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![Show Contents]() Wesseley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The history of the Wesseley family name begins after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived in Cambridgeshire, at Westley or at Westley Waterless a small village and civil parish in East Cambridgeshire. Early Origins of the Wesseley familyThe surname Wesseley was first found in Cambridgeshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the manor of Westley Waterless. The place name dates back to the pre-Conquest times when it was first listed as Westle in 1045. By The Domesday Book of 1086, it was known as Weslai. 1 Conjecturally the family are descended from Hardwin, a Norman noble of Scales, who held the village of Westley from the Countess Judith at the time of the taking of the Domesday Book. William de Westle was Archdeacon of Durham (1362-1369.) However, Westleigh in Lancashire may be the origin of the family. "A family of the local name is mentioned [here] in the reign of Richard I." 2 Early History of the Wesseley familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wesseley research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1596, 1636, 1662, 1669, 1678, 1680, 1735, 1742 and 1800 are included under the topic Early Wesseley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Wesseley 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 Westly, Westley, Westle, Westles and others. Early Notables of the Wesseley familyOutstanding amongst the family at this time was John Westley or Wesley (1636-1678), an English nonconformist minister; his son Samuel Wesley (1662-1735), English minister and poet, father of John and Charles Wesley...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wesseley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Wesseley 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 Wesseley or a variant listed above were: Solomon Westle who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1752; William Westley settled in Connecticut in 1640; William Westley settled in Maryland in 1774.
- Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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