Zeallay History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe Anglo-Saxon name Zeallay comes from happy person who had good fortune. It is derive from the Old English word saelig, meaning happy and blessed. 1 Early listings of the name was typically seen a "sely" and "seli" and was referenced at least twice in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales: "For sely is that deth, soth for to seyne, That, ofte y- cleped, com'th and endeth peyne"; and "That Nicholas shal shapen hym a wyle This sely, jalous housbonde to bigyle." Early Origins of the Zeallay familyThe surname Zeallay was first found in Somerset where the first listings of name were found as a personal name: Sely atte Bergh; Sely Percy; and Sely Scury. All were found in Kirby's Quest temp. 1 Edward III (during the first year's reign of King Edward III. 2 The one exception of the aforementioned was William Sely. Early feudal rolls provided the king of the time a method of cataloguing holdings for taxation, but today they provide a glimpse into the wide surname spellings in use through the ages. Richard Seli was listed in Lincolnshire c. 1200; Roger le Seli was found in the Pipe Rolls of 1205 in Herefordshire; Roger Cely in Shropshire in 1255; Richard Sely and John Celi in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1275; and Thomas Zely was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1327. Entries were also found as a woman’s name: Sela was listed in the Assize Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1219; Sely filia Nicholai in the Assize Rols for Worcestershire in 1221; and Sely Percy in the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327. 3 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 has some interesting entries too: William Sely in Oxfordshire; Egidius Sely in Norfolk; and John Sely in Gloucestershire. 4 Early History of the Zeallay familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Zeallay research. Another 131 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1602, 1618, 1621, 1623, 1626, 1630, 1668 and 1760 are included under the topic Early Zeallay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Zeallay Spelling VariationsOne relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Zeallay has appeared include Cely, Ceeley, Celey, Ceely, Ceiley, Seely, Seeley and others. Early Notables of the Zeallay familyNotable amongst the family at this time was Sir Benet Celey of Plymouth; and Robert Seeley, also Seely, Seelye, or Ciely, (1602-1668) born in Bluntisham-cum-Earith, Huntingdonshire, he was an early Puritan settler who sailed with John Winthrop to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 helping establish Watertown, Wethersfield, and New Haven. He was born in Bluntisham-cum-Earith... Migration of the Zeallay familyAt this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Zeallay arrived in North America very early: Robert Seely, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1630 with the Winthrop Fleet; William Seely, who came to Barbados in 1635; John Seely, who came to Virginia in 1654.
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