Guild of One-Name Studies
One-name studies, Genealogy
Study: Audley
Variants: Aidley, Audley-Charles
Category: 3 - A study where research using core genealogical datasets and transcriptions is well under way on a global basis.
Website: www.audleyfamilyhistory.com
Guild hosted website: audley.one-name.net
DNA website: www.familytreedna.com/groups/audley/about
Contact: Mr Brian Audley
The entire 'Audley' surname One Name Study has been published in the above websites. Whilst both websites contain identical information I would recommend you look at the 'Guild hosted website' first, namely www.audley.one-name.net . The study includes just over 3000 individuals, either born with the Audley surname, or who acquired the Audley Surname through marriage. These individuals have been grouped into approximately 30 branches of the Audley Family Trees (references by letters {AA} through to {ZW} ). One of these families trees details the family tree of The Barons (Lord Audley) through it various changes of surname. (Aldithley, Touchet, Thicknesse, Jesson & Souter). The other Audley families typically originated in England (Liverpool, Birmingham, Coventry, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Norfolk, and Dorset) & Ireland, (Galway, Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford) before spreading throughout England and Wales. Most of these families include members that have emigrated to the Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA. To a lesser extent Members of the extended Audley family have lived in India and South Africa. I am always willing to accept information about new Audley Families or additional information about families already included in my study.
The websites contain a number of indexes to help you identify to which branch of the Audley Family you (or a person you are related to with the Audley Surname) belongs. There is also a Contact Form on my websites and I can be contacted through the Guild of One Name Studies. I will always respond to all people who contact me.
Information about the Audley surname has been extracted from the following published documents, and copirs of the relevant part of thise document ca be found on the above websites:
and copies of the relevant parts of those documents are included in the website.
The website also contains:
Over 140 Photographs of members of 11 branches of the Audley Family. Some of these may be your relatives!! Most of these photographs have been donated by guests of the website. I am always willing to accept more photographs for display on the websites. The aim of the guild is to preserve the Audley One Name Study website when I am no longer able to do so.
Approximately 100 photographs of places associated with the Audley name. These are mainly of places in England and cover the following counties; Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Devon, Essex, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Merseyside, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Somerset, Surry; Wiltshire. In addition these Photographs include County Down in Northern Ireland, and, Arizona and New Hampshire in the USA.
The names and brief history of 86 people with the Audley surname who fought in World War 1; plus 12 people with the Audley surname from New Zealand, Canada, and India who fought in World War 1; plus 7 people with the Aidley surname who fought in World War 1.
Several indexes to help you find to which branch of the Audley Family you belong and failing that contact me through one of my websites and I will help you.
The website contains images of the Audley 'Coat of Arms' from many sources including 'seals' from the British Library and the National Archives at Kew.
and much, much more; take a look and see what you will find.
Please understand that this study has only been made possible with the help of many others who have contributed information and photographs to the website. I check as much as I can to ensure that the information on my websites is as correct as it can be. If you believe I have got something wrong please challenge me. It is only with the help of people like you that I can improve this study
Whilst this One Name Study is primarily about the Audley Surname I do have information about the following surnames; Aidley; Adley; Allday, Audley-Charles & Audsley, where they appear to be linked, or interchangeable with the Audley surname.
Aidley
I believe the Aidley surname became a variant of the Audley surnames around 1800 in the Siddington & Capesthorne parishes of Cheshire. I believe that almost all of the people with the Aidley surname will be able to trace their ancestors to these two parishes For more information see Family R on my website (contact details below) If anyone wishes to register the Aidley surname as a separate 'One-Name Study' I would willingly remove it from my list of 'variants'.
The deatail of families with the Aidley surname are described on my websites as 'Audley Family R'
Adley (and other various spellings)
In the records of County Galway, Ireland there numerous references to the Audley surname however the spelling of the Audley surname appears to be inter-changeable with a number of spellings such as Adley and Addley. I know of one family now resident in the USA that has the surname Adley but some of their early ancestors are recorded as Audley. I have not registered the Adley surname as a variant of Audley with the 'Guild of One-Name Studies' and therefore it is available for register it with the Guild and commence their own One-Name Study.
The details of the families with the surname Adley (and other various spellings) are recorded in my websites as 'Audley Family M'
Allday
Whilst I consider the Allday to be a separate surname I have found that in the period 1750 to 1780 one branch of the Audley Family has number of marriages and baptisms recorded as 'Allday' in Parish Registers. Y-DNA tests also show a link between the Audley and Allday Surnames. I believe that this change of surname from Allday to Audley has been caused by a process called 'Metathesis' namely 'the transposition of sounds or syllables in a word. Most commonly it refers to the interchange of two or more contiguous sounds.
The details of this Allday family is recorded on my websites as 'Audley Family A'
Audley-Charles
The first member of this family who had the both the names Audley and Charles is Henry Edward Audley-Charles (1871 – 1927). The Charles in his name was the surname of his father. The Audley in his name is the maiden name of one of {HC5}’s Great Great Grandmothers.
The details of this Audley-Charles Family is recorded on my website as 'Audley Family HC'
Audsley
Whilst I believe the Audsley surname is a completely independent surname I do have information about an Audsley Family who emigrated from England to Australia and one branch of that family changes its surname from Audsley to Audley. I have not registered the Adley surname as a variant of Audley with the 'Guild of One-Name Studies' and therefore it is available for register it with the Guild and commence their own One-Name Study.
The details of this Audsley Family is recorded on my website as 'Audley Family YK'
I believe the origin of the Audley surname is from the village of Audley in Staffordshire England. This village being mentioned in the Doomsday book (1086)
I also believe that there is probably a secondary origin of the Audley Surname that occurs in County Galway, Ireland. This second origin is from the anglicisation of an Irish surname.
Famous Audley's include:
Edmund Audley; Bishop of Rochester (1480 - 1492); Bishop of Hereford (1492 - 1502); Bishop of Sarum (Salisbury) from 1502 until his death in 1524
Thomas Audley became 'Lord Chancellor of England' in 1533 and reputedly helped Henry VIII rid himself of Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard (ref Audley Pedigrees by A L Reade p99)
Hugh Audley the celebrated 'usurer', who died unmarried and 'infinately rich' on 15th November 1662 (ref Audley Pedigrees by A L Reade p195.)
Sir James de Audley the Hero of the Battle of Poitiers (19th September 1356)
Arthur James Audley (1883 - 1916); Charles Edward Audley (1898 - 1916); Herbert Audley (1888 - 1917); John Audley (1881 - 1918); John Audley Parle (1885 - 1917); John Audley Thicknesse (1869 - 1916); Percy Audley (1892 - 1918); Percy John Audley (1895 - 1918); William Audley (1882 - 1918); all of whom lost their lives in World War 1.
Arthur Alfred Audley (1903 - 1940); Denis James Audley (1922 - 1943); Dennis Sydney Audley (1923 - 1943); Derek Dundonald Audley (1921 - 1942); Harry Audley (1914 - 1945); Laurence Geoffrey Audley-Charles (1902 - 1941); Leo Francis Audley (1918 - 1939); Samuel Edward Audley (1915 - 1941); Thomas Audley (1916 - 1947); William Audley (1918 - 1944); all of whom lost their lives in World War 2.
The 'Audley' One Name Study has a DNA website hosted by Family Tree DNA. A link to that website is given at the top of this Profile Page. A small number of males with the Audley surname have had their Y chromosome DNA tested and their DNA test results are summarised at:
www.audley.one-name.net/dna-test-results/
From this small amount of DNA testing it is concluded there will not be a single common ancestor for the Audley surname.
If any body has Y chromosome DNA test results for someone with the Audley surname and is willing to share those results with me please contact me through one of my websites or through the Guild website