Brakely History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England

Etymology of Brakely

The ancient roots of the Brakely family name are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Brakely comes from when the family lived at a clearing in an area with a lush growth of bracken, a type of fern. Brackley is a town in south Northamptonshire with a very interesting history. Originally the town was known as Brachelai or Brackele, and owned in 1086 by Earl Alberic. By the 11th and 12th centuries Brackley was part of the Hundred of Odboldistow and in the Manor of Halse. Richard I (The Lionheart) named five official sites for jousting tournaments so that such events could not be used as local wars, and Brackley was one of these. Henry III attacked and destroyed the castle in 1173. King John and the barons were originally to have signed Magna Carta at Brackley Castle, but they eventually did so at Runnymede.

Early Origins of the Brakely family

Early History of the Brakely family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brakely research. Another 257 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1202, 1273, 1332, 1500, 1540, 1617, 1672, 1697, 1704, 1729 and 1769 are included under the topic Early Brakely History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brakely Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Brakely has appeared include Brackley, Brackele, Brackely, Braceley, Bracely and others.

Early Notables of the Brakely family

Thomas Egerton Brackley (1540-1617), British judge and statesman. John Brekell (1697-1769), was a Presbyterian minister, born at North Meols, Lancashire, in 1697, and was educated for the ministry at Nottingham. "His first known settlement...
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Brakely Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Brakely family

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Brakely arrived in North America very early: Daniel Bracely who arrived in Philadelphia in 1875.