Chalklay History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe ancient name of Chalklay finds its origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from a name for a whitewasher. Medieval buildings weren't painted, for paint was very expensive in the Middle Ages. Instead, they were whitewashed; covered in a paint-like emulsion of lime. It served to protect the houses against water, as well as look better. However, it didn't last very long; houses needed to be whitewashed at least twice a year, in the spring and fall. A "chalker" was a professional whitewasher; the name was originally derived from the Old English word cealcian, which meant "to whiten." 1 Alternatively, the name could have been a topographic name for "someone who lived on a patch of chalk soil." 1 And finally, another source presumes that the name was "well known earth; a locality. Chalk, Saxon, a servant or attendant." 2 Early Origins of the Chalklay familyThe surname Chalklay was first found in Kent, in the parish of Chalk, in the union of North Aylesford, hundred of Shamwell where "this name is principally found, there is a parish and a hundred so designated, and there is also in county Wiltshire, a parish called Broad-Chalk." 3 More recently, Chalk is a suburb which adjoins the east of Gravesend, Kent. The place name is derived from the Old English word Cealc and was listed as Cealca 4 in the 10th century and as Celca 5 in the Domesday Book. "The church is very ancient, and has various figures carved over the entrance, the origin and meaning of which have caused much controversy." 6 The first record of the family was Walter de Chelka who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire in 1177. Ralph de Chalke was later found in Cheshire in 1268 and William atte Chalke was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296. 1 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list William Choc in Shropshire. Kirby's Quest noted Reginald Chock in Somerset, 1 Edward III. 7 8 Early History of the Chalklay familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chalklay research. Another 167 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1624, 1675, 1683, 1741 and 1767 are included under the topic Early Chalklay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Chalklay Spelling VariationsSound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Chalklay family name include Chalk, Chaulk, Chaulke, Chaulkey, Chalke, Chalker, Chalkley, Caulk, Caulke, Kalke and many more. Early Notables of the Chalklay familyNotables of the family at this time include John Chalkhill (fl. 1600), poet, was the author of a work which was published under the title of 'Thealma and Clearchus. A Pastoral History in smooth and easie Verse. Written long since by John Chalkhill, Esq., an Acquaintant and Friend of Edmund Spencer,' London, 1683, 8vo. 9
Thomas Chalkley (1675-1741), English Quaker, was the son of George Chalkley, a Quaker tradesman in Southwark, was sent to a day school when nine years old. "Chalkley was fond of gambling till, when he was ten years old... Migration of the Chalklay familyFor political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Chalklay surname or a spelling variation of the name include : Joseph Chalk, who settled in Virginia in 1635; as did John Chalkley in 1732; Thomas Chalkley, who immigrated to New England in 1735; Steven Chalk, who arrived in Virginia in 1774.
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