Ancestors of Henry BLAKEY

For many years we were unable to discover any of the BLAKEY ancestors prior to Edward BLAKEY, who came to America with his wife Margaret, son Henry (my maternal 2x great grandfather), and family. Without realizing it at the time, the key to unlocking this information was in the 1860 US Census where the family's surname was listed as "BLAKOW" (pronounced BLAY-koh).

Searches in the Ancestry.com database provided census material in Yorkshire for 1841 and 1851. Along with other documents and records, we were slowly able to piece together the most probable ancestry of Henry Blakey back several generations more than previously had been known. Below is a chart tracing Henry's ancestry back six generations. The records use several variant spellings of "BLAKOW" including: BLACKO, BLACKOE, BLACKOW, BLACOE, BLACOW, and BLAIKOE. For convenience, and because it seems to have been one of the most common spellings, we have decided to adopt "BLACKOW" for all of Edward's paternal ancestors.


Henry BLAKEY pedigree chart. Image courtesy of Williams Family Pages.

1860 US Federal Census

Detail from 1860 US Federal Census. Image courtesy of Ancestry.com.

Edward Blakow 56 M
Margaret Blakow 59 F
Henry Blakow 30 M
Jemima Blakow 30 F
James E. Blakow 3 M
Emily Blakow 4/12 F

Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: Almond, Portage, Wisconsin; Roll M653_1426; Page: 191; Image: 192.

Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Eighth Census of the United States, 1860. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1860. M653, 1,438 rolls.

US Federal Census Mortality Schedule: Margaret BLAKEY (Feb 1870)

Detail of US Federal Census Mortality Schedule. Image courtesy of Ancestry.com.

Blakey, Margaret : 70 : F : White : Married : England : February : Keeping House : Inflammation of lungs

Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. A portion of this collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.