Researching William Pelley
Research the background of William Pelley using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
![]() | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 122 people with the Pelley surname? In that year Pelley was ranked number 3457 for popularity in the UK. |

The name William means "resolute guardian" and is of German origin.
Records of William Pelley on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of William Pelley in your family tree. With over 30 billion records and 100 million family trees to search, Ancestry is one of the key websites to visit to help you trace your family tree back in time. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for William Pelley. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for William Pelley. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for William Pelley. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for William Pelley. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for William Pelley. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. A DNA test can sometimes help to make a link to a particular family name if you find you share common DNA with people who have the same or similar surnames as each other. If you are lucky then you may get a match within a few generations and discover some Pelley ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Pelley Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for William Pelley and the Pelley Genealogy
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Pelley Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources listed below it will be possible to locate a birth record and, from that record, a birth certificate may be obtainable which is likely to list the names of the parents, therefore taking you back another generation. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Pelley family tree.
Look at Parish Records for William Pelley at Find My Past.
Check out for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of William Pelley using the FreeBMD database.
Study Genealogy Bank for William Pelley records.
Explore MyHeritage for William Pelley information.
Search the LDS Database for records about William Pelley.
Research the Pelley surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Pelley Military records.
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 74 people with the Pelley surname in the UK? Pelley is now ranked number 3972 for popularity in the UK. |
Pelley Family History Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Search the WikiTree database for user contributed records for William Pelley.
Study MyTrees for information on the Pelley family and people looking to contact living Pelley relations.
Study One Great Family for Pelley records submitted by people who are already researching the Pelley Family Tree.
Find William Pelley from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Pelley Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Pelley surname using Genealogy.com forums .
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 3038 people with the Pelley surname in the USA? Pelley is ranked number 156 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Pelley Databases
Check out the Ellis Island Database for information on William Pelley. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called William Pelley
William Dudley Pelley
William Dudley Pelley (March 12, 1890 – June 30, 1965) was an American writer, occultist, spiritualist and fascist political activist.
He came to prominence as a writer, winning two O. Henry Awards and penning screenplays for Hollywood films. His 1929 essay "Seven Minutes in Eternity" marked a turning point in Pelley's career, earning a major response in The American Magazine where it was published as a popular example of what would later be called a near-death experience. His experiences with mysticism and occultism drifted towards the political, and in 1933 Pelley founded the Silver Legion of America, a fascist paramilitary league. He ran for president of the United States in 1936 as the candidate for the Christian Party.
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sedition in 1942, and released in 1950. Upon his death, The New York Times assessed him as "an agitator without a significant following".
Source: William Dudley Pelley, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Pelley
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Paal Pahel Pahl Pahlow Pail Paille Pala Palay Pale Paley Pali Palia Pallai Palle Palley Pallo Pally Paoli Paolo Pauel Pauelua Paul Paula Paule Pauleau Pauley Pauli Paull Paulley Paulo Paulou Pauly Pauwel Pawel Pawle Pawley Payle Payley Paylie Peal Peale Pealy Peel Peele Peelle Peil Peila Peile Peill Pel Pelaia Pelawa Pele Pell Pelle Pellew Pelli Pellow Pelly Pelow Piehl Piel Piela Piele Piell Pielow Piheal Pihl Pile Pill Pilla Pille Pilley Pillo Pilloe Pillow Pilo Piloe Piola Pioli Piolli Piwall Piwell Pla Plau Pleau Plew Plewa Pley Pllu Plo Ploegh Plou Plough Plow Plowy Plue Ply Poel Pohl Pohle Pohley Poile Pol Pole Poley Poleye Poli Poll Pollay Polle Polley Polleye Polli Pollie Pollow Pollu Polly Polo Polowy Polye Pool Poole Pooley Pooly Pouel Powel Powelee Powell Powley Poyle Puhl Pula Puleo Pull Pulley Pyle Pyloo Pylow Pywell





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