Stoodley of West Dorset

This history of the Stoodleys very nearly wasn’t written. It comes about by one of those odd and unexpected chances that are the delight of the family historian.

We had been writing up our investigations into the Holt family of west Dorset, a family that appears elsewhere in this site, and one marriage between James Holt and Lucy Stoodley seemed of more than usual interest. Lucy at one time seemed to be blessed with two surnames Stoodley and Roper. The confusion is explained in the story. 

Lucy’s ancestor was one Elisha Stoodley whose origins remained a mystery for many years, but whilst completing the details of the Holt family, the magic moment arrived when the father of Elisha was identified. From then on we traced the line back to the 15^th century to a Stoodley family who at least had the pretensions of being "Gentlemen" with a Coat-of-Arms. The Stoodleys of west Dorset had become worth a book in their own right so they were omitted from the Holt story. The results are included here.

Not so much a case of rags to riches; more a case of riches to rags.  

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© 2001 G & B Faulkner