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![Show Contents]() Offally History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
Early Origins of the Offally familyThe surname Offally was first found in Hertfordshire at Offley, a civil parish that includes the main village Great Offley. Little Offley is a small hamlet lying 1½ miles north-west of Great Offley. Collectively, this ancient Saxon settlement dates back to 944-6 when it was first listed as Offanlege. 1 By the Domesday Book of 1086, the villages were known as Offelei. 2 The place name literally means "woodland clearing of a man called Offa," from the Old English personal name + "leah." 1 Another source claims "this place received its name from King Offa (died 796), who is said to have died here." 3 Early History of the Offally familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Offally research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1547, 1556, 1582, 1649, 1666, 1708, 1716, 1742 and 1829 are included under the topic Early Offally History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Offally Spelling VariationsIt is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Offally are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. The variations of the name Offally include: Offley, Offlie, Offly, Offaly, Offally, Offalie and others. Early Notables of the Offally familyDistinguished members of the family include Robert Offley who inherited Norton Hall, an English country house situated on Norton Church Road in the suburb of Norton in Sheffield in 1666. The family held the estates for many generations including Stephen Offley who was High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1716. Thomas Offley (d. 1582) a wool and cloth merchant, bought Madeley Old Manor was a medieval manor house at Madeley, Staffordshire from Sir Francis Poyntz in 1547. He was Lord Mayor of London in 1556...
Another 84 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Offally Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Offally familyMany English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Offally or a variant listed above: Daniel and David Offley who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1635; John H. Offley settled in Baltimore Maryland in 1823.
| Contemporary Notables of the name Offally (post 1700) | + |
- Edward Offally, Professor of Science
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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