Origins of DUBERLEY surname

Does anyone here know the origin of the Duberley surname? There are lots of variations in spelling as one would expect. The earliest mention I have found is a Henry Doberle, baptised in 1582, in Ruardean (which is where my father, John Duberley grew up). I have been informed that it is a 'locative' surname (Du = of)and wondered if it was in any way linked to the village of Bulley, near Westbury-on-Severn, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Buleleye.

Post reply

6591 views

? for starters...

Men in Armour for Gloucestershire 1608

http://www.coaley.net/glos1608/index.php

Lists:

NEWLAND (Dean)

James DOBERLOWE - shoemaker A60 (aged around 60 c1548) - lower stature

? is James the father of Henry christened 1582 in Ruardean

WESTBURY on SEVERN (Elton party of Rodley)

William DOBBERLAWE labourer, A40 (aged around 40 c1568) - meanest stature

Richard DOBBERLOWE servant to Thomas NORTH yeoman - A20 (aged around 20 =c1588) lower stature.

(the guide will show you what they are fit to serve as - determined by height. Obviously not a tall family

LITTLEDEAN

Symon DUBBERLEY A20 - lower stature

CLEARWELL

William DUBBERLEE - labourer A40 - meanest stature

Post reply

6381 views

With so many variations of spelling the surname - it is difficult to search the National Archives (without Soundex)

Searching for DOBERLOWE

Date: 1558-1579

Description: Short Title:

BRACE v SOBERLOWE

Plaintiffs: Edward BRACE

Defendants: Griffith SOBERLOWE (or GRIFFITH DOBERLOWE?)

Subject: churchyard of Weston Beggard, Herefordshire, Docuement type: (pleadings)-

---

If you Google: DOBERLOWE, Herefordshire

There are a few 'hits'

e.g.

Elizabethan Family names in Much Dewchurch Burials 1558-1600

DOBERLOWE, GRIFFITHE

and under

CP40/1084 by Defendant-AALT

doesn't show a date, but wording is very early..... DOBERLOWE, Philip of Weston Under Shokynhill

Post reply

6368 views

Thank you for that information. Present day Duberleys are still of very lowly stature, so we don't appear to have evolved at all!

Post reply

6330 views

Good afternoon Rachel and welcome to the forum and website.
I guess you've already spent some time searching this site's PRs and this forum ?. So far no-one else seems to have queried your surname origins, altho there have been a few Duberley posts which indeed go back to Ruardean, as you know
eg http://www.forest-of-dean.net/fodmembers/index.php?mode=thread&id=31721

I must admit that despite having met a few Duberleys in the Forest over the years, I'd never realised just how "rare" you are. As far as I can see the usual surname reference websites don't seem to have covered it, yet, perhaps because they're often American sites. However some books do mention it eg
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0AyDDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA771&dq=dubberley+surname&...

Looking at the 1881 Census it's probably the most pronounced example of a localised surname that I've ever seen, most definitely centred on our area.
see http://gbnames.publicprofiler.org/Map.aspx?name=DUBERLEY&year=1881&altyear=1998...

I wonder if it's origins are linked to the Severn ports in some way, perhaps with a French (Norman?) link as you appear to suggest ?

Ref the surname websites, my preferred site is this one, their page for the Bulley surname may be of interest, it mentions similar placenames in Normandy...
http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Bulley

I'm unable to find any detailed online history of Bulley village, except to confirm what you know re it's Domesday mention. eg (best opened in new tab/window)
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mQA-AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=Walter...

Hope this helps in some small way.

PS. oops !, just realised MPG was writing while I was, thankfully we haven't both approached from the same angle.

Post reply

6480 views

Hi, Jeff. Thank you for the interesting links. I suspect I am approaching this from the wrong direction, but I have always wondered if there was a French forebear somewhere in the distant past - someone small with short legs and a big mouth!

Post reply

6397 views

You're very welcome Rachel.
Just thought I'd update this thread and mention an unlikely coincidence which hopefully interests you. As usual for me I've just been doing some routine research for a weekly internet radio show about my lifelong passion, 1950s rock & roll music. Perhaps my favourite electric guitarist is American James Burton, renowned for playing on big hits by the likes of Ricky Nelson and later with Elvis. Today I'm writing about the classic hit "Susie Q", co-written by Burton and recorded 14th February 1957. Why mention this ?
Well, I've just realised he was born in a small town in Louisiana called ... you really couldn't make it up... !
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubberly,_Louisiana

I'm now wondering whether the town of Dubberly is historically linked to Dean Forester settlers, miners maybe ?. The State of Louisiana certainly has French roots, especially in the deep south..

Post reply

6395 views

Could be Cambridgeshire. Some prominent Duberly people there and from there. Then there's Captain Henry Duberly , paymaster of the 8th Hussars in the Crimea. I tried to look him up on Wiki for his dates and where he was born, but without success.

Post reply

6327 views

Thank you for that, Roger. I was aware Henry Duberly, but it was his wife -'the dashing Mrs Duberly' - who was better known
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_Duberly

Post reply

6316 views

Hi Jefff, thank you for the link. Dubberly in Louisiana looks like a one-horse town, where the horse has expired! Apparently it was founded in 1885, and was named in honour of a Henry Dubberly who donated the land for a right of way to the railroad company. Possibly another branch of the family, although i haven't found any emigrants yet.

Post reply

6296 views

Hi Jeff, just to update you, I think I have found the founder of Dubberly, Louisiana - Henry Clay Dubberly (1841-1928) is buried in the Fellowship Cemetery in Dubberly itself

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=50306507

The person who kindly notified me of this also sent me Henry's family tree (most of which seems to come from the Church of Latter-day saints, so will have to check it), and it appears that a John Duberly, born in 1672 in Ross on Wye, emigrated at some point, and died on March 4th 1734 in Little Neck, Accomack, Virginia.

Will keep searching to see how this ties in with my forbears, if at all. So thank you again for your help.

Post reply

6234 views

Hi Rachel,
thanks so much for taking the time to update. Glad to hear you've followed up the lead, good music can be so helpful in so many ways !
I see now that a quick internet search reveals that Henry appears in a lot of Duberley online trees etc etc, it seems you may have some cousins in the USA, have you ever fancied spending a month or 2 on an American roadtrip ? ;-) ....

There's even a book about it all, this webpage states

John Dubberley (1672-1733/34) was born in Ross-on-Wye, Hereford County, England to Edward Dubberley and Elizabeth (?). He and his wife, Grace, were French Huguenot and are the apparent progenitors of all Douberly descendants in this genealogy. By 1693 he had immigrated to Worcester, Maryland. Later they went to Accomack County, Virginia. John and Grace had five children. Descendants also lived in North and South Carolina and Georgia. Today descendants live in many states.
https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Douberly_Dubberly_Paper_Trail_in_Ame.html?id...

A quick search for Duberley/Doberly etc on the LDS aka FamilySearch site indeed shows records in Gloucestershire & Herefordshire as early as 1582, as reflected within this site's PRs (John Doberle, son of James, Redbrook), and of course Henry you've already mentioned. With that surname and placement I can't help but think there is indeed a French link, as you first suggested, perhaps John's oldest ancestors arrived at Ross up the River Wye, in those days far easier than travelling by land of course. Please see my next post about nearby Whitebrook, which miught possibly be related ?.
Re Forest villages and their Norman settlers, this old post about Redmarley village may interest you, it's more correctly named Redmarley D'Abitot after the Normans.
http://forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=31286

Anyhow, I'll happily leave the Duberley research in your capable hands Rachel, and look forward very much to anything else you can turn-up.

Thanks again, Jeff.

Post reply

6342 views

Hi again Rachel,
while researching another thread I came across this old photo of the Royal Oak Quoit Club Supper, from September 25th 1926. The Royal Oak beerhouse was near the Pludds, a hamlet next to Ruardean Woodside, on the western side of Ruardean Hill. The photo includes several men from the Duberley family.
http://www.sungreen.co.uk/Coleford/xRoyalOak.htm

I expect you've already viewed the photos on this FoDFH website, several of the Ruardean ones include members of the Duberley family.
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/joomla/index.php/photo-gallery

Hope this helps, J.

Post reply

6343 views

Hi Jeff,

Thank you for the photos. I think the Duberleys in the Quoits Club are probably cousins of my grandfather, Percy Duberley. He was born in 1903, so the younger Duberleys in the picture would be a similar age to him and his brothers; he had 10, but none of them called Joseph, William or Sidney. Percy had an uncle Joseph, born c.1865, so that may be the older Joseph D in the photo.

Post reply

6335 views

RSS Feed of thread

Forest of Dean FHT Forum

Origins of DUBERLEY surname (General)