We have received emails and have had DNA testing done on some Galley's who do not seem to belong to our group, however as more people contact us we may help some of them connect.  Below are some of these groups and contacts.

Prussian Galley gives History

letters sent to Galley family in America from Johannes Galley Berlin, Germany in 1931

Very Honored Cousins,

  Through my sister, Frau Elfriede Galley-Augermayer, who was married in Los Angeles, I found your address. She has much interest in the history of the Galley family tree.  My sister got this information from Elmer Teagarden Galley in Pasadena who had sold her the "Galley Book".  (American history of Galley's)

The family history in Europe is not very well known, therefore it is hard to find out anything definite about the Galley family relationship.   The Galley's are not very numerous but are scattered over the whole world.  A family especially noted for their physical, mental, and moral characteristics which are not found in every member of the family but were inherited during 100 years.  In their morals they are idealists noted for kindness and goodness, interceding and helping other folks without regard to their own interests. The Galley's have frequent impulses to travel, several have been never heard from in the foreign land (America)

The family are part French descendents. They have talents in art, music, and hand crafts.  Their faults are, families not holding together, family quarrels. They have a noble vein which makes them aim higher

The branches all say the Galleys were partly French on account of their protestant beliefs.  In the year 1685 (time of Edict of Nantes) they were driven out  from their home in Northern France.  From these are three main branches.  One part of the family went to Switzerland, one part to Schlesien ( A provence of Prussia which belonged to Austria), and the other part to West Prussia (Prussian province capital of which was Danzig).   I descend from the West Prussian branch.  Some of the West Prussian Galleys were named Rosenberg but they have nothing to do with the rest of the family. They are farmers and hand craft workers.
In my youth there was a land owner V. Galley  near Dirschau.  I also read that people by the name of Galley owned cattle and lived in a small town, Schackenbruch, in West Prussia.

Some of the West Prussian Galley's received court jobs from General Prince Eugene of Savayen.  They were then under this general in the war against the Turks.  This information was gotten from the numerous Hungarian  Galleys who write their name Gallay.

The English Galleys settled mostly in New Castle and Cambridge. They were driven from France and were Huguenots - of them little is known.

The Schesien Galley's in 1800 belonged to the province of Austria and settled in the province of Slassia. Two brothers inherited a Fishere, Dr. Paul Galley, a physician in Breslau, and Dr. Alfred Galley, a teacher of theology in the University of Rostock.

The most noted Swiss Galley was a young celebrated Mademoiselle Galley, the daughter of a acastle owner in Toune, Switzerland who inspired the poet Jean Jacques Rousseeau to write "La Nouvelle Heloise". He wrote of this beautfilu and idealistic girl in this famous work "Confessions".

During WWI I was  a German sanitary officer in the large French town of Lile in Northern France.  Lord Syndicus der Handelskammer of Lille showed me his family album which showed many characteristics of my own family.  In France, no Galleys were left after driven out in 1685. His brother in Paris spells his name Gallay.

My source of information is from my grandmother who married my grandfather in 1838.  My grandfather, Johann Carl Galley, was in an office  but later took a lower position in a Danzig firm.  He started two insurance companies. A brother of his was very talented, later went to Russia where he was a large land owner.  My grandmother told me of her son Felix who was lost in America.  Felix Galley worked in an office in Berlin.  He knew a lot about art.  He also had the "wandering lust" and he borrowed money to go to America.  He was a shoe shinner on a Mississippi steam boat .  He enlisted in the army and became an officer.  He was working in Texas where he took sick with yellow fever.  His last letter was from a Military hospital in Texas.   Her son Paul Galley was an artist in Alexandria, Eygpt, but she never heard from him again either.  He later went to Malaga Spain, then to Porte Algere, Brazil.  He wrote a letter from there saying he was going to Buenos Aires.   A brother of my father, Gustav, had this wanderlust in his earlier years.  He left when he was 12 and went on foot from Danzig to Dirshaw.  He became an honored military leader.

My great grandfather Johann Jacob Galley was a pilot with the title" Kingly Rider".  He was born about 1785 . He lived in a little town of Schoneck in West Prussia.  I obtained from his property a 100 year old calandar with many writings on it which gave a picture showing his characteristics and personality.   The towns in West Prussia went to Polish hands and they destroyed all the records.  Great grandfather was protestant and belonged to the Apostolic church.

Perhaps through my letter you can get acquainted with some of the rest of the Galleys.   I would be glad to hear from you.

Johannes Galley, Prakt. Arzt, Neue Konigstr, 190 Berlin, N.O. Germany

In a later letter he wrote March 17, 1932 he writes:

Perhaps we can join our efforts in producing as universal and as faithful a history of the Galley family as is possible. Unfortunately the European Galleys take only slight interest in genealogy, the American Galleys are way ahead of us in that.Prof. Waltmann, a genealogist of considerable importance, published an article in the "Political and Anthropological Review", a recognized journal, in which he stated that the famous Galileo was of German origin, and , moreover, was a Galley.  As a matter of fact, this is also a tradition int he Danzig branch of our famiy. I, however, doubt this statement but my Uncle Max Galley, from Hanover, was convinced of it.  He even believed to find in Galileo a resemblance to the Galley family.

This discovery that the Galleys might be descended from Galileo has lent further impetus to genealogical research.  

There are four methods for determining the past history of families:
1. Mere family legends
2. Family tradition (same appear in different branches)
3. Family predispositions and characteristics (physical, mental, and spiritual)
4. Family archives (letters, wills, official documentation) also pictures/Photographs are of value under some circumstances.

It might be of importance for me to know how old the artist Felix Galley was, who painted the portrait of Mr. Henry Galley

Allow me ot wish you and the whole American Galley family a happy and healthful Easter. I am looking forward to further letters from you with great interest.

Greetings,

Johannes Galley

English Galley's

We have had some contact with Galley families in England.  I would like to reconnect with them and see if they have a male who could take the DNA test to determine any connections.  Contact Debbie at  debau92@sbcglobal.net 

Top of Page

Emile Galle'

Searching for any information on the Emile Galle' lines of France.
Contact Debbie at debau92@sbcglobal.net

Known about Emile's family:

Emile had at least two daughters
There is a Claude listed as a third name on the headstone but we don't know who that is
His wife ran his business until about 1914

Emile Galle's Tombstone     

Top of Page