Brownley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Brownley is an ancient Scottish name that was first used by the Strathclyde-Briton people of the Scottish/English Borderlands. It is a name for someone who lived in either of two settlements called Brownlee in the counties of Ayrshire and Lanarkshire.
Early Origins of the Brownley family
The surname Brownley was first found in Scotland where "Wedow" Brounlees was tenant on lands under Newbotle Abbey in 1563. Later, "Gavin Brwnelie was heir to James Brwnelie in Kinpuntmyln, 1608 and Issobell Brounleis was tenant on lands of Kelso Abbey in 1567. Janet Brownlee or Brownlees is recorded in Ersiltoune, 1653, John Brounllyes in Chappell, 1659, and James Brounleyis there in 1661. Nathaniel Brounlie in Mauldslie, 1685, and John Brounlie in Toun of Belsraine, parish of Carluke, 1624, and five more are recorded in Lanark Commissariot Record. " 1
In England, Robert de Browlegh was listed in the Assize Rolls for Staffordshire in 1310 and later, Cuthbert Brownles was a Freeman of York in 1485. This branch is from Brownlee, in Scotland, meaning "'dweller at the brown clearing" 2
Early History of the Brownley family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brownley research. Another 129 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1553, 1560, 1567, 1583, 1591, 1606, 1637, 1638, 1886 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Brownley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Brownley Spelling Variations
Prior to the first dictionaries, scribes spelled words according to sound. This, and the fact that Scottish names were repeatedly translated from Gaelic to English and back, contributed to the enormous number of spelling variations in Scottish names. Brownley has been spelled Brownlee, Brownlea, Brownlie, Brownlees, Brownley, Brownlow, Brownless, Brownlee, Brunlee, Brunlees, Brownleis, Brounley and many more.
Early Notables of the Brownley family
Notable among the family at this time was Richard Brownlow (1553-1638), chief prothonotary of the court of common pleas, the son of John Brownlow of High Holborn, by a daughter of Sir John Zouch of Stoughton Grange, Leicestershire. "He was born 2 April 1553, and baptised 12 April at St. Andrew's, Holborn. In 1583 he was entered at the Inner Temple, and was treasurer of that society in 1606. On 9 Oct. 1591 he was made chief prothonotary of the court of common pleas, which office he continued to hold until his death, deriving from it an annual profit of...
Another 99 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Brownley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Brownley family to Ireland
Some of the Brownley family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 74 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Brownley migration to West Indies +
The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association.
3Brownley Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
- Rich Brownley who settled in Barbados in 1635
- Rich Brownley, aged 19, who landed in Barbados in 1635 4
- Mr. Richard Brownley, (b. 1616), aged 19, British settler travelling from London, England aboard the ship "Peter Bonaventure" arriving in Barbados and St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 5
Contemporary Notables of the name Brownley (post 1700) +
- Mr. John Brownley, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1551 to 1552, he was Mayor in 1567
Citations +
- Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
- 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)
- Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's. Retrieved 23rd September 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm