David G. Hey (18 July 1938 – 14 February 2016) was an English historian, and was an authority on surnames and the

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. Hey was the president of the

British Association for Local History The British Association for Local History (BALH) is a membership organisation that exists to promote the advancement of public education through the study of local history and to encourage and assist the study of local history throughout Great Bri ...

, and was a published author of several books on local history and the derivation of surnames.

Early life

Hey was born to George and Florence (née Batty) Hey in Catshaw. When he was eleven years old the family moved to

Penistone Penistone ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 22,909 at the 2011 census. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is west of Barnsley, n ...

, where he attended

Penistone Grammar School Penistone Grammar School (PGS) is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Penistone, South Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1392, it is the 45th oldest extant school in England with its most notable alumnus being Nicholas ...

. He graduated from the

University College of North Staffordshire Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Kee ...

in 1960.

Career

He taught at Matlock College of Education. During this teaching stint, he received a master's degree and doctorate from

Leicester University , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

, finishing his studies in 1971. Hey's doctoral adviser was W. G. Hoskins. Four years later, he left a research fellowship at Leicester to join the faculty of

Sheffield University , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

. In 1992 he became a chair professor and, in 1994, the dean of extramural studies. Hey was president of the

and the British Agricultural History Society, and led the

British Record Society The British Record Society is a British learned society that focuses on publishing historic records, or, more specifically, indexes to such records. In recent years, the Society has concentrated on the publication of name indexes to English probat ...

as council chair. Hey's interest in local history led to books on the town of

and city of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, and also the counties of

and

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. His research into surnames, which grew from local history, determined that many rare names originated in the 13th century, and that most people with such surnames still lived close to the area from where their surname came. Linking genetic studies with surname prevalence indicated that people did not move as much as social scientists thought at the time. On 12 April 2014, Hey delivered a Marc Fitch Lecture on "The Origins and Spread of Derbyshire Surnames."

Personal life

Hey was married in 1970 and had two children. He died in 2016 aged 77.

Selected publications

*1996: ''The Oxford Companion to Local and Family History''. Oxford University Press. (as editor) *1997 (published online 2003):
iew/10.1093/acref/9780198600800.001.0001/acref-9780198600800 The Oxford Dictionary of Local and Family History
*1998: ''A History of Sheffield''. Carnegie Publishing. *2002: ''A History of Penistone and District''. Wharncliffe Books. *2003: ''Journeys in Family History: Exploring Your Past, Finding Your Ancestors'', PRO Publications. *2005: ''A History of Yorkshire''. Carnegie Publishing. *2008: ''Derbyshire: a History''. Carnegie Publishing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hey, David 1938 births 2016 deaths 20th-century English historians British university and college faculty deans Alumni of Keele University Alumni of the University of Leicester Academics of the University of Sheffield People from Penistone People educated at Penistone Grammar School 21st-century English historians English local historians Historians of Yorkshire