 John Courtney and his wife, Sybill, were early immigrants to America, leaving London on the "Paule" in July 1635, bound for Virginia.An early coat of arms granted to the family depicts a blue fesse between three torteaux on a gold shield.The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Reginald de Curtenay, which was dated 1164, in "Feudal Documents from the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds", Suffolk, during the reign of King Henry II.