Yardsley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancestors of the bearers of the Yardsley family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found in Yardley, a place-name found in several locations throughout England. The place name literally means "dweller at the Yard-Lea [Middle English yard(e, yerd(e, enclosure, court, garden; Old English g(e)ard, fence, enclosure + Middle English ley, Old English lea¡h, meadow] " 1

Early Origins of the Yardsley family

The surname Yardsley was first found in Staffordshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, before and after the Conquest in 1066.

Early History of the Yardsley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Yardsley research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1580, 1592, 1609, 1610, 1612, 1616, 1618, 1627, 1632 and 1693 are included under the topic Early Yardsley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Yardsley Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Yardsley include Yardley, Yardeley, Yeardley, Yardly and others.

Early Notables of the Yardsley family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir George Yardley (1580?-1627), Governor of Virginia, son of Ralph Yeardley, merchant-taylor of London. "Having served in the Low Countries, he sailed with Sir Thomas Gates to Virginia in June 1609 on board the Deliverance, and was shipwrecked in the Bermudas. He eventually reached Virginia in May 1610. In April 1616 Sir Thomas Dale, the governor, returned to England and appointed Yeardley his deputy...
Another 72 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Yardsley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Yardsley migration to Australia +

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

Yardsley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Yardsley, English convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Aurora" on 18th June 1835, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 2

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/aurora