I may have mentioned this before, so if so, please forgive the repetition! In early colonial records, my Whaley ancestors' marriage bond reads: WHEALEY. I always thought it was because it was pronounced like curds and whey! Carolyn On Mar 2, 2007, at 2:02 PM, Jean Lopuch wrote: > > Frank I hope this is still a working address. > > My Grandfather Richard WHALLEY born in Lancaster 1853 but his birth > certificate stated WALLEY. > His grandfather Thomas Walley was born in Cheshire 1816. Could there > be a > connection? > > I live in the USA and pronounce WHALLEY as Wally. Some people > pronounce it > as Whale-ey which drove me crazy when I was a young person. > > Regards, Jean Whalley Lopuch > > >> [Original Message] >> From: keith_w <keith_w@dslextreme.com> >> To: <WHALEY-L@rootsweb.com> >> Date: 8/17/2006 3:13:34 PM >> Subject: Re: [WSP] Whaley vs Whalley >> >> Frank Whalley wrote: >>> I was born in Staffordshire, England, and there my name was always >>> pronounced 'Wally', like the first name which is common in the USA >>> but >>> not very common here. In fact, I have seen the name written in > censuses >>> as 'Wolley', presumably after being spoken to an enumerator by an >>> illiterate person. >>> >>> When I chased my family tree to Cheshire, I found that there in the >>> early 1800s my family spelled their names 'Walley', without and 'h', > and >>> they were not illiterate. The 'h' was added later, probably to >>> 'poshify' it. >>> >>> I have never visited the village of Whalley in Lancashire (shame!), >>> but >>> I'm told by people who come from around there that in those parts it >>> is >>> pronouned with the long 'a' - Wall - ee. >>> >>> In colloquial English, the term 'wally' denotes an inadequate or >>> stupid >>> person. Therefore I have changed the way I pronounce my name from > wally >>> to wall-ee. I hasten to add that I did this only because of the > ragging >>> my son received at school over his name; so when he changed schools >>> it >>> was natural to get over the problem by simply saying it differently! >>> >>> Incidentally, there are far more Whalleys in England than any other >>> spelling. Walley is the next most popular, with Whaley a distant >>> third. >>> >>> Frank Whalley >>> Penarth, nr Cardiff, Wales, UK > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > WHALEY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >