Baglee History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The history of the Baglee family goes back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from the family living in Cheshire, where they were held estates at Baggiley. The family name was originally derived from the name of this manorial seat. The word baggiley in ancient Saxon means high ground. These place names are generally thought to derive from an Old English personal name Bacga and the Old English word leah, meaning a clearing in the woods.

Early Origins of the Baglee family

The surname Baglee was first found in Shropshire at Bagley, a small rural village in the parish of Hordley. The earliest record of the place name was found in c.1090 when it was listed as Bageleia. 1

Bagley-Wood is a hamlet in the hundred of Hormer, in Berkshire. "A monastery was founded here by Cissa, viceroy of Centwine, ninth king of Wessex; which was removed to Abingdon in 680, that town and its appendages having been assigned to it by Ceadwalla. " 2

While the surname probably originated in Shropshire, we must look to Cheshire to find the earliest records. The family was Lords of the Manor of Baggiley and held a family seat there from ancient times. Baguley Hall near Manchester was built in the 14th century by Sir William de Baguley, or possibly by one of his sons. It may have replaced an 11th or 12th century structure. "[Baguley in Cheshire] was at an early period the property of the Baguleys, whose heiress brought it to the Leghs; the latter sold it." 2

Early History of the Baglee family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Baglee research. Another 164 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1220, 1260, 1327, 1379, 1382, 1654 and 1674 are included under the topic Early Baglee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Baglee 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 Baglee include Bagley, Baggeley, Baggiley, Baggaley, Bageley, Baggelay, Bagly and many more.

Early Notables of the Baglee family

Distinguished members of the family include Alexander Baguley, B.A., rector of the church of St. Michael, Aughton, Lancashire in 1674, but was "very soon deprived for simony [(buying or selling of something spiritual)]." 3 Humphrey Baggerley (fl. 1654), was a Royalist...
Another 40 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Baglee Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Baglee family to Ireland

Some of the Baglee family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 38 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Baglee migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Baglee or a variant listed above:

Baglee Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Orlando Baglee, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1658 4

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
'Townships: Scarisbrick', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1907), pp. 265-276. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp265-276 [accessed 21 January 2017].
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)