Stodley History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe surname Stodley literally means "woodland clearing or pasture where a herd of horses is kept," from the Old English "stod" + "leah." 1 2 Another source notes the name denotes "belonging to Studleigh, Studley, the Middle English Stodley, Stodlegh, Anglo-Saxon Stódleáh (' tó stódleáge'- dat.: 'C.S.' no. 620) = the Stud-Lea. Studley was Stodlei in Domesday Book." 3 Parishes and places with the name are found in Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire, and West Riding of Yorkshire. "Stoodleigh is a parish in Devon, five miles from Hampton. There can be no doubt that the Dorset and Devon Studleys in general represent the last-named place." 4 Early Origins of the Stodley familyThe surname Stodley was first found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 where William de Stodley, Leicestershire was recorded at that time. 4 A few years later, William de Stoddleye was recorded in Wiltshire in 1282 and later again, Henry Studley was found in Gloucestershire in 1373. 5 In Devon, Robert held Stoodleigh near Oakford from Ralph de Pomeroy, and Arnold held Stoodleigh from Walter de Douai in West Buckland, also in Devon. "On Warbrightsleigh Hill, in the parish, are the remains of a beacon said to have been erected by Edward II." 6 This parish was recorded as Stodlei in the Domesday Book of 1086. 7 The Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III. included an entry for Thomas de Studle, Bedfordshire, 20 Edward I (during the twentieth year of King Edward I's reign.) In Walter de Stodleghe was listed there 1 Edward III. 8 Early History of the Stodley familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Stodley research. Another 162 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1545, 1561, 1566, 1570, 1572, 1573, 1584, 1586, 1588, 1590, 1610, 1644, 1662 and 1664 are included under the topic Early Stodley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Stodley Spelling VariationsUntil the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Stodley include Stoodley, Studley, Stoodly, Studly, Stodlege, Stoodlege and many more. Early Notables of the Stodley familyDistinguished members of the family include John Studley (c.1545-1590), an English academic, best known as a translator of Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman and dramatist. "He matriculated from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1561; he graduated B. A. in 1566 and M.A. in 1570, being elected a fellow of the college in the interval. He was a good classical scholar, and at a very early age prepared, in continuation of the labours of Jasper Heywood, translations of four of Seneca's tragedies 'Agamemnon,' 'Medea,' 'Hippolytus,' and 'Hercules Oeteus.' He employed the common ballad metre for the dialogue, and rhyming decasyllabics for the... Migration of the Stodley familyThousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Stodley were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Thomas Studley who settled in Virginia in 1606; fourteen years before the "Mayflower"; John Stoodley settled in Barbados in 1685. In Newfoundland, Jonathon Stoodley settled in Fogo in 1792.
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