We now know DNA studies match kin who lived in Northern England who went by the name Chomley, Cholmley, or Chamley. Our kin might have lived in Ireland or Scotland before England but no DNA matches in those areas yet. Whatever the cultural or historical issues of the day, our ancestors definitely wanted to leave the British Isles and go to America.
Given a timeline of records PERHAPS our ancestors left because of cultural events leading up to the Battle of Culloden. The first verified record is in Bertie County is 1744, then 1757 on a tax list. First of the DNA 1st cousins or brothers was Isaac Chamblee, Hertford Co NC on a tax list in 1779, obviously of legal age. The oral history that 6 came from Ireland or Scotland (or England) would then fit the years surrounding the Battle of Culloden. One can wonder.
​
Scottish Immigration to America increased as Scots gained access to America as Indentured Servants Scottish Immigration to America in the 1700's was undertaken by angry Scots following defeat at the hands of the English at the 1746 Battle of Culloden... In 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie, the the Stuart heir, attempted to claim the British throne but was defeated in 1746 at the Battle of Culloden. The defeat at the Battle of Culloden prompted large scale emigration from Scotland to America and the history of Scottish Immigration to America began in earnest, although Scots had first emigrated during the Colonial era of American history. More on this at Scottish Immigration to America.
​
Boat and immigration lists and other early American records including indentured servants have not yielded results. We have have done a surname survey of these immigration records, but there is no pattern or conclusion. We looked at the Chambliss, Chumbly, etc. lines for a few years but after DNA studies we now rule that out. No paper trail from Chambless/Chambliss/Cumbly substantiates anything in our ancestry anyway.
​
Where did we first find them on record in America? Bertie County, North Carolina--which was later split into Hertford County in December 1759. We think some of the early records ended up in Hertford County, which unfortunately suffered two fires and most early holdings were lost.
​
What is more important is where our ancestors migrated in America. Our ancestors needed and desired many acres of land to support their families. As land was advertised or given as military warrants, our ancestors began to migrate.
We now know DNA studies match kin who lived in Northern England who went by the name Chomley, Cholmley, or Chamley. Our kin might have lived in Ireland or Scotland before England but no DNA matches in those areas yet. Whatever the cultural or historical issues of the day, our ancestors definitely wanted to leave the British Isles and go to America.
Given a timeline of records PERHAPS our ancestors left because of cultural events leading up to the Battle of Culloden. The first verified record is in Bertie County is 1744, then 1757 on a tax list. First of the DNA 1st cousins or brothers was Isaac Chamblee, Hertford Co NC on a tax list in 1779, obviously of legal age. The oral history that 6 came from Ireland or Scotland (or England) would then fit the years surrounding the Battle of Culloden. One can wonder.
​
Scottish Immigration to America increased as Scots gained access to America as Indentured Servants Scottish Immigration to America in the 1700's was undertaken by angry Scots following defeat at the hands of the English at the 1746 Battle of Culloden... In 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie, the the Stuart heir, attempted to claim the British throne but was defeated in 1746 at the Battle of Culloden. The defeat at the Battle of Culloden prompted large scale emigration from Scotland to America and the history of Scottish Immigration to America began in earnest, although Scots had first emigrated during the Colonial era of American history. More on this at Scottish Immigration to America.
​
Boat and immigration lists and other early American records including indentured servants have not yielded results. We have have done a surname survey of these immigration records, but there is no pattern or conclusion. We looked at the Chambliss, Chumbly, etc. lines for a few years but after DNA studies we now rule that out. No paper trail from Chambless/Chambliss/Cumbly substantiates anything in our ancestry anyway.
​
Where did we first find them on record in America? Bertie County, North Carolina--which was later split into Hertford County in December 1759. We think some of the early records ended up in Hertford County, which unfortunately suffered two fires and most early holdings were lost.
​
What is more important is where our ancestors migrated in America. Our ancestors needed and desired many acres of land to support their families. As land was advertised or given as military warrants, our ancestors began to migrate.
VERSIONS OF OUR FAMILY NAME FOUND IN RECORDS
​
There are endless spellings of our family surname. If you are rigid with the spelling when researching you will have a harder time locating the record, especially in our families.
​
-
Think about all the foreign accents and regional dialects people had before early migrations to America. Clerk's tried to listen and then record phonetically.
-
Think of unusual names and record keepers who had never heard our names before, their spelling was from what was familiar to their culture.
-
Think of poor diction of reporters and the fatigue of record takers.
-
Think of approaching genealogy with a completely open mind.
-
People have a hard time reading our name in records because only in certain pockets in the U.S. is the name known.
-
When collecting records, try to look at the ORIGINAL record, not the abstracted version often misinterpreted on the internet or record repositories or the transcribed form if possible. Form your own opinion on ALL records and don't trust a census enumeration abstraction, a typed transcript of a will or land deed; look at the ORIGINAL if available.
Bertie County, North Carolina 1758
JUNE 15, 1759, Robert Chamblee's earliest known extant record in Bertie County, North Carolina. He purchased land from John Barrett. By October 1759 Chamblee and Barrett were not getting along and Robert Chamblee charged with assault on Barrett; all charges dismissed.
​
December 18, 1759, Robert Chamblee signed petition for formation of new county (split Bertie) while he was living in Bertie County. We know he had land on the Hertford Co side in this division: Deep Branch in Chinkopen Neck area. He signed the petition: ROBERT CHAMLEE. Other records, CHAMBLEE. Must have had a mixture of accents in early Bertie County.
SPELLINGS FOUND IN UNITED STATES RECORDS
​​
Chamlee, Chamler, Chamle
Chamblee, Chambler, Chamblier, Chamblers, Chambles
Chamberly, Chamberlee
Chamblu (abstractors don't recognize the two "e's"
Chamlu, Chamlo
Chambler
Chambelie
Chaimblee
Chainblee
Chambly, Chambley, Chamblay and how about Chamdley
Shambley, Shambly, Shamblee, Shamlee, Shamler, Shamblo, Shamblu [abstractors seeing two e's together=Shamblu]
Chamdley, Chambers (yes, if you have tracked your person carefully, you know when a name might be your person)
Chambers (yes, but once YOU look at the original record you can see it is not really Chambers)
Chumley (a record abstractor may interpret the letters, but DNA proves we are not related to the Chumley, Chumbley etc lines)
Cholmondeley, Cholmeley, Cholmley, and perhaps Cholmle were aristocratic lines in Britain. "Cholmondeley" is pronounced Chumley in Britain. Be broad minded; the name "St. John" is pronounced Sinjin in Britain.
Chamless, Chambless, Chamblis (rarely, but it's when the abstractors get confused with the spelling because it is not a mainstream name)
Camblee, Camlee (leave out the "h" in entering into a record or an index)
​
most oddly:
Chamberlain, Chamberland (yes, some tax records listed our people as this surname as well as census records in Wake County, NC, Jarred Chamblee being one of them. Jacob Chamlee had issues on census enumerations and in land, but with land you can track the parcel as it changed hands and, as it mentions adjacent land. The spelling for the same parcels and family flipflops from Chamberlain to Chamlee.
William Chamlee and Jacob had land on Cain Creek in old Pendleton District, SC. Notice on the land plat to the right that he is "William Chamberlain" and in other records for the same land "William Chamlee." To determine if this was our William we had to find multiple records and analyze the contents.
​
How is it that "Chamberlain" was written in the records in the first place? This was puzzling for years until DNA results matched us with people in Northern England, prime territory for Yorkshire accents infused with local dialects in 1700's when they migrated. If the Chamblee/Chamley/Cholmeys migrated from Ireland, Scotland, England per oral history, it would explain the mispellings as they used their local birth dialects in America, the melting pot of accents.
