Medlay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England

Etymology of Medlay

The Medlay name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in place name Madeley (Staffordshire and Shropshire), Medley in Oxfordshire 1 or a Madely in Gloucestershire. 2 The reason for the multiple local names is because the name generally means "woodland clearing of a man called Mada," from the Old English personal name + "leah." 3

The one exception is Madeley-Market in Shropshire where "the name of this town indicates its situation between two rivers, and the adjunct arose from the grant of a market here, in the time of Henry III., to a community of Cluniac monks at Wenlock, to whom Madeley belonged." 4 Madley is a small parish, in the union of Dore, hundred of Webtree, in Herefordshire. 4

Of all the locals, the Staffordshire parish is the oldest as it dates back to Saxon times when it was known as Madanlieg in 975. Both the Staffordshire and Shropshire parishes were entered in the Domesday Book of 1086 and were both listed as Madelie. 5

Early Origins of the Medlay family

Early History of the Medlay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Medlay research. Another 168 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1100, 1167, 1504, 1510, 1563, 1578, 1600, 1672, 1703, 1706, 1709, 1710, 1717, 1720, 1721, 1722, 1728, 1731, 1735, 1741, 1742, 1744, 1747 and 1792 are included under the topic Early Medlay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Medlay Spelling Variations

Only 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 Medlay has undergone many spelling variations, including Medley, Medleigh, Madley, Madleigh, Medlie, Medlee and many more.

Early Notables of the Medlay family

Distinguished members of the family include Henry Medley (d. 1747), British Vice-Admiral who entered the navy in 1703; was in 1706 a midshipman of the Somerset with Captain Price at the relief of Barcelona; passed his examination on 8 Feb. 1709-1710 (passing certificate); and on 5 Sept. 1710 was promoted by Sir John Norris to be Lieutenant of the Fame, from which a few months later he was moved into the Stirling Castle. In 1717 he was a lieutenant of the Barfleur, flagship of Sir George Byng in the Baltic. Early in 1720 he was promoted to the command of the...
Another 131 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Medlay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Medlay family

To 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 Medlay were among those contributors: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..