Reading list: Genealogy?
http://genforum.genealogy.com/utley/messages/422.html Many of you already know that the Utley/Uttley family name originated in western Yorkshire (northern England) and that nearly all of the major Utley lines can be traced from family ancestors in the Heptonstall area of Yorkshire. There is a wonderful book called The House of Uttley written by Eileen and John Huckle (1991, Jade Pub. Ltd, Lancashire). It can be obtained from http://www.amazon.com.uk (not from the US amazon.com). The Huckles established that the Utley surname had its origin circa 1350 with a certain John of Utlay; it also discusses the origin of the place name Utlay as being taken from "The Manor at Utelai" and the lands thereof that existed before the Norman conquest.

The book is a well written series of historical fiction pieces about various family members over time. It does not mention the emigration of various members to the New World but does detail some of the important familial relationships in the time frame of all of our ancestors that departed from Heptonstall. One of the more important conclusions offered in the book is that "During the 18th century a newly-appointed Parish Clerk at Heptonstall started the practice of spelling the family name UTLEY with a double-T instead of the single which had been the usual rendition previously, and this led to many being baptised as single-T "Utleys", and later married and buried as double-Ts.........This change of spelling of the family name can be of assistance to researchers of the family's history, for those who today use the single-T are usually descended from ancestors who moved away from the Heptonstall district before the mid-18th century, while those with the double-T have ancestors who remained there for a longer period."

Also, the LDS Church copied and has available a very large archive of the births, marriages, and deaths in Heptonstall. There were an incredible number of people in the area with the Utley/Uttley surname.