Early Blakeley History

Early Blakeley History
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Ed's line of the Blakeley Family begins with Samuel Blakeley who emigrated from  England. Gathering data from several sources, the story looks something like this: Samuel was born in 1620/1626 in England. Some sources say in London. He supposedly was a blacksmith but became a planter in this country. He landed at Boston. He "removed" to Guilford, CT and eventually wound up at New Haven, CT. 

William D. Ainey, in his book: "Blakeley Genealogy" states: "Many of the Clerks of parishes and Courts of New Haven have spelled this name so badly as to confuse all those bearing the name in their efforts to trace their ancestors back to the Emigrants who came to New England in 1635 to 1647, as they are found in early records of New Haven Colonial towns." 

"The names of Thomas and Samuel appear to be the most prominent individuals of the early dates in the Colony." -----

"Brownson, in his history of Waterbury, supposed that Thomas and Samuel were brothers. There is no assurance of that and I do not so regard it here."
Ainey, in the beginning of his genealogy of Samuel, says: "Bronson says he is the Ancestor of the Blakeslees that settled in Waterbury and Woodbury."
Ainey also said that the first mention of Samuel was in the History of Guilford, by Hon. Ralph D. Smith, published in 1877.
"The first settlers of this town were Adventurers from Surry and Kent near London, and unlike their mercatille brethren of New Haven, were nearly all farmers. It was named after Guilford, the Burrough Town of Surry."
James Shepard began his book on the descendants of Samuel Blakesley as follows:
"Samuel Blakesley was a planter of Guilford, Conn., in 1650,and is the ancestor of the Woodbury and Waterbury, Conn., Blakesleys. He is supposed to have been a brother of Thomas Blackly who came in the "Hopewell" from London to Massachusetts in 1635, was in Hartford, Conn., in 1641, and removed to Brandford, Conn., in 1645. Bronson's History of Waterbury, Conn., (Note, p. 466) says 'There is a tradition among his descendants, that two brothers of the same name of Blakeslee came from the West of England, designing to settle in the Plymouth Colony, and that one of them died on the passage. The other came to Plymouth, where he died in the early days of the Colony, leaving one son, who was placed with a blacksmith in New Haven, Conn., to learn the trade.'

This  page is under construction - the early history is still being written. Please bear with me.