Hi again, IJDisney, the family story that has been passed down to me (which i am still trying to verify) is that originally Robert d’Isigny came over from Normandy with William the Conqueror in 1066.
They lived in Norton Disney and then sometime later a family member supported the wrong side in one of the civil wars or rebellion?? And then either left or were exiled to Ireland???
Sometime before 1819 (when he married in London) he was living in ashby street London (where kings cross station is now) and working as a cabinet maker. i can't seem to find out more information than that except for his marriage and birth of 3 sons with his wife Elizabeth nee crown born in Cork Ireland.
I am not sure what happened to him but Elizabeth and her 3 sons ended up in Australia (I have pretty much all her history and the sons from then to now)
I am not sure who his family was or the exact details on his line and am still researching.
That's the popular version of the story.
However....
The Disney at Hastings is variously called Robert or Lambert, but the earliest recorded person with the surname 'Disney' (or one of its variants) known in England is a William Disney in the the mid 12th Century. Whilst his father was called Robert, no one has yet traced a verifiable Disney line back into the 11th Century. William held Norton in Lincolnshire (which became Norton Disney), and it was his descendant, William Disney, who was involved in the Duke of Monmouth Rebellion and executed for High Treason in 1685. This is the source of the legend that all the Disneys then fled to Ireland in fear. However, William's close relatives still stayed on in Lincolnshire unharmed, and Disneys had been in Ireland at least 70 years before this event. Various Disneys are known to have traveled over to Ireland and settled there at various times, so it is not quite as straight forward as the legend suggests.
I have a record for an Elizabeth Disney, aged 37, convicted of stealing in April 1828, and transported for 7 years. It that your ancestor?
