Contents [hide]

Polley History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Polley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Polley family

The surname Polley was first found in Cornwall where "in the ancient deeds of the Cornish family, the spellings Polwhele and Polhill are employed indifferently. The Polhills were certainly at Detling, co. Kent, in or before the reign of Edward II. An old spelling of the family was Polley." 1

"Polwhele, the seat of an ancient family of this name, is in this parish. The present representative is the Rev. Richard Polwhele, who now resides at Kenwyn, of whose literary character we have already spoken. The ancestors of this gentleman are said to have settled here prior to the Norman Conquest. Drogo de Polwhele was chamberlain to the empress Maude, early in the twelfth century, perhaps not fifty years after the Conquest. Their ancient castle, William of Worcester described as in ruins, about the middle of the fifteenth century. No vestige of this building remains; and the manor house, until lately repaired, discovered the effects of age, and furnished strong intimations of having passed through better days." 2

Once more into the archives we delved to find Walter de Polhey in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1248; William de Poleye in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 for Berkshire; Elias de Polye, de Polee in the Hundredorum Rolls for Norfolk in 1275; William de Polleye in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1275; William Polleye in early Colchester record for 1346; and John Poley in the Assize Rolls for Essex in 1379. 3

Early History of the Polley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Polley research. Another 139 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1050, 1140, 1555, 1568, 1574, 1586, 1602, 1619, 1622, 1654, 1671, 1674, 1689, 1694, 1707, 1754 and 1805 are included under the topic Early Polley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Polley Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Polhill, Polwhele, Polwel, Polhel, Polhal, Polley and many more.

Early Notables of the Polley family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Margaret Polley (died 1555), English Protestant martyr from Rochester, Kent; Sir Edmund Poley (1619-1671), Member of Parliament for Bury St Edmunds; and his son, Henry Poley (1654-1707), an English Me...

Polley Ranking

In the United States, the name Polley is the 6,258^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 4

Polley migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Polley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Morgan Polley, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1867 5
Frederick Polley, aged 21, who immigrated to the United States from Hereford, in 1895
Wm. Polley, aged 30, who landed in America, in 1895

Polley Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

William B. Polley, aged 35, who immigrated to the United States from Liverpool, in 1900
Jennie A. Polley, aged 24, who immigrated to America from Belfast, in 1900
Thomas Polley, aged 52, who immigrated to America from Belfast, in 1901
Helene Polley, aged 51, who landed in America, in 1906
Bruno Polley, aged 25, who settled in America from London, in 1907
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Polley migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Polley Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Minna Polley, aged 33, who immigrated to Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, in 1916
John Polley, aged 46, who immigrated to Toronto, Canada, in 1924

Polley migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Polley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Isaac Polley, English convict who was convicted in Essex, England for life, transported aboard the "Blenheim" on 11th March 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
Mr. Thomas Polley, British Convict who was convicted in Essex, England for life, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 25th June 1838, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mr. George Polley, English convict who was convicted in Chelmsford, Essex, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Edwin Fox" on 24th August 1858, arriving in Western Australia, Australia

Contemporary Notables of the name Polley (post 1700) +

Eugene Polley (1916-2012), American inventor of the Flash-Matic in 1955, better known today as the television remote
Tommy Polley (b. 1978), American NFL football player
Stanley "Stan" Herbert Polley (1922-2009), American entertainment manager from the 60s and 70s, best known for his work with the rock band Badfinger
Dale Polley (b. 1965), American retired Major League Baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees
O. H. Polley Sr., American politician, Mayor of Center, Texas, 1922-25 8
Lydia R. Polley, American Republican politician, Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives 9th District, 2000 8
James T. Polley, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Kentucky 7th District, 1986 8
J. C. Polley, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Iowa, 1868 8
Ernest E. Polley, American politician, Mayor of Juneau, Alaska, 1985-88 8
E. M. Polley, American Republican politician, Member of Alaska territorial House of Representatives 1st District, 1923-24 8
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Polley family +

Flight 191

Mrs. Polley (d. 1979), American passenger from Milwaukee, Michigan, USA, who flew aboard American Airlines Flight 191 and died in the crash 9

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blenheim
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Flight 191's Victims - latimes. (Retrieved 2014, April 16) . Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/1985-08-04/news/mn-4349_1_fort-lauderdale-area