Biography
Robert Exley of Halifax, Burley & Askwith, Yeoman, died 1647. He heads Meryll’s hand-drawn family tree as the earliest ancestor of the Rawdon/NZ branch with documented descendants.
The Exley Chronicle (Typed) describes him as “the ancestor of the Rawdon and Manningham families” but notes “It is difficult to decide his parentage as there were several Robert Exleys of Halifax living at that time.” The Chronicle cites a Robert Exley of Halifax who married Maria Lister in 1596 (children: Sibyl b.1596, Robert b.1597, Maria b.1598), a Robert Exley who was churchwarden at Elland in 1616, and various land records.
A 1647 document records Robert Exley and Mary his wife holding “one messuage, one garth, one garden, 22 acres of land, three acres of meadow” in Burley, Dened, Hauble Moor and Otley.
A deed of 1673 states that “Robert Exley of Halifax, who had a brother Richard, conveyed to Anthony Foxcroft of Halifax gent., James Foxcroft of Holden Hall… the land and Messuage etc., in Halifax, Horley and Askwith to the use of himself for life and afterwards to the use of his children.”
His will was proved at York in 1647, the year Charles I surrendered to the Scots. Robert’s final years coincided with the English Civil War. The West Riding cloth towns were firmly Parliamentary; Halifax’s yeomen, merchants, and clothiers supported Parliament over the King. His service as churchwarden at Elland in 1616 confirms civic standing in the pre-war period. See The English Civil War in the West Riding (1642-1644).
Children: Robert; Anthony of Burley (m. Isabella, then Elizabeth Thursday 1st May 1651); John; Samuel of Halifax & Manningham (m. Anne Illingworth); James of Guiseley; Nathaniel of Halifax (m. Grace Rooke at Elland).
Evidence
- Heads Meryll’s hand-drawn family tree (Meryll’s Hand-Drawn Family Tree)
- James of Guiseley was a correction added to the chronicle (Error Corrections in Exley Chronicle)
- Exley Chronicle (Typed), page 1: full entry with land records, will reference, and children’s list
Open Questions
- His relationship to Robert Exley (m. Mary Lister, 1588) needs clarification. The Chronicle discusses a Robert who married Maria Lister in 1596 but does not definitively identify him as Robert of Halifax (d.1647). Victor’s pedigree shows Robert (m. Mary Lister 1588) with son Samuel founding the Rawdon line. The Chronicle notes multiple Robert Exleys of Halifax living simultaneously.