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Individual Record
Name
Surname:
Moraley
Given Name:
William
Variant Surname Spellings:
Morley, Moreley, Morrowley, Moralee, Morralee
Soundex Code:
M640
Birth, Christening and Other Information
Gender:
Male
Date of Birth or Christening:
1698/1699
Parish:
Christ Church
Town/City:
Greyfriars, Newgate, London
County:
Middlesex
Nation:
England
Occupation(s):
Watchmaker
Orphan:
Unknown
Position in Parent's Family:
Unknown
Year of Immigration:
1729
Landowner:
Unknown
Literate:
Unknown
Convict:
Unknown
Place of Arrival
Town:
Philadelphia
County:
Philadelphia
Colony:
Pennsylvania
Ship:
Boneta
Length of Indenture
Year of Indenture:
1729
Place of Indenture
Town:
Burlington
County:
Burlington
Colony:
New Jersey
Master
Surname:
Pearson
Given name:
Isaac
Death Information
Locality:
St. Nicholas, Newcastle upon Tyne
County:
Northumberland
State:
England
Date of Death:
1762
Testate:
Yes
Research Notes
Comments:
Appendix C consists of transcripts of the wills of William Moraley's parents. "And, while Moraley appears in records in England, his presence in New Jersey and Pennsylvania is confirmed only by circumstantial evidence." (p. 6) "Moraley was far from unique in leaving no trace in the surviving sources. Many records do not exist for this early period, in part because the primitive conditions of New Jersey and Pennsylvania discouraged recordkeeping. For example, detailed censuses, registers of the arrivals of British immigrants, city directories, and newspapers from New Jersey are not extant. Sharon Salinger found that 44 percent of male indentured servants in early Pennsylvania left no tracks in the records ("To Serve Well and Faithfully," 119).
Family:
William Moraley was the son of William Moraley (d. 1725) and Martha Mason (d. 1740), who had married in 1697. After his father's death, his widowed mother married (2) Charles Isaacson in 1728. She later married (3) Thomas Brown in 1732. William Moraley, the servant, was the grandson of John and Martha (Stevens) Mason. His paternal grandfather's identity is currently unknown. His great-grandparents include: Thomas and Agnes (Ridley) Moraley and Henry Stevens. Thomas Moraley was the son of William and Elizabeth (Ridley) Moraley. This Thomas was the son of Nicholas Ridley, a brother of Alexander Ridley, who was the father of Agnes (Ridley) Moraley. (1) "London is the Place of my Nativity, which was in the Year 1698. My Parents were of no mean Account, and in good Circumstances, my Father being the third and youngest Son of a Gentleman, Chief of an ancient Family and considerable Estate, descended from the Barons Morley, of Swanton Morley, in Norfolk. By Charter from King Edward I. he held lands in Northumberland, bearing his Name, which were increased by Purchase; and in the last Century were augmented by two Marriages, first by William Moraley, my Great Great Grandfather, with Elizabeth Daughter to Nicolas Ridley, of Willemoteswick, in Com. Northumb', Esq; and secondly, by Agnes, Daughter of Alexander Ridley, of Whitsheals, third Brother of the said Nicolas Ridley, to Thomas Moraley, Son of the above William Moraley. By this Alliance, large Possessions were added to the Paternal Estate; which passing from the Family by the Extravagance of my Father's elder Brother, he was oblig'd to seek his Fortune, and became a Citizen of London, where he married Martha, the Daughter of Mr John Mason, a wealthy Founder and Citizen. Her mother, nam'd Martha, was Daughter of Henry Stevens, of Steventon, in Com. Berks, Esq; allied to the Family of Sonds, of Lees Court, in Com. Cantii, in the Person of Sir George Sonds, Knight of the Bath, afterwards created Earl of Faversham by King Charles II. whose eldest Daughter was married to Lewis, Marquis of Blanquefort, Baron Duras in England, who, by the Death of Sir George, became, by Reversion, Earl of Faversham, in right of his Wife. He was second Brother to Charles d'Urfort de Duras, Duke and Marshal of France. The second Daughter of Sir George married Sir Lewis Watson, afterwards Lord Rockingham, Grandfather to the present Earl of Rockingham." (1)
Source Citations:
(1) Susan E. Klepp & Billy G. Smith, The Infortunate: The Voyage and Adventures of William Moraley, an Indentured Servant (University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1992); (2) Pennsylvania Gazette (Philadelphia), December 9-16, 1729; (3) M.A. Richardson, The Local Historian's Table Book, of Remarkable Occurrences, Historical Facts, Traditions, Legendary and Descriptive Ballads, etc., etc., Connected with the Counties of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland and Durham, 8 vols. (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Richardson, 1841), 2 (pt. 1): 104; (4) Billy G. Smith, "Walking Moraley's Streets: Philadelphia," Common-Place: Special Issue: Early Cities of the Americas, Vol. 3, No. 4 (July 2003), http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no-04/philadelphia/.