Rashley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Early Origins of the Rashley family

The surname Rashley was first found in Devon at Rashleigh "in the parish of Wemworthy, gave name [to] this ancient family , the elder line of which became extinct in the reign of Henry VII. John Rashleigh, a merchant of Fowley, was the first who settled in Cornwall, and was in fact founder of the present family." 1 2

"Duporth [Cornwall] is the seat of Charles Rashleigh, Esq. a gentleman descended from an ancient family of that name which long resided near South Molton in Devonshire. The branch from which those in Cornwall descended, came into this county about the middle of the sixteenth century. Few names are at present better known in Cornwall than that of Rashleigh, or more regarded for respectability, influence, and virtue." 3

Early History of the Rashley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rashley research. Another 180 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1545, 1554, 1580, 1591, 1608, 1614, 1619, 1624, 1661, 1675, 1693 and 1698 are included under the topic Early Rashley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rashley Spelling Variations

Sound 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 Rashley family name include Rashleigh, Rashliegh, Rashly, Rashley and others.

Early Notables of the Rashley family

Distinguished members of the family include John Rashleigh (1554-1624), an English merchant and Member of Parliament, High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1608; Jonathan Rashleigh (1591-1675), an English merchant and politician who sat in...
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rashley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Rashley family to Ireland

Some of the Rashley 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.

Rashley migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, 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 Rashley surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Rashley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Rashley, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1640 4

Citations +

Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
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)