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Ancestors of Roger Brailey
Ahnentafel

Generation No. 1

        1.  Roger Brailey1, born Abt. 1672.  He was the son of 2. James Brayley and 3. <Unnamed>. He married (1) Alice Abbot Abt. 1695 in Prob. Portsmouth, RI.  She was born Abt. 1670.

Notes for Roger Brailey:
    This is the Roger(1) in Braley Genealogy. His descendants by his son Roger are in Part I, those by his son Ambrose are in Part II, and those by his son John are in Part III, of the book.

From Harold E. Brailey, Jr., (1943):
    This Roger was a witness at a drowning inquest in Portsmouth RI, in 1696. Later moved to Rochester MA, where he is on the records as Bralee, Brailey and Braley.

From Claudia Tillman:
    The material immediately following, is what I knew about the Braley Family until July 2000, when I found Bruce Braley who had material from Harold Braley (from the 1940's) and Alson D. Braley (current) that shed a new light on the very early Braley Family.  This Roger Braley (and Alices' last name was not given by Randall) was the 'first known' to Randall.  Any earlier generations were not known  beyond speculation.  I am leaving what I found previously, so you will be able to see what earlier Braley family researchers were working with.
    The History of the Braley Family has been documented in a book written by George L. Randall, entitled Braley Genealogy 1696-1913, and published in 1913 by Mercury Publishing Co., New Bedford, MA.  This book was microfilmed by the LDS and may be found in their Library Film # 1036334, Item 7.  Mr. Randall did a good job of compiling the information from the descendants in 1913.  I knew of my Family back to Julina Braley and was able to find her probable father and some brothers in the Census.  This book would seem correct as far as I can determine and follows the information I found in other sources.
    Mr. Abner L. Braley wrote the Introduction to this book and spelled-out the Early Family History.  He related that according to Family legend there were 3 brothers from Wales were "pressed" on a British vessel.  The brothers being of the Quaker faith and against War, escaped at the first opportunity.  They were forced to eat the soles of their shoes for food, because they were destitute and is why they were said to conceal their identities, changing their name to BRALEY.  Another theory about the start of the Family in America is that they were French Huguenots with the name BRALES that would be pronounced Braley. 
    In 1643 mention of a Robert Brelles being capable of bearing arms in Marshfield has been found.  In 1676 James Brayley served in Major Savage's Company.  February 1675 James Brierly is in Col. Joseph Gardner's Company.  December 1675 Corporal James Braley is in Maj. Appleton's Company; both of these last saw action in the Narragansett War.  Roger Braley was a witness in a drowning inquest on 6 July 1696.
    Spellings of the name have been varied.  The First Roger used Brailey, but also was shown as Bralee, and he signed papers Braley as well.  Early Braleys were usually members of the Society of Friends (Quakers).
    The Braley family was again the subject of a book "Yankee Stock, Our Colonial Ancestors" by Ellen May Jones and Barbara May Honea, 1992.  This is a very well written and documented (footnotes) book and I feel that the information given in this book is as accurate as can be found, and this is reflected in the information given here.  This book says that the first Braleys to America were from Wales and assumed the Braley name to further their escape from Wales.  Whatever the origin, Roger is the Founder of "Our Line".
    Bruce Braley found that Roger and Alice Abbot-Braley lived along the Sakonnet/Seaconnet/Seekonk River in the South Side Addition of Portsmouth, RI (laid out in 1693).  The deed Roger executed for the sale of this land to Joanna Bennet (Portsmouth Town Deed Book 1, page 523) read:
    'One certain lott of land with a dwelling house thereon in number the 119th lott containing 56 Rods of ground lying and being at a place called the SouthSide in the Township of Portsmouth aforesaid amongst the small lotts contained in said South-side being butted and bounded as by a Plat of the said SouthSide may more at large appear lodged in the Town Clerk's office in said Town.'
    When Bruce visited Portsmouth, he found that the original Plat for the South Side had been lost, but he did find a Plat Map that showed the land owned by Joanna Bennet.  This Plat Map and the deed of sale, allowed Bruce to visit the area and get a photo of Brailey Beach. [See Deed, Plat & Photo]
    Roger was described as a weaver in the above deed of sale to 'Widow Bennet' for "the sum of eighty four pounds in good Currant money of New England".
    Roger and Alice's children are listed in Portsmouth Town birth records available in the Town Hall and in Rhode Island State Archives.
    The Portsmouth Record about the drowning inquest read: "Wee hose names whoe are under written being ingaged according to Law to Inquire into the death of A man found in Portsmouth We Think he may be Drouned.  Portsmouth July 6th 1696.  Roger Brally (his mark)."  Bruce Braley notes that all but Roger seemed to know how to sign their names.
    The information found in the 'Ancestry of the Male Line of Berton James Braley, Jr. and George Anderson Braley' says that Roger moved his family from Portsmouth, RI (after his children were born) to  Rochester, MA where his name appears in records spelled Bralea, Brailey, and Braley.

More About Roger Brailey:
Name 2: Roger Braley

Notes for Alice Abbot:
    Braley Genealogy does not give Alice's surname, and she may not have been an Abbot.  However, at least one other genealogy web site on FTM indicates that she was Alice Abbot.

More About Alice Abbot:
Source: FTM User Home Page Genealogy Report: Descendants of Roger Braley

More About Roger Brailey and Alice Abbot:
Marriage: Abt. 1695, Prob. Portsmouth, RI

Generation No. 2

        2.  James Brayley2, born Abt. 1645.  He was the son of 4. Roger Brayley and 5. Hannah.  He married 3. <Unnamed> Abt. 1671.
        3.  <Unnamed>2.

Notes for James Brayley:
From Harold E. Brailey, Jr., (1943):
    James Brayley, born about 1645, was reported to have married a widow, Mrs. Russell, at least Russell is a common family first name among his descendants.  In Narragansett Indian Wars on Feb. 29, 1675, he served as James Brierly in Colonel Joshua Gardner's Co., and on Dec 10, 1675 as Corporal James Brarly in Major Appleton's Co., on Aug 24, 1676 as James Brayley in Major Savage's Co. He had at least one son, Roger Brayley II, born about 1672.

From Claudia Tillman:
    The information about James found in Braley Genealogy is listed in my original notes for Roger Brailey (1672).  Bruce Braley thinks that the information came from a book called "Soldiers in King Philip's War".  This War was waged after a settler shot and killed an Indian near Swansea, RI in June 1675.  King Philip joined his Wampanoag tribe with the Narragansetts and Nipmucks to try to drive the Colonials off their favorite fishing and hunting grounds, and prevent further Colonial expansion.  In the Winter of 1675, King Philip led attacks on the Providence Plantation (RI) burning Providence and outer settlements.  In the Spring of 1676, the Plymouth Plantation, Massachusetts Bay, Providence Plantation, and Connecticut joined forces to attack the Narragansetts main fort and killed about 1,000 warriors and destroyed the Fort and all of the provisions.  (Later wars wiped-out the tribe.)
    Bruce Braley found records showing that James Brayley fought in the King Philip's War under several commanders.  He was paid three pounds, three shillings  for his service in Major Savage's Company under command of Lt. Gilliam.  He (James Brearly) was paid four pounds, sixteen shillings for his service under Major Appleton on 10 December 1675.  As 'Corporal James Brarly' he was listed on the roll of Appleton's Company in the Narraganset campaign.  As 'James Briarly (Brierly)' he was paid four pounds, one shilling for service under Capt. Joshua Gardiner on 29 February 1676 (1675, on the old-style calendar).  It is likely that those serving in the Colonial Militia were given the land taken from the Indians in Rhode Island as a reward for service; and might explain why James was living in RI.

More About <Unnamed>:
Name 2: Widow Russell

More About James Brayley and <Unnamed>:
Marriage: Abt. 1671

Child of James Brayley and <Unnamed> is:
1 i. Roger Brailey, born Abt. 1672; married Alice Abbot Abt. 1695 in Prob. Portsmouth, RI. 


Generation No. 3

        4.  Roger Brayley2, born Abt. 1610 in Devon(?) England.  He was the son of 8. John Willoughby Brayley and 9. Cicely Fleming.  He married 5. Hannah.
        5.  Hannah2.

Notes for Roger Brayley:
From Harold E. Brailey, Jr., (1943):
    He came from Exeter to MA by about 1640. He was probably the Roger Brailly who resided at Marshfield, MA and may have been by mistaken records the Robert Bralles who in 1643 was on the list of men capable of bearing arms in Marshfield. He had at least 1 son, James Brayley, born Abt. 1645.

From Claudia Tillman:
    Roger was BAPTISED on 26 October 1610 and was born sometime before that date and the Parish record is found in Tiverton Parish, Devonshire [Devon].  (Baptisms were performed at the Parish Church anytime after birth, sometimes years after birth.)  Roger IMMIGRATED from Exeter, England to Massachusetts about 1640.
    He is PROBABLY the Robert Brelles mentioned in the original Braley Genealogy (1913).  There is a Robert Brelles listed as a male capable of bearing arms from Marshfield (Massachusetts) in 1643 in "Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, Miscellaneous Records 1633-1689", originally published in 1857 and re-printed in 1968 by AMS Press.  If one remembers the inadequate educations of the time, it is just possible they were trying to spell Roger Braley as best they could, possibly thinking his name French.  But this is certainly not proof one way or the other that 'our' Roger Braley was capable of bearing arms in 1643.

More About Roger Brayley:
Immigration: Abt. 1640, From Exeter, England to Massachusetts

More About Hannah:
Immigration: Abt. 1640, From Exeter, England to Massachusetts

Child of Roger Brayley and Hannah is:
2 i. James Brayley, born Abt. 1645; married <Unnamed> Abt. 1671. 


Generation No. 4

        8.  John Willoughby Brayley2, born Abt. 1577 in England.  He was the son of 16. William Brayley and 17. Margaret Willoughby.  He married 9. Cicely Fleming April 1607 in Tiverton, Devon, England.
        9.  Cicely Fleming2.  She was the daughter of 18. Matthew Fleming and 19. Joan Tracy.

Notes for John Willoughby Brayley:
From Claudia Tillman:
    The paper 'Ancestry of the Male Line of Berton James Braley and George Anderson Braley' says that John Braley was probably married in Tiverton, Devonshire [Devon], which is located about 10 miles from Exeter, and that his children's births are listed in the Parish records there.  The dates shown for the family are BAPTISMAL dates (a baptism can happen anytime from a few days after birth to years later).

More About John Brayley and Cicely Fleming:
Marriage: April 1607, Tiverton, Devon, England

Children of John Brayley and Cicely Fleming are:
i. William Brayley2, born Abt. 1608. 
4 ii. Roger Brayley, born Abt. 1610 in Devon(?) England; married Hannah. 
iii. Margaret Brayley2, born Abt. 1612. 
iv. John Brayley2, born Abt. 1614. 
v. Elizabeth Brayley2, born Abt. 1615. 
vi. Cicely Brayley2, born Abt. 1618. 


Generation No. 5

        16.  William Brayley2, born Abt. 1545 in Exeter, Devon, England.  He married 17. Margaret Willoughby 1575 in Exeter, Devon, England.
        17.  Margaret Willoughby2, born 1553 in Shobrok, Devon, England.  She was the daughter of 34. John Willoughby and 35. Elizabeth Spencer.

Notes for William Brayley:
From Harold E. Brailey, Jr., (1943):
    William Brayley a prosperous merchant at the port of Exter, Devonshire [Devon], England, married Margaret Willoughby daughter of Sir. John Willoughby.  We actually no nothing of what children they may have had, but we find in Devon one who is probably their son, John Willoughby Brayley.

From Claudia Tillman, edited:
    This information is based on the work of an amateur genealogist named Harold E. Brailey, Jr., who was a student at Columbia University and contacted Dr. Alson E. Braley, father of Alson D. Braley, in 1943.  From what I (Claudia) can see, the evidence and references to the Braleys in America who preceded the 'Original Roger Braley (married to Alice)' appear to be good.  Since the original Braley Genealogy was written in 1913, giant strides have been made in making historic records readily available to genealogists. 
    From other English research I've done, it must be noted that the Exeter Church records were lost during bombing in World War II.  This would make it all but impossible to check the old records for Exeter.  However my knowledge is for Parish Registers and Probates (that were done by the Church), not secular records that may be listed in books or other sources.
    European Braleys have been around for Centuries.  They have been in Devonshire [Devon] historically and live there today primarily between Exeter and Barnstaple.  There ancient manor of Brayley is known as Brayley-Barton and is owned by the Earl of Fortensure, and is located about 15 miles from Barnstaple.  William de Brailia died in the First Crusade about 1097.  Daniel de Brailegh was listed as Lord of the Manors of Hellesdon and Brayley; the manor was located in the Hundreds of South Moulton (Devonshire [Devon]).  A branch of the family lived in Warwickshire in the 12th Century and had the name Bruley. This information is to show the use of the Braley name and is not intended to prove they are our ancestors - just some interesting notes on history.
    The work of Harold Braley shows a 'new' direction for our research; one that seems far more likely than our being of 'Welsh Descent' as was thought for so many years.
    In the 'Ancestry of the Male Line of Berton James Braley and George Anderson Braley', mention is made that there have been no records found to document the children of William and Margaret, but that there is found a John Willoughby Brayley, in Devon, born 1577 who is probably their son.  William was a prosperous merchant at the Port of Exeter, Devonshire [Devon].

Notes for Margaret Willoughby:
From Claudia Tillman:
    Margaret's birth has been listed as 1553 and 1550.  Margaret's father was Sir John and had the Manor of Shobrook in Devon.  This needs verification.

More About William Brayley and Margaret Willoughby:
Marriage: 1575, Exeter, Devon, England

Child of William Brayley and Margaret Willoughby is:
8 i. John Willoughby Brayley, born Abt. 1577 in England; married Cicely Fleming April 1607 in Tiverton, Devon, England. 



        18.  Matthew Fleming2.  He married 19. Joan Tracy.
        19.  Joan Tracy2.

Child of Matthew Fleming and Joan Tracy is:
9 i. Cicely Fleming, married John Willoughby Brayley April 1607 in Tiverton, Devon, England. 


Generation No. 6

        34.  John Willoughby2.  He married 35. Elizabeth Spencer.
        35.  Elizabeth Spencer2.

Notes for John Willoughby:
From Claudia Tillman:
    According to information from "Ancestry of the Male Line of Berton James Braley and George Anderson Braley", John was 'Sir' John and he was from the Manor of Shobrooke, Devon and descended from the Barons of Willoughby of Ereshire. This has not been verified.

Child of John Willoughby and Elizabeth Spencer is:
17 i. Margaret Willoughby, born 1553 in Shobrok, Devon, England; married William Brayley 1575 in Exeter, Devon, England. 



Endnotes

1.  George L. Randall, Braley Genealogy, The Descendants of Roger Braley, 1696-1913, (Mercury Publishing Co., Printers, New Bedford, MA, 1913), Page 7, this is the first Roger Brailey in the book..
2.  Harold E. Brailey, Jr., Letter to Dr. Alson E. Braley,  (1943).

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