The Hale family history
The Hale family history reaches back to my 10x Great Grandfather, William Hale, who lived in the tiny village of Knotting, Bedfordshire, England, during the early 17th century.
The baptism records of Knotting aren't always forthcoming with the names of both parents - with the mother's name often missing. Due to this, my 10x Great Grandmother's name remains elusive, and she simply becomes 'widow of William Hale' when she dies 10 years after William, in 1667.
The couple had at least six children, and their oldest was my 9x Great Grandfather William Hale, who was born in about 1621. After he married my 9x Great Grandmother, known only as Elizabeth (so far), the couple had three daughters and a son - my 8x Great Grandfather Thomas Hale.
The family would remain in Knotting until my 7x Great Grandfather William Hale, who worked as a tailor, married Elizabeth Truelove of Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire in June 1706 at the parish church in Potton, Bedfordshire. Therefore ending my direct link to Knotting, and through their oldest daughter - my 6x Great Grandmother, Elizabeth Hale, it also ended my ancestral Hale line, when she married James Gilbert of Abbotsley, Huntingdonshire in January 1725.
Many other Hale relatives remained in Knotting.
Hale surname variants
Despite being only four letters long, the Hale surname has a few variants that all appear in the same parish register. These include:
- Hail
- Hale
- Halle
Hale family connections
The Hale family are linked to a number of my ancestral families including: