, sister of Sir Arnold St, Leger, and had issue by her of John, who married Christian, daughter of John Haut, and died in 1425, leaving, among others, a son named Richard, who resided at Surenden, County Kent. He was twice married, first to a Miss Bertyn and later to Agnes Eyton, of Shropshire. By his second wife, Richard left four sons, John, Richard, James, and William.

John Dering or Deering, eldest son of Richard and Agnes, possessed the lands then called Surenden-Dering in Kent. He died in 1517, leaving Issue by his wife, Julian Darrell, of Nicholas and Richard, of whom the first married Alicia, daughter of William Betenham, and left issue by her of an only son, named John, who married Margaret, daughter of John Brent, and was the father of Richard, Anthony, Edward, John, and Christopher. Of these, Richard died in 1612, aged eighty-two, and left issue by his wife Margaret, daughter of William Twysden, of five sons, of whom the eldest was Sir Anthony Dering, of Surenden. By his first wife, Mary, daughter of Sir Henry Goring, Sir Anthony had only female issue; but his second wife, Frances, daughter of Sir Robert Bell, gave him six sons, as well as two daughters. The oldest son was Sir Edward Dering, who was created a Baronet in 1626. Sir Edward first married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Nicholas Tufton, who gave him a son named Anthony. His second wife, Anne, daughter of Sir John Ashbumham., gave him a son named Edward, who succeeded his father (Anthony having died at fourteen years of age); and his third wife, Unton, daughter of Sir Ralph Gibbes, left two sons, Henry and another Edward, commonly called "Red Ned",, who made his home at London, but died without issue. Sir Edward, eldest surviving son of Sir Edward, the first Baronet, married Mary, daughter of Daniel Harvey, and died in 1684, leaving Issue of Sir Edward, Charles, Daniel, John, and several daughters.

William Dering or Deering, youngest son of Richard and Agnes (née Eyton), made his home in County Sussex and was the progenitor of the families of the name in that county and In Hampshire. William married Eleanor, daughter of Henr Dyke, and had issue by her of Nicholas, John, and Henry, of whom the first had issue by his first wife,
Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Henry Owen, of two sons, Thomas and William, of whom the first resided in Southampton and was the father by his wife Winifred, daughter of Sir George Cotton, of Cheshire, of two sons, Henry and Edward, as well as of several daughters. Of the sons, Henry married Elizabeth, sister of Henry, Earl of Kent, and left a son named Richard, who was organist to Queen Mary. By a second wife, Anne, daughter of Robert Hawley, Nicholas Dering, of Sussex, had further Issue of another Thomas, Robert, John, Anthony, Edward, Owen, and five daughters, Of the sons of the second marriage, Thomas was the father of Thomas, Edward, and George, of whom the last made his home at London; Anthony was a captain In Ireland In 1588; and Edward (son of Nicholas) left issue In Sussex by his wife, Margaret Michel, of two sons, Edmond and William, of whom the former was the father of Edmond Dering, of Hampshire.

Early records of the family In Devonshire include those of Davy Derynge, In 1538; Robert, James, Thomas, and William Deringe, about 1547; John Deering of Dearing, about 1566, who was the father of John and Thomas, of whom the latter was the father of Thomas, Robert, Philip, and John De(a)ringe; George Deering or During, about 1587, who was the father of Andrew, Mary, Thomas, Anne, and George; and Roger Dearing, who was the father in the early seventeenth century Of Roger, Jonathan, Clement, Sarah, Thomas, and Jezreel.

Although they are undoubtedly descended from the before-mentioned British lines, the earliest emigrants of the name to America have not been definitely connected with the family in Great Britain.

The first of the family in the South was Thomas Deering, who settled in Upper New Norfolk County, Va., in 1638. In 1653 the names of Edmond Deering and Katherine Dearing are also found in Virginia, but the records of these lines are not complete.

As early as 1639 George Dearing or Deering (also recorded as Dering) made his home at Scarborough, Me. He left issue by his wife Elizabeth of at least one son, named Roger, who died at Scarborough in 1676. This Roger left a son, also named Roger, who made his home at Kittery, Me., and left issue there of, among other children, three sons, Thomas, Roger, and Humphrey, of whom the last was one of the selectmen at Arundel, Me., in 1719.

A Samuel Dearing or Deering was living at Braintree, Me., before 1649, about which year he married Bethia, daughter of George Baxter, of that place. He had issue by this union of a daughter named Bethia, and his wife died shortly after the birth of this child. In 1651 he married a second wife, Mary Ray, by whom he had further issue of Mary, Hannah, and Sarah. His second wife died in 1657, and In the same year he married Mary, daughter of Francis Newcomb. The progeny or this union included a daughter named Rachel and, probably, a son named Samuel.

Samuel, believed to have been the son of the immigrant Samuel of Braintree, resided at Wrentham, in the same colony. He left issue by his wife Hannah of Hannah (died infancy), Sarah, and another Hannah, but probably left no male issue.

Sometime before 1663 one Henry Deering or Dering came from England to America and settled at Boston, Mass. He is said to have been born in 1639 in Dorchester, England, and to have been the son of Thomas Dering, the son of Nicholas Dering, of Dorsetshire. Henry first married the Widow Ann Benning, in 1664 and had issue by her of a daughter named Ann. In 1676 he married the Widow Elizabeth (née Mitchelson) Atkinson, by whom he had further issue of Elizabeth, Mary, Martha, and Henry.

Henry De(e)ring, only son of the immigrant of that name, was married at Boston in 1709 to Elizabeth$ daughter
of Dr. Thomas Packer, of London and New Hampshire. To this marriage were born Henry (died in infancy), Henry (died young), Elizabeth, Mary, Thomas, another Henry (died young), Ann, Mitchelson, Sarah (died young), Abigail, Sarah, and yet another Henry.

The perpetuator of this family was the son Thomas, who settled at Shelter Island, N.Y., and left issue there ny his wife, Mary Sylvester, of General Sylvester Dering, of Revolutionary fame, as well as of Henry (died young), Elizabeth, and Henry Packer Dering.

Another branch of the family in America traces its descent from one Henry Dering (also recorded as Dehring and Deringer), who was evidently of German descent. This Henry settled at Hanover, Pa., about 1734, leaving issue by his wife Christina of Henry, Philip, Nicholas, Catharine, and Christina.

A Robert Dearing or Deering, whose ancestry is not known, settled in Orange County, Va., in the early eighteenth century and died there in 1758. By his wife Elizabeth, he was the father of a son named Edward, who settled in Campbell County, Va. He had issue by his wife Ann of Captain James Dearing, who served under General Washington in the Revolutionary War, as well as of Rosamond, John, Anthony, Robert, and William Deering or Dearing.

Understanding of human nature, the ability to lead and direct others, and business acumen have distinguished the De(e)ring or Dearing family as a whole and have placed them in the front ranks of American politicians and business and professional men.

Besides those before mentioned, members of the family who served the cause of American freedom during the Revolution included Captain Ebenezer Dearing, of New Hampshire; Lieutenant Francis Dearing, of South Carolina; Andrew, Godfrey, and Henry Deering or Dering, of Pennsylvania; Edward and Henry Dearing or Deering, of Virginia; Emilius Derring, of Virginia; Benjamin, Daniel, John, Joseph, Captain Nathaniel, Samuel, and Lieutenant William Dearing, of Massachusetts and Maine; and many more as well.

Richard, John, Edward, Thomas, Henry, Anthony, George, Robert, Edmond, James, Roger, Samuel, Nicholas, and William are among the male Christian names most frequently used by the family.

Among those of the name who have been prominent in America in comparatively recent years are:
 Nathaniel Deering (1791-1881), of Maine, dramatist and author.
 Frank R. Dearing (nineteenth century), of Missouri, lawyer and Jurist.
 William Deering (b. 1826, deceased), of Maine and Illinois, manufacturer, financier, and philanthropist.
 Nathaniel C. Deering (1827-1887), of Maine and Iowa, legislator and Congressman.
 John William Deering (b. 1833), of Maine, sea captain, merchant, and manufacturer.
 James Dearing (1840-1865), of Virginia, military officer.
 Robert Waller Deering (b. 1865), of Georgia, educator and dean.
 Fred Morris Dearing (b. 1879), of Missouri, diplomat.

One of the several coats of arms of the ancient English family of Dering or Deering, from which the American families of Dering, Deering, and Dearing are descended, is that described as follows (Burke, Encyclopaedia of Heraldry, 1844):
Arms.--"Or, a saltire sable-"

Crest.--"In a ducal coronet or, a mount vert, thereon a horse passant sable."

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bardeley. English and Welsh Surnames. 1901.
Hasted. History of-the County of Kent. Vol. 3. 1790.
Betham. Baronetage of England. Vol. 1. 1801.
Norris. Baddesley Clinton. 1897.
Haslewood. The Dering Family of Kent. 1876.
Berry. County Genealogies. Kent and Sussex. 1830.
Berry. County Genealogies. Hants. 1833.
Cussan. History.of Hertfordshire. Vol. 2. 1877.
Harleian Society. Essex Visitations. 1878.
Harlelan Society. London Visitation. 1880.
Harleian Society. Kent Visitation. 1898.
Greer. Early Virginia Immigrants. 1912.
Savage. Genealogical Dictionary of New England. 1860.
Preble. The Prebles In America. 1868.
Lapham. History of Paris, Me. 1884.
Lapham. History of Norway, Me. 1866.

Bradbury. History of Kennebunkport. 1837.
Munsell. American Ancestry. 1889. 1891. 1898.
Ridlon. Saco Valley Settlements. 1895.
Wentworth. Wentworth Genealogy. 1878.
Mallmann. Shelter Island. 1899.
Tyler. Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography. Vol. 5. 1915.
Bruce. History of Virginia. Biography. Vol. 5. 1924.
Early. Campbell County Chronicles. 1927.
Dotterer. The Perkiomen Region. 1900.
Heitman. Officers of the Continental Army. 1914.
Pennsylvania Muster Rolle. 1907.
Virginia Revolutionary Soldiers. 1912. Supplement. 1913.
Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War. 1898.
Herringshaw. American Biography. Vol. 2. 1909.
Burke. Encyclopaedia of Heraldry. 1844.

Followups: Re: What’s the origin of my family name Greg Whitlock 5/12/01 Re: What’s the origin of my family name Gwen Deering Martin 5/05/01 Re: What’s the origin of my family name Ernie Hurst 5/05/01

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