This book is a rendering of the 4,700+ decendents of The first Blake to come to the American shores as an imigrant in aprx 1642. All Blakes are decended from one man. A Lord of Ireland Sir Richard Cadel, Knighted Sir Richard Blake.

The Blake family were of British extraction, said to be descended from one of the Knights of the round table. They arrived in Ireland with Strongbow, and became a powerful family in the area, with several important seats.

REF BlakeG. The original Welsh spelling of Blake was Aplake, meaning "the family on or by the lake." Other Gaelic Welsh spellings were Mcplake, MacPlake, and A'Plake. The Celtic spelling was O'Plake. Eventually, the spelling of A'Plake changed to Blaake, and finally to Blake. The prefixes Ap and O' means "from son of.." The Blake's of Galway, Ireland, were one of the fourteen Tribes of Galway.

   Richard Cadel, a feudatory of the Earl of Ulster and Lord of
   Connaught, Richard De Burgh, migrated to Galway from Wales
   before the year 1277. In 1277, the sixth year of his reign,
   King Edward I knighted Cadel "Sir Richard Blake". Cadel assumed
   the surname of Blake and was the ancestor of all the familes of
   Blake in Connaught. However, for many generations they used the
   name of Caddell as an alias.
   
   In 1278, the castle and lands of Kiltorroge, castle and land of
   Sallim'croe (now Carmore) located in Dunkellin County, Galway
   were granted to Cadel by De Burgh. By 1315 he had received the
   lands and manor of Kiltullagh. Eveline, his wife, was the
   mother of four sons, Walter, John, Nicholas, and Valentine.
   Records have been documented of this line to 1878 in Ireland.
   Thus; Richard Cadel is considered to be the progenitor of all
   the Blake descendants.
   
   In 1466, a Blake family of Southeney, England, purchased the
   Manor Tonwills of Wimbotsham, Norfolk County, England. This
   line is known as the Blake's of Wimbotsham. It was probably
   Peter and Elizabeth (surname possibly Spelman) Blake. They were
   of Wimbotsham and our oldest ancestor of record to date. In his
   will, dated October 21, 1500, Peter named a son, Sir John
   Blake, and a daughter named Mary. He also named a grandson,
   Jasper, who was the son of Sir John. A descendant of Jasper,
   also named Jasper, was born ca. 1614 in Wimbotsham and died
   January 5, 1674 in Hampton, New Hampshire. This Jasper Blake
   was the emigrant to America, settling in Hampton, New Hampshire
   around 1643. It is here we begin our Blake family history.
b. ABT 1440, poss. Southeney, Eng.