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![Show Contents]() Midgeley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The lineage of the name Midgeley begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in the settlement of Migley in Durham, or in the place named Midgley in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The surname Midgeley belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Early Origins of the Midgeley familyThe surname Midgeley was first found in West Riding of Yorkshire at Midgley, a hill-top village in Calderdale in the chapelry of Luddenden, parish and union of Halifax, wapentake of Morley. The village dates back to at least the Domesday Book when it was listed as Micleie and literally meant "wood or clearing infested with midges," from the Old English mycg + leah. 1 One branch was later found at Thornton, again in the West Riding of Yorkshire. "Leventhorpe Hall, also in the township, was the seat of a distinguished family; and at Headley is an old mansion in the Elizabethan style, in former times occupied by a branch of the Midgleys." 2 Early History of the Midgeley familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Midgeley research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Midgeley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Midgeley Spelling VariationsOnly recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Midgeley has undergone many spelling variations, including Midgley, Midgeley, Midgely, Medgley, Medgely, Medgeley and many more. Early Notables of the Midgeley familyMore information is included under the topic Early Midgeley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Midgeley familyTo escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Midgeley were among those contributors: Robert and John Medley, who came to Virginia in 1635; Roger Medley settled in Barbados in 1672; John and Benjamin Midgley settled in New York in 1820.
- 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.
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