Woolery History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Woolery is one of the many new names that came to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Woolery family lived in Cheshire, at Woolley. "This family, anciently De Wolegh, or De Woloey, were settled in Longdendale, co Chester as early as the reign of King John." 1

It is thought that the name was originally derived from "'wolves' wood', or lost places of the same name," 2 and this may be the reason that wolves appear on the Coat of Arms.

Early Origins of the Woolery family

The surname Woolery was first found in Cheshire where they held a family seat in Longdendale. Woolley is also located in Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire. These place names are derived from the Old English words wulf + leah and literally means "wood or clearing frequented by wolves." Two of the places are listed in the Domesday Book as Ciluelai in Cambridgeshire and Wiluelai in West Yorkshire. 3

Hugo de Wuluele was listed in the Assize Rolls for Yorkshire in 1219 and later, Ralph de Wullueleye was found in the Pipe Rolls for Berkshire in 1230. In Oxfordshire, Roger de Wolvele was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1279 and in Staffordshire, Nicholas de Wolveleye was listed in the Assize Rolls for 1280. In Yorkshire, Bate de Wolflay was listed in 1308 and in Sussex, Robert de Woluelie was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327. 2

Another branch of the family was found at Thorpe in Surrey in later years. "The manor appears to have been held under the abbots of Chertsey in the 15th century, by a family named Thorpe: after the Dissolution, Queen Elizabeth granted the lands to Sir John Wolley, her Latin secretary." 4

Early History of the Woolery family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Woolery research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1596, 1622, 1648, 1651, 1663, 1667, 1675, 1684, 1694, 1695 and 1771 are included under the topic Early Woolery History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Woolery Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Woolley, Wooley, Wooly and others.

Early Notables of the Woolery family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir John Wolley (d. 1596), Latin Secretary to Elizabeth, "was a native of Shropshire and a man of good family. " 5Edward Wolley (d. 1684), was an English divine, Bishop of Clonfert, probably second son of Thomas Wolley and his wife Elizabeth. "Wolley was domestic chaplain to Charles I, and on the decline of that monarch's fortunes he took refuge abroad about 1648. He afterwards joined Charles II in his exile and became his chaplain. He was with Charles in Paris in 1651, but returned to England after seven years, spent on the...
Another 112 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Woolery Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Woolery Ranking

In the United States, the name Woolery is the 7,562^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Woolery family to Ireland

Some of the Woolery 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.

Woolery migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Woolery or a variant listed above were:

Woolery Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Doreen May Woolery, aged 18, who landed in America, in 1919
David Woolery, aged 26, who landed in America, in 1919
J. Woolery, aged 23, who settled in America, in 1921
Marcell T. Woolery, aged 30, who landed in America, in 1924
Newman W. Woolery, aged 5, who settled in York, Pennsylvania, in 1924
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Woolery (post 1700) +

Adrian Woolery (1909-1992), American production manager and producer best known for his annimated shorts
Eric Woolery, American Documentary Film Award winning director for his Dance Dance Documentary (2004)
Charles Herbert "Chuck" Woolery (b. 1941), American game show host, original host of Wheel of Fortune (1975–1981), Love Connection (1983–1994), and Scrabble from (1984–1990)

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/