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Surname DNA testing is the newest tool available to genealogists. These tests help genealogists verify their paternal ancestry (father's father) in a quick and easy way. It saves time, prevents mistakes, and provides invaluable data that can be obtained in no other way.
Following is historical background regarding the surname Exley and its origins.
Exleys In England
The surname Exley first appeared in 14th century England. It appeared in Yorkshire as Ecclesley which then became Exley. In the early 1300s John Exley was born in Southowram, West Yorkshire, the son of John De Ecclesley. Many Exleys are still present in Yorkshire and across England. Also Exleys have emigrated from England to the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries around the world.
Oechsle in Germany
When surnames developed in the second half of the Middle Ages, the name Oechsle, as well as spelling variations, appeared in Swabia, a German duchy that was geographically located mostly where Baden-Wuerttemberg is situated today. The spelling of the name, until the 1700s, was commonly Oechslin or Öchslin. By the 1500s the name was present throughout the southwest German states of that time. The number of Oechsle appears to have been too great for there to have been a common ancestor. Some of the Oechsle emigrated from German states to America where the name was Anglicized primarily as Exley.
Willkommen Oechsle! An die Oechsle in Deutschland erweitern wir ein herzliches Willkommen auf unserer Web-Site. Sie sind herzlich zur Teilnahme an diesem Programm eingeladen. Besonders laden wir die Oechsle zur Teilnahme an dieser genetischen genealogischen Forschung ein, die in oder um Ulm, Stuttgart und Pforzheim--besonders in den Orten Langenau, Niederstotzingen, Ballendorf, Langenberg, Welzheim, Murrhardt und Backnang wohnen--oder die aus diesen Orten kommen. Auch alle anderen mit dem Namen Oechsle laden wir herzlich zur Teilnahme ein.
Exleys in America
The surname Exley was present in both Pennsylvania and Georgia during the colonial period. In the second half of the 19th century Exleys appeared in California also, and by the twentieth century the name was present all across the United States. The first Exleys in America were Oechsle, some with other spelling variations, who came from southwestern German states. There are also Exleys who arrived in America from England in the 1800s. Exleys with the German surname spelling came to the Salzburger-German community of Ebenezer, Georgia, in the early 1750s. In 1790 John Exley and Mary Wooten married in Savannah, Georgia. Today this couple has many descendants and there is published information that the family origins are in England. It is written in a more recent publication that this family originated in Germany. There are also published genealogies that cite different immigrant parents for the Exley family that settled in Ebenezer, Georgia.
Genealogical DNA testing could be of great benefit to Exley families because it offers an opportunity to scientifically document errors in paper trail research, especially when published information cites different immigrant parents or different places of origin. Genetic genealogy may also confirm paper research and help fill in missing gaps in lineage, as well as providing answers to questions regarding how related the various Exley families may be.
This Family Project is started to:
1. Help researchers on common or related families work together to find their common heritage (See the Patriarch Page)
2. Identify the DNA of the ancestor families and compile them and their lost branches into distinct genetic lineages through DNA matches
Click here to order a DNA test now
For basic information, visit World Families Network and check out the "Getting Started" block