The surname Wackley was first found in Hertfordshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, conjecturally the family were descended from Ralph of Wakely, a Norman noble, who held his lands from Count Allan and was thus reflected in the Domesday Book Survey of 1086 A.D.
Early History of the Wackley family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wackley research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1600 is included under the topic Early Wackley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Wackley Spelling Variations
Anglo-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 Wakley, Wakeley, Wakely, Wakelie, Wakelee, Weakley, Wakerley and many more.
Early Notables of the Wackley family
More information is included under the topic Early Wackley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Wackley family to Ireland
Some of the Wackley family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Wackley family
For 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 Wackley or a variant listed above were: Thomas Wakely who settled in Virginia in 1682; George Wakely arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1875; John Wakeley arrived in Philadelphia in 1872.
