To the Ferris family: There are four large groups of related Ferrises in the US and Canada.
1. Jeffrey Ferris lineage is the largest with almost 6,000 in my data base with the last name and a direct relationship to him from 1634 onward
2. Zachariah Ferris lineage arrived in CT at nearly the same time and settled near but not close to the Jeffrey Ferris group. Many also migrated to Westchester and esp to Dutchess County pre-Revolution. The notable migration was to Delaware when a significant number became Quakers. The double “s” is usually a sign of this lineage, Ferriss.
3. There is a group of Ferrises who date to Jamestown, VA, at about 1630s. Some moved west and may be responsible for a cluster in Upper Canada, Ontario, in the 1800s. Those Ferrises appeared after some Indian raids on Kentucky that brought back captives.
4. The oddest lineage is from Syria / Turkey / Lebanon were it seems that Faroush became Ferris on immigration. The family is mostly Maronite Catholic. These folks arrive beginning in the late 1800s.
Canadian Ferrises in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia seem to have adopted the Farris spelling in many cases. These are UEL
, Tories, that emigrated from post-Revolution USA. Most are connected to the Jeffrey Ferris lineage BUT records are not clear for many in the 1780ish time frame.
Lots of other small families named Ferris
, nearly all with an origin in Ireland.