A Brief Family History

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A Brief Family History

The Irizarry Family Tree (Genealogy Site) Password Protected Area*

How we all got here...

On this page I'll describe our family's roots. I might include our family's immigration records, or anything else I know about the origins of the family name.

I might also add a picture of the family crest or other pictures that help set the historical context for our family's background.

Researching our family ROOT's

I have learned from my cousin Gigi that the Irizarry name is found on both her mother's and father's side of the family. As I continued researching my mother's history, I found her birth certificate to have the Irizarry name also spelled with a "Y" Yrizarry. In researching further, I have found the same information that my cousin, Gigi and Jacquline shared with me. I have asked Jacquline's permission to reprint this portion of her document. The next paragraphs are written by her.

You have come across the fact that the name Irizarry sometimes used to be spelled Yrizarry (which in fact appears on Gigi's father's own birth certificate). In addition, you probably know that there are two explanations of the origin of the name. One is that it is from the Basque country in northeastern Spain. The other is that it is a derivative of the word Israel or Ysrael and is associated with some of the Jews that crossed southern Europe on their way eventually to Spain during the period of the mass exodus from Israel more than 2000 years ago.

This fact is particularly interesting in that older family members acknowledge that once the family was Jewish but that they don't wish to speak about it any more. I'm sure you are aware that several family members have married Jews and/or have converted (perhaps reverted is more appropriate) to the Jewish faith. This part of the family history is particularly difficult to research as all Jews were banished from Spain in 1492 and those who kept their faith took it into such deep secrecy that they've covered virtually all traces of it ... in order to save their lives!

Gigi and I were fortunate enough to travel across he Pyrenees into France and visited the tiny village of Irizarry in the French Basque countryside! We have photos and video footage of our visit. We toured the church
graveyard but did not find any Irizarrys on the gravestones. Indeed in the explanation of the origin of the name Irizarry it mentions that the family seat was located close to the Spanish town of Yanci which is between Pamplona and San Sebastian -- both of which are fascinating cities!

We have had internet conversations with various people who are also researching their Irizarry ancestry but none of them, as yet, have found connections to this particular Irizarry family! In other words, there are a heck of a lot of Irizarrys out there! We have heard that many congregate
in Boise, Idaho for the great annual Basque festival!

Well enough for now! It is very easy to get caught up in the research!

Jacqui A. Sturgess for Gigi Irizarry
Copyrighted 2001

List of Surnames

Here I might list all of the family names and variations I've found while researching my family tree.

IRIZARRY

VARIATIONS:

The usual form of this surname is IRISARRI, but there are many variations: IRISARRY, IRISSARY. IRRISARRI, IRRISARRY, IRIZARRI, YRIZARJ, IRIZARRY, ETC.

MEANING:

The root of this surname, IRI, means "group of houses, or town," and SARRI means "thicket", referring to a dense group of shrubs or forest. The surname may refer to a family in a group of houses near a dense forest. Many surnames were derived as locality names describing the area a particular family resided in.

ORIGIN:

The origin of this surname is a house in Ianzy or Yanzi, Navarre, Spain with ancestral houses spread to Villatuena and Azketa (both in Navarre). There are other very old homesteads with this surname in Iholdi in Baxe-Navarre, in the French Basque Country. It is documented that the surname of this house exists since 1352, but can also be the house IRIZURI mentioned in documents of 1186.
There are branches of this family in much of the Basque Country, and of course, in Spain, France and America. There are a lot of coats of arms of this surname depending on the branch. The coat of arms of the IRIZARRI (the only branch with Z) is the one with the two gold towers. This Z branch exists (or existed) in Bizkaia, Colombia, Argentina, Navarre, Mexico and Terre Neuve. In Puerto Rico, the branch with the Z is spelled IRIZARRY.

THE COAT-OF-ARMS

Because designs were so important on the battlefield, so was the display of colors. The important rule to remember here is that metal is always displayed on color and color always on metal. For example, blue on gold, not blue on green, as it would lose its clarity or distinctiveness of design.

THE METALS:

Gold (Or) or yellow- denotes generosity, valor or perseverance. Silver (Argent) or White - represents serenity and nobility.

THE COLORS:

Red (Gules) represents fortitude and creative power.
Black (Sable) - represents repentance or vengeance.

THE CHECKERED DESIGN:

Generally believed to have originated from the bars of wood or iron that were used to strengthen or fasten the early shields. The CHEQUY is a sub-ordinary and one of the simple geometric forms that made up some of the earliest heraldic figures.

I may also include a map of the location of our family's origin