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Pawley History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Pawley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
England

The vast movement of people that followed the Norman Conquest of England of 1066 brought the Pawley family name to the British Isles. They lived in Pavilly, in Seine Maritime, Normandy.

"A monastery was founded here by Amalbert, Lord of Pavilly 664, which was restored by Thomas de Pavilly, c. 1090 (Neustria Pia, 328). Reginald de Pavilly died in the first Crusade at Acre (Des Bois). Ralph de Pavilly witnessed a charter of William Earl of Surrey, temp. Henry I." 1

"The Pavelys," says Banks, were a very numerous family, and greatly divided, which renders a connected account most difficult to give with any accuracy to be depended upon." Contemporary with the above-named Ralph, according to Sir Richard Hoare, was Reginald de Paveley, Lord of Westbury in Wiltshire, where his descendants." 2

Early Origins of the Pawley family

The surname Pawley was first found in Dorset where they held a family seat at Charlton Marshall, when Reginald de Pavelli was granted the King's lands by King Henry II. Later King John granted Pillington of Norfolk to the Lords of Pavelli, Roger and Thomas. The son, however, Thomas Pavelli or Thomas Pawley still adhered to the King of France in 1204. 3

"There was a flourishing branch seated at Bickenhall in the county of Somerset; and another in Hampshire ; but this latter, according to Woodward, was founded by Walter de Pavilly, Mayor of Rouen, who was one of those who were banished from Normandy on account of their adherence to King johns He settled at Winchester, whence the name came into the county. Reginald de Paveley in 1264 was one of the Hampshire barons summoned to serve against Llewellyn. Robert de Paviliaco held Rodington in Nottinghamshire in the time of Henry I., and founded a family that was seated there till the end of Edward III.'s reign." 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had two early entries for the family with the Pauly spelling: Geoffrey Pauly, Cambridgeshire; and William Pauly in Cambridgeshire. 4 5

Early History of the Pawley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pawley research. Another 132 words (9 lines of text) covering the year 1635 is included under the topic Early Pawley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pawley Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Pawley, Pauley, Paulye, Paulley and others.

Early Notables of the Pawley family

More information is included under the topic Early Pawley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pawley migration to the United States +

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Pawley or a variant listed above:

Pawley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Leonora Pawley, who settled in Boston in 1630
John Pawley, who landed in Maryland in 1651 6
Lionel] Pawley, who arrived in Maryland in 1670 6
Lionell Pawley, who settled in Maryland in 1670
Percival Pawley, who settled in South Carolina sometime between 1670 and 1696

Pawley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

George Pawley, who settled in America in 1763
Paulus Pawley, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1769

Pawley migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Pawley Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Thomas Pawley, who arrived in Ontario in 1871
John Pawley, who settled in Hants Harbour in 1884

Pawley migration to Australia +

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

Pawley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Richard Pawley, British Convict who was convicted in Devon, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl Cornwallis" in August 1800, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Richard Pawley, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Henry Porcher" in 1838 8
Elizabeth Pawley, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Henry Porcher" in 1838 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Pawley (post 1700) +

William Douglas Pawley (1896-1977), American diplomat and businessman, United States Ambassador to Peru (1945-1946), United States Ambassador to Brazil (1946-1948), associated with the Flying Tigers American Volunteer Group (AVG) during World War II
William Pawley (1905-1952), American actor, known for his roles in The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Speak Easily (1932) and Rough Riders' Round-up (1939)
Edward Joel Pawley (1901-1988), American actor, known for his roles in Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), 'G' Men (1935) and Each Dawn I Die (1939)
George Pawley, American pioneer Pawleys Island, South Carolina is named
William Douglas Pawley (1896-1977), American Republican politician, U.S. Ambassador to Peru, 1945-46; Brazil, 1946-48; Delegate to Republican National Convention from Florida, 1960, 1964 9
E.A. Pawley (1910-1966), English sound engineer from Lewisham Greater London known for his work on Night Mail (1936), The Song of Ceylon (1934) and Coal Face (1935) 10
Martin Edward Pawley (1938-2008), English architecture critic, son of E.A. Pawley
Howard Russell Pawley PC OC OM (1934-2015), Canadian former politician, 18th Premier of Manitoba (1981-1988), 28th Attorney-General of Manitoba (1973-1977)
Andrew Pawley (b. 1941), Australian Head of the Department of Linguistics at the Australia National University
Commander S G Pawley, British Royal Navy
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-cornwallis
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) HENY PORCHER 1838. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1838HenryPorcher.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, April 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html