Ousley Family History & Genealogy

Summary

The family surname of Ousley/Owsley/Ouseley/Owslie/Housley/Houseley/ and other spelling variants originated in England. One of my/our earliest documented Owslie family members was John Owslie of Miserton, Nottinghamshire, England, b. ca. 1524 and buried 8-8-1592, who had about seven children. Various Owslie/Owsley/Ousley family descendants trace their history from England to The Colony of Virginia (American Colony - U.S.A.), Australia and other countries. The first American settlor was Thomas Owsley, b. 1630. His descendants settled in Virginia, Tennessee. KY, and Texas and may be located in "Our Family Heritage", a series of 49 volumes of genealogical history, with 18,000 pages of research, by Monty Thomas Ousley Weddell of Dallas, TX.

History

Surnames were seldom used until after 1066 AD, when King William "The Conqueror" published the "Doomsday Book" listing all inhabitants and property. Surnames were added to identify specific individuals and groups. Some surnames were applied using professions, relationships, locations, and other criteria. The name Owslie/Owsley/Ousley was probably used to identify the people or family/families living near or by the "Ouse" River. There was an Owslie/Owsley/Ousley mentioned as early as 1300 AD in England.

Name Origin

The people. family, or families living near or by the Ouse River were identified as members of the "Ouse" /Ousley/Owslie Ouselies/Owslies/Ousleys families.

Spellings & Pronunciations

Owslie, Ousley, Owsley, Ouseley, Owseley, Housley, and other variants exist.

Nationality & Ethnicity

England

Famous People named Ousley

Refer to "Our Family Heritage" genealogy book series by M. T. O. Weddell

Early Ousleys

These are the earliest records we have of the Ousley family.