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When researching family history it would always be nice to find someone rich and famous. Sadly the odds against it are pretty high - even though some genealogists seem to do better than average! In the case of the Townsley families the highest point on the social ladder seems to have been a farmer - with Townsleys being recorded as hawkers, tinkers or travellers as well as the ever-present labourer.
None of these social levels could be expected to be property-owners with assets to dispose of in wills or with titles to pass on to their descendants. Without the extra documentation that wills and pedigrees provide then the trail back through generations of ancestors soon runs out of written evidence.
Looking around for any possible families with enough wealth and documentation I have considered plenty surname spellings that have been found in the archives with various possible degrees of a Townsley connection. These include - Tounley, Tounsella, Tounsley, Tounesley, Towndeley, Towndely, Towndley, Townedley, Townelay, Towneley, Townelley, Townesley, Townlay, Townley, Townnsellee, Townslay and Townsly.
Note that I have NOT researched the various Tinsley families - even though some of the coat-of-arms sellers claim that this is the origin of Townsley.
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