Contents [hide]

Jelly History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Jelly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
England

Viking settlers in ancient Scotland were the ancestors of the first people to use the name Jelly. It comes from Giles. "In the Scottish dialect jelly means worthy, upright." 1

The surname Jelly is derived from a corruption of this personal name. Giles is derived from the Old Scandinavian personal name Gilli, which came to the British Isles with the Vikings who settled in the north of England and in Scotland in the 9th century AD. They came to the British Isles under the leadership of Sigurd the Stout after they were dispossessed of their lands by the King of Norway.

Early Origins of the Jelly family

The surname Jelly was first found in Ayrshire where early record show Thomas Jelle held a tenement in 1518. Later, William Jellie is recorded in Cruikens, parish of Carnwath, 1673 and Andrew Jellie and his wife were residents in the parish of Borgue, 1684. 2

Further to the south in England, we found Thomas Jely listed in Essex in 1472; Robert Jely in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1524 and John Jelleye and Richard Gellye in Surrey in 1583. 3

Early History of the Jelly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Jelly research. Another 153 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1500, 1592, 1593, 1621, 1663, 1665 and 1673 are included under the topic Early Jelly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Jelly Spelling Variations

Translation and spelling were non-standardized practices in the Middle Ages, so scribes had only their ears to rely on. This was a practice of extremely limited efficiency, and spelling variations in names, even within a single document, were the result. Over the years, Jelly has appeared Jelly, Jellie, Jelley and others.

Early Notables of the Jelly family

Notable amongst the Clan from early times was

Thomas Jelly of Ayrshire

Jelly migration to the United States +

The fertile east coast of what would become US and Canada was soon dotted with the farms of Scottish settlers. Some of them remained faithful to the crown and called themselves United Empire Loyalists, while others had the chance to pay back their old oppressors in the American War of Independence. That brave spirit lives on today in the highland games that dot North America in the summer. Passenger and immigration lists indicate that members of the Jelly family came to North America quite early:

Jelly Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Jelly, who settled in Virginia in 1656
Tho Jelly, who landed in Virginia in 1656 4
Alice Jelly, who landed in Maryland in 1661 4
Edward Jelly, who landed in Maryland in 1663 4
James Jelly, who arrived in Virginia in 1665 4

Jelly Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

David Jelly, who arrived in Virginia in 1714 4
William Jelly, who landed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1795 4

Jelly Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Hugh Jelly, who settled in Philadelphia in 1804
Hugh Jelly, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1809 4
James Jelly, who settled in New York in 1823
Thomas F Jelly, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1876 4

Jelly migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Jelly Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Henry Jelly, English convict from Southampton, who was transported aboard the "Adelaide" on August 08, 1849, settling in Van Diemen's Land and Port Phillip, Australia 5
James Jelly, aged 21, a farm labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Melbourne"
Mary Ann Jelly, aged 18, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Melbourne"

Jelly migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Jelly Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Thomas Jelly, aged 36, a shepherd, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Waitangi" in 1874
Louisa Jelly, aged 24, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Waitangi" in 1874
William Jelly, aged 7, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Waitangi" in 1874
Clara Jelly, aged 1, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Waitangi" in 1874
Erwin Jelly, aged 35, a carpenter, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Waitangi" in 1874
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Jelly migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 6

Jelly Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Thomas Jelly, his wife Mary, and son Richard and his servants, settled in Barbados in 1678

Contemporary Notables of the name Jelly (post 1700) +

Ted Jelly (b. 1921), English former footballer who played for Leicester City (1946-1951) and Plymouth Argyle (1952-1954)
William Jelly (1835-1900), Canadian farmer and politician who represented Dufferin in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario (1880-1883)
David Finlay Jelly (1847-1911), Canadian educator, farmer and politician, MLA for Regina (1885-1888)

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 17) Adelaide voyage to Van Diemen's Land and Port Phillip, Australia in 1849 with 303 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adelaide/1849
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies