To people of European culture, their family surname handed down by a father to his children is the most important part of their personal identity, but families have not always had surnames.

In the times of Roman Empire a trinomial system was in use whereby a child had a given name, a clan name and a family name (surname), but this system fell into disuse after the break up of the Empire around 6th century.

Noble families in northern Italy first started to use surnames in late 10th century, though in the next two centuries the practice had not been widely adopted.

It was the returning Crusaders who brought the Italian custom back to western Europe, and here too, at first it was only the wealthy nobles who used a hereditary family name and its use only gradually spread to the rest of the population.

After the Norman Conquest of England, noble families and the well-to-do in that country began using family names. At first the system was only used in London and other developed parts but it slowly worked outwards, though the use of family names was by no means the norm, even by 1500. Even as late as 18th century, the use of family names had still not spread to all the outlying parts of Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

It may come as a surprise to some that our family surname in all its variations is really quite a common one, making it difficult to be sure just where our origins lie, especially as our antecedents have only been traced back to the comparatively recent year of 1546. There are several variations in its spelling in 17th and 18th century records from BAYLY to BAYLIS and it seems that the present version became final about 1840, after William Fowle Bailey's marriage to Charlotte Underwood, where he spelt and signed his name BAILEY, as it has been ever since.

Throughout this book, all surnames have been transcribed as BAILEY, regardless of their original spelling, except for those in wills in Appendix I.

All the variations of the surname BAILEY are, according to some dictionaries of surnames, derived from 3 basic sources.

The first and most common form is from the occupational name for a steward or official (or occasionally perhaps an ironic nickname for an officious person) from Middle English bail(l)i originally derived via Old French and Late Latin from baillus a carrier or porter, but later used for a manager or administrator. In the form bailiff it was used in 1297 for chief officer of a Hundred (part of a County); an officer of justice under a sheriff; a warrant officer; a catchpoll (one who arrests debtors); one who serves writs and summons and ensures court orders are carried out or even a pursuivant (an attendant, especially for a herald). In Scotland the name still survives as a bail(l)ie and is used for chief magistrate of a barony, or part of a County or a sheriff

Early examples are: Roger le BAYLLY 1230 Sussex, Richard le BAILLIF 1242 Herefordshire, John BALY 1274 Yorkshire, Gilbert le BALIF 1280 Somerset, John at BAYLIE 1317 Kent, Thomas le BALY 1327 Sussex, Thomas BAILIEL 1327 Suffolk and William de BAILLI 1311 from Scotland. Some present day names are BAILLIE (chiefly Scots) BAILIE (chiefly North Irish) BAILY BAYL(E)Y BAYLAY BAIL(L)I(F)F BAYLIFF(E) BAYLIS(S) BAYLESS. In France, the forms used are BAILLY BAILLI(F) LEBAILLY and LEBAILLIF, in Switzerland BALLY in Italy BAGLI(V)O and BAILO in Spain BAILE and in Catalan BATTLE'.

The second form is a topographical name for someone who lived in a district by the outermost wall of a castle from Middle English bail(l)y, baile - apparently from Old French bail(l)e enclosure, a derivative of bailer to enclose of unknown origin. This name, originally denoting the wall of the outer court of a feudal castle, about 1200 became used for the courts themselves e.g. Old Bailey in London, which formed part of the early medieval outer wall of the city. Some early examples are Richard del BAILLE c 1190 London, Eudo del BAYLE 1301 Yorkshire, John BAYL 1382 Sussex, Dyonsia en la BAILLYE 1319 London, who owned shops and houses in the Old Bailey, Thomas BALE 1524 Suffolk, William a BAYLES 1537 Huntingdon Shire, Zararias BAILES 1629 Yorkshire. The modern equivalents are BAIL(E)(S) BALE(S) BAYL(E)(S) and the French forms BAIL(L)(E) LEBAIL BAYLE and BEYLE.

The third form is a habitation name from Bailey in Lancashire from Old English beg (berry) plus leah (wood or clearing). Names derived from this source occur in the surrounding area from 13th century onwards e.g. Ralph de BAYLEGH 1246 Bailey, Lancashire.

The question of whether or not our branch of the Bailey family is entitled to bear arms must be left until our origins are traced much further back than they have been at present. Various genealogical firms produce a sort of "generic" coat of arms for many surnames, combining elements from legitimate coats of arms that bear that name, but they are at best regarded as decorative features that may possibly contain some elements of truth about the family to which the buyers belong.

The Christian name of Anselm, which occurs so frequently in our English ancestors from 16th century onwards is derived from ansa (god) and helma (helmet) and, befitting its origin, it was a prominent Anselm, who in 1093 was consecrated the second Archbishop of Canterbury. This Anselm was a learned theologian, who was abbot of the monastery of Bec in Normandy, and through the benefactions of William the Conqueror, his monastery received lands in England. Anselm (later St. Anselm) made 3 visits to oversee the English properties and he died in France in 1109. Anselm was canonised and a shrine to his memory was erected in Canterbury Cathedral, and his feast day is April 21. It was therefore natural that English families would wish to honour him by bestowing his name upon their children.

In chapters 2 and 3, all variations in 16th to 18th century records such as Auncell, Annsell, Ancelne Auselme etc have been shown as Anselm.

In the late 16th to 18th centuries our branch of the widespread Bailey family lived in the county of Gloucestershire, mostly on the eastern side of Britain's longest river, the Severn. The earliest records are from Wheatenhurst (nowadays called Whitminster) and Elmore and spread to nearby parishes such as Standish, Haresfield, Longney, Moreton Valence and some others. Quite a few ancestors went to the nearest large town Gloucester to be married, and there they mostly chose the church of St. Mary de Lode.

These are all rural parishes, and in keeping with their location, Bailey men up to end of 19th century were mostly yeomen, blacksmiths, millwrights, and wheelwrights with an occasional carpenter.

Since time immemorial, families have kept records about events such as births, marriages and deaths in their own and related family groups. In those times when few people could read and write, the well-to-do paid scribes to keep these records, while the rest of the people passed down these details orally. Most of the land in England after William's conquest in 1066 was owned by the Church or some noble lord and clerks were employed by the lord of the manor to keep records about those under his jurisdiction.

As part of Henry VIII's policy to make Church of England the Established Church, he had commissioned the printing, in Paris, of the most sumptuous edition until then of the English Bible. In September 1538, Henry directed that every parish must purchase one of these volumes, to be set up in the church, so that parishioners could have read to them or could read for themselves, this new Bible.

Some were probably also bought for display and a family record kept in them, either by the owners themselves, or failing that, some scribe who could read and write.

In 1611, James I ordered the Kings Printers to publish the Authorised Version of the Bible and as it could be bought for as little as five shillings, many more family record books came into use, and these treasured possessions were passed down from one generation to the next.

In the same year that the Paris Bibles were printed, Henry's Chief Minister, Thomas Cromwell issued instructions that each church parish must keep a register of all baptisms, weddings and burials. Cromwell probably got this idea from the parish of Castille in Spain, which was the first to start recording baptisms in 1497. Though church parishes had been set up in England as early as 9th century, there had never been any organised system of record keeping.

Each parish was to provide a coffer (chest for storing valuables) fitted with 2 locks and every Sunday, in the presence of the churchwardens, the vicar was to write in a book the records of all the baptisms, marriages and burials of the preceding week. Each year, a copy of these Parish Records, known as Bishop's Transcripts, was to be made and then sent to the bishop of the diocese to which that parish belonged.

Many parishes, especially those in the country ignored Cromwell's instructions, even though in 1597 special parchment volumes were provided, so all previous entries could be copied and all new entries made, into these long lasting books.

It was not until 1733 that the various registers had to be written in English. Before that, the well educated clergy wrote their entries in classical Latin, while others made do with a simpler form of that language. Sometimes they even made up Latin words, or else wrote their entries in the English of the period.

By early 17th century most parishes had started keeping records, and in the early years, baptisms, marriages and deaths were mostly kept in the one register. Details were few, often only a name and date - only baptisms sometimes showed parents' names and then usually that of the child's father. Marriages in the Registers gave only the names of brides and grooms and whether or not they came from another parish, while burial records were very sparse, usually lacking any details of age, place or date of death. As no certificates were issued, it is often quite difficult to prove a line of descent, especially as families tended to use the same limited number of Christian names over several generations.

Most people were married after Banns were read over three Sundays from the pulpit of their parish church, and it was not until Banns Books were started about 1800, that any details such as age and occupation were available. In lieu of calling Banns, the well-to-do and those in a hurry, could obtain a Marriage Licence from the bishop of their parish. However this was very costly, as a bondsman must be found to give surety for the payment of the Bond (sometimes as much as five hundred pounds) which was to be forfeited to the bishop, should the marriage not take place. Part of the licence was an "Allegation" detailing ages and status of the bride and groom and the parish they came from. The ages given were not always accurate, sometimes being adjusted to suit circumstances or because in those days, many people were not sure of their birth date. The church where the marriage was to take place "between the hours of eight and twelve in the forenoon" was sometimes specified, though sometimes the space was left blank and people took their certificate to another parish church and got married there.

The records that survive are not always complete because many were destroyed or not even kept during the Civil War from 1642 - 1660 and in some parishes, for many years after. In 1694 a Parish Register Tax was imposed and as it cost two shillings for each birth, four shillings for each burial and two shillings and sixpence for each marriage, many of these events were simply not registered. Between 1783 and 1793, threepence stamp duty was levied on each entry in the register, so more events went unreported.

Throughout chapter 2, no attempt has been to alter dates in records prior to 1752 when the Julian calendar was used, to the present Gregorian one. In the former, the year started on March 25, which was called Lady Day and though the months had the same names and were in the same order, the notation was different so that 10br for example stood for December, not October.

Though many other countries, including Scotland, had long since been using the Gregorian calendar, England did not do so officially until 1752. To bring the old calendar into line with the new one, eleven days were dropped completely between 3 and 14 September. Some people had begun to use the new calendar many years earlier, and English records at times give both years e.g. 1711/12, where the first year refers to the Julian calendar.

For at least two and in some cases, nearly three centuries, Parish Registers, Bishop's Transcripts and Marriage Licences were usually the main genealogical records available, but they relate only to each parish and county. As time went on, the Registers contained a lot more detail, but it was not until 1837 that a certificate was made out for each event.

On 1 July 1837 in England and Wales and on 1 January 1855 in Scotland a certificate of birth, marriage or death could be issued locally, with a copy being sent to a central registry in London or Edinburgh. For the first time, it became possible to trace genealogical records for the whole of the country at the one place.

Wills in England could be made by anyone, male or female, who had assets to the value of five pounds or more. If they are available, they can help to confirm family relationships, especially when they contain details of land and household goods passed down over several generations. The few that still exist are detailed in Appendix I.