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Longley History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Longley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Longley has a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. The name comes from when a family lived in Langley in five counties in ancient Britain. Literally, the place name means "long wood or clearing," from the Old English words "land" + "leah." The name has Saxon roots too as the oldest place we found was in Langley, Kent where it was listed as Longanleag in 814. The next earliest was in Wiltshire where Langelegh was listed in 940, both before the Norman Conquest in 1066. 1

Early Origins of the Longley family

The surname Longley was first found in Durham where they held a family seat from very ancient times. Some of the first records of the name were listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273: Thomas Langeleye in Oxford; Peter de Langlege in Wiltshire; and Ralph de Langleye in Kent. 2

Wakefield in the West Riding of Yorkshire was home to another branch of the family since early times. "In the reign of Edward the Confessor, it formed part of the royal demesnes; and, after the Conquest, was granted by Henry I. to William, Earl Warren, with whose descendants it remained till the reign of Edward III., when, in default of issue male, it escheated to the crown, and was given by that monarch to his fifth son, Edmund de Langley, upon whom he conferred the title of Earl of Cambridge, and who, in the reign of Richard II., was for his important services created Duke of York." 3

Some of the family were found in the North Riding of Yorkshire at Wykeham. "Wykeham Abbey, the seat of the Hon. Marmaduke Langley, who is lord of the manor and chief owner of the soil, is a neat mansion, standing in a finely wooded park about a mile south of the village." 3

Langley Castle is a restored medieval tower house, now operated as an hotel, situated in the village of Langley in the valley of the River South Tyne, Northumberland. This castle was never held by the Langley family but is so named because of its proximity to the village. Langley Chapel is a 17th century Anglican parish church, located near Acton Burnell, Shropshire, England.

Early History of the Longley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Longley research. Another 65 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1341, 1363, 1386, 1402, 1404, 1437, 1548, 1576, 1595, 1596, 1602, 1611 and 1679 are included under the topic Early Longley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Longley Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Longley have been found, including Langley, Langlee, Langleigh and others.

Early Notables of the Longley family

Notables of the family at this time include Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, 1st Earl of Cambridge, (1341-1402), a medival prince; Thomas Langley (c.1363-1437), an English prelate, Dean of York, Bishop of Durham, twice Lord Chancellor of England, the second longest serving Chancellor of the Middle Ages; Sir Robert Langley, appointed Dean of York in 1386, though his...
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Longley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Longley Ranking

In the United States, the name Longley is the 8,369^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Longley family to Ireland

Some of the Longley family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Longley migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Longley, or a variant listed above:

Longley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Longley, who landed in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1638 5
Richard Longley, who landed in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1640 5

Longley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Richard Longley, who arrived in Virginia in 1714 5

Longley 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:

Longley Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mrs. Elizabeth Longley, (b. 1831), aged 28, English settler from Yorkshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th November 1859 6
Mr. Richard Longley, (b. 1835), aged 24, English brickmaker from Yorkshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th November 1859 6
Mr. David Longley, (b. 1859), aged Infant, English settler from Yorkshire born aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th November 1859, he died on board 23rd October 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Longley (post 1700) +

Mitch Longley (b. 1965), American actor
Ty Longley (1971-2003), American guitarist and vocalist
James Bertrand Longley, American film-maker
James B. "Jim" Longley Jr. (b. 1951), former member of the U.S. House of Representatives
James Bernard Longley Sr. (1924-1980), American politician
Howard Clinton "Clint" Longley Jr. (b. 1952), former American football quarterback
Fyfield H. Longley, American politician, Member of University of Nebraska Board of Regents, 1869-75 7
Frank Park Longley, American politician, Member of Georgia State House of Representatives from Troup County, 1933-34 7
Frank M. Longley, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Georgia, 1884 7
C. L. Longley, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Iowa, 1888 7
... (Another 24 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Longley family +

Empress of Ireland

Mr. Leonard Longley (1888-1914), Canadian Second Class Passenger from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 8
Miss Marion Longley (1913-1914), Canadian Second Class Passenger from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 8
Mrs. Gertrude Longley (1893-1914), née Day Canadian Second Class Passenger from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 8

HMS Repulse

Mr. George W Longley, British Able Bodied Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 9

RMS Titanic

Miss Gretchen Fiske Longley, aged 21, American First Class passenger from Hudson, New York who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and survived the sinking escaping in life boat 10 10

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html