ZELLEY, ZELLY, ZEALY, ZEALEY

[Zelley]

I welcome any comments on thesesrare names, but variations of SELLEY and SEALEY in Dorset, Devon, Somerset And Wiltshire.

Of interest, the ZELLY name is also a nickname of actress
Renee ZELLWEGER from Katy, Texas.

[Zelley]

We can travel to the land of the "Stars & Stripes" and review the history of the Zelley name in the New World in the
state of New Jersey. Then over the years, we could trace the various branches throughout the land to Florida and Washington State or a place called Vermont or Georgia

We could travel with a few of those that were sent to the Island of Tasmania and search through the dusty old pages of history to trace the scattered leaves of one Benjamin Zelley.  Or we can wait for the arrival of the free settlers such as Dorset's own
George Thomas Zelley, the weaver.  As we weave our way
through the 1900's, we may sample some cake cut by the old wedding knife used by George's parents following the marriage
on the Island of Jersey in 1875.

Or follow the trials and tribulations of William & Elizabeth when they set sail for Canada in 1883 with daughter Annie, Kate and Louisa Rose.  The last child born would be Elsie Hope
ZELLEY in 1899 in the western city of Nanaimo.

But to step back in time before the 1800's, one should travel to the towns and hamlets of Devon, England and Somerset.
But then again it wouldn't hurt to visit Silverton
to see the prime variations of the name including
Selly, Zelly, Selley & Zelley.  But back in the villages
near the Chesil beach in Dorset you may also find the other variations from Zealy, Sealy, Sealey And Zealey.

In reviewing the various locations, there are numerous name connections such as Lovell, White, Baker, Symes, Parkhouse,
Gidney, Cox, Smith, Brown, Phillips, Woods, Timms, O'Flynn, Cronk, Silver, Godbold, Austin, Longman, Glover, Wills, Wyatt, Pearce and many more or the interesting story of one
George John FLISHER, the mariner.

[Zelley]

There has been some recent interest shown in the Dorset branches
in the Dorset section of site. 

[Zelley]

To recap:  The pre-1900's Zelley or Zelly name is mainly confined the Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire and parts of London.

The Devon area is primarily Tiverton to Exeter
and Dorset is East Fleet to Weymouth.

Sone connected Devon names would include the likes of Southcott, Parkhouse and others.

Dorset connections include White, Lovell, Baker, Symes, Pearce
and others such as Bowring, Randall, Purchase, Wills,
and more.

Some of the Tiverton area folks used the ZELLY version of the name, while others used the ZELLEY version.  In SILVERTON. devon there is also the SELLEY version.

In Dorset the three key variations over time have been Zealy,
Sealey and Zealey.

As we move into the 1900's there was a fresh new batch of name connections such as AUSTIN, BEER, WOODS and WYATT
and many more be it GIDNEY or O'LEARY et al.
such as Cox, Glover, Edwards, Mayo & more

Then there was the case of one George John FLISHER
- Devon born but connected to the Dorset Zelley name through the WHITE - BELLAMY branch of Wyke Regis/Weymouth.

As we drift around the world, there would be fresh new connection be it Phillips, Timms, Cronk, Godbold,  in Canada or Taylor in Australia, or Gray in South Africa.