Filey History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsEarly Origins of the Filey familyThe surname Filey was first found in Essex where the name was first referenced in the year 1245 when Richard was recorded as Fitz le Roy, essentially 'son of the King' and we may allude to the reference to be that of King John. However, there was an earlier family of Fitzroy who was the illegitimate son of King Henry I about 1140. This tradition has remained in the family to this day. By example, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond (1519-1536), was the son of Henry VIII and Elizabeth Blount, a lady in waiting on Queen Catherine of Arragon. 1 The parish of Euston in Suffolk was home to another branch of the family. "Euston Hall, the seat of the Duke of Grafton, is a handsome mansion, with a park tastefully arranged, in which is the church, forming an interesting feature in the demesne. The church, a handsome edifice with a tower, was erected in the reign of Charles II., by Lord Henry Arlington, to whom there is a monument; it also contains several memorials to the Fitzroy family, whose place of sepulture it is, and some slabs with ancient brasses." 2 Early History of the Filey familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Filey research. Another 223 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1455, 1487, 1617, 1650, 1663, 1665, 1683, 1684, 1690, 1716, 1720, 1724 and 1757 are included under the topic Early Filey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Filey Spelling VariationsAnglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Fillery, Filley, Fillary, Fildry, Filary, Filery, Filey, Fillie, Fildery, Filleigh, Fitzroy, Fitzroi and many more. Early Notables of the Filey familyOutstanding amongst the family at this time was William Filley (1617-?), English settler and founder of Windsor, Connecticut; Charlotte FitzRoy (1650-1684), one of the many acknowledged illegitimate children of King Charles II; Lieutenant-General George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG, PC (1665-1716), the third and youngest illegitimate son of... Migration of the Filey familyFor many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Filey or a variant listed above were: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..
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