Biography
Edith Ellen Exley, also known as Anna Ethel Exley and Elizabeth Ellen Exley. Daughter of William Exley and Elizabeth Errington. Born c.1856.
The Exley Chronicle (Typed) describes her variously as “Anna Ethel Exley, of Croft Rd, Blenheim” and “Elizabeth Ellen.” The Chronicle itself notes the confusion: “No mention is made in the ‘Notes’ that she was Edith to Elizabeth Ellen but the dates are the dates. It was she who compiled the originals of the ‘Family Tree’ and ‘Notes’ for ‘Lillie’ in N.Z.”
She went to live with her brother Albert Edwin in New Zealand from 1871 until her death in 1944.
She compiled the “Chronicle of the direct line of descent from Robert Exley of Halifax” and the NZ Pedigree Sheets (Typed), sending them to her sister “Lillie” (Lillian Louise Wills (1885-1971)) about 1940. The NZ Pedigree Sheets extended the family line back to Swaina de Ecclesley.
Victor Exley notes that when she did the original research, she “didn’t know enough to link the two parts of the pedigree together” — she failed to connect Robert of Halifax to his father John Exley (m. Eliz. Tonge, 1555).
Evidence
- Exley Chronicle (Typed), page 6: identified as the compiler, with biographical details
- Error Corrections in Exley Chronicle: “probably compiled by Edith Ellen Exley… her Aunt ‘Lillie’… 1941”
- Victor Exley Letter July 1990: “when Edith Ellen Weatherhead did the original research she didn’t know enough to link the two parts of the pedigree together”
Open Questions
- The name confusion (Edith Ellen / Anna Ethel / Elizabeth Ellen) needs resolution. The Chronicle page 6 treats “Elizabeth Ellen” (b.1856) and “Jane Ethel” as the same or closely connected person. William had a daughter Elizabeth Ellen b.1856 and possibly a daughter Anna Ethel/Jane Ethel. These may be the same person with a naming confusion, or two different daughters.
- The relationship to “Lillie” (Lillian Louise Wills) is described as “sister” in the Chronicle, but Lillian was Albert Errington’s wife. If Edith Ellen was William’s daughter and Albert Edwin’s sister, then Lillian would be Edith Ellen’s niece-in-law, not sister. The term “sister” may be used loosely.