Mosly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The present generation of the Mosly family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in one of the places called Moseley in Staffordshire and Worcestershire (both in the West Midlands region), in Moseley in West Dean in Gloucestershire, or in Mowsley in Leicestershire. There is also a Mossley in Greater Manchester.

Early Origins of the Mosly family

The surname Mosly was first found in Moseley, now a suburb of Birmingham in the West Midlands or in Moseley in Herefordshire and Worcestershire or in Mowsley, a small village in Lancashire. All four locations are listed in the Domesday Book. 1

The West Midlands village was originally called Moleshi and literally meant "woodland clearing of a man called Moll," from the Old English personal name + leah. The latter three locations were listed as Museleie and in these cases, the place names literally meant "woodland clearing infested with mice." 2

Mossely, a small town and civil parish in Greater Manchester was first listed as Moselegh in 1319 and literally meant "woodland clearing by a swamp or bog." 2

The first record of the family was found in London where Robert de Molseleye was listed in 1325. A few years later in Staffordshire, John de Mollesley was found in the Subsidy Rolls for 1332, and later gain, Thomas Mollesseley was listed in Cambridgeshire in 1340. 3

Early History of the Mosly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mosly research. Another 113 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1527, 1599, 1609, 1610, 1612, 1639, 1647, 1660, 1661, 1665, 1674, 1705, 1720, 1751, 1757 and 1779 are included under the topic Early Mosly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mosly Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Mosly include Moseley, Mosely, Mosley, Mossley and others.

Early Notables of the Mosly family

Notables of the family at this time include Sir Nicholas Moseley; Humphrey Moseley (died 1661), a prominent London publisher and bookseller, best known for the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647; Sir Edward Mosley, 1st Baronet of Rolleston; and Sir Edward Mosley, 2nd Baronet (1639-1665), an English politician, Sheriff of Lancashire in 1660, Member of Parliament...
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Mosly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mosly migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Mosly were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Mosly Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Mary Mosly, who arrived in Virginia in 1665 4
William Mosly, who landed in Virginia in 1665 4

Mosly Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Faline Mosly, aged 29, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1836 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Mosly (post 1700) +

William C. Mosly, American politician, Delegate to Whig National Convention from Virginia, 1839 5

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 24) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html