Brinsley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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 Brinsley arrived in North America very early:

Brinsley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

• Francis Brinsley, who settled in New England in 1656
• Francis Brinsley, aged 22, who arrived in America in 1656 3
• Luke Brinsley, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682

Brinsley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• E Brinsley, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 3

• Frank Brinsley (b. 1971), American radio disk-jockey
• Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816), Irish statesman and dramatist, born at 12 Dorset Street, Dublin, grandson of Thomas Sheridan (1687–1738)
• James Brinsley Richards (1846-1892), English journalist, born in London and educated at Eaton
• Edmund Brinsley Teesdale MC (1915-1997), Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong (1963 to 1965)
• Brinsley Forde MBE (b. 1953), English founder member of the reggae band Aswad
• Brinsley MacNamara (1890-1963), pen name of John Weldon, an Irish writer, playwright, and the registrar of the National Gallery of Ireland