Scottish Kerlie
The history of the Scottish Kerlies has been well documented in the writings of P. H. M'Kerlie, "History of the Lands and Their Owners In Galloway, Volume II", published in 1906, which is freely available from the website archive.org.
According to the author, the Scottish Kerlies descend from the Irish Cairill family of kings, who in the tenth century came to Scotland and obtained territory in Carrick, Ayrshire, located in the southwest of Scotland. The family possessed Carleton Castle, which derives its name from Cairill, as well as Cruggleton Castle located in the parish of Sorbie, Galloway. After losing possession of his castle through a devious ploy in 1282, William MacCairill joined up with William Wallace of fame, becoming one of his closest friends and fighting alongside him for Scotland's independence. William was the first of this lineage whose name was Anglicized as Kerlie, and later variously recorded as Kerle, Kerlye, Keirlie, Kierly, Kearle, Kerell, Carole, Carlie, Karale, etc. Cruggleton was recaptured for William MacCairill in 1297-1298 by Sir William Wallace. MacCairill was killed defending Wallace when he was betrayed to the English and captured in 1305. MacCairill's son ought to have inherited Cruggleton, but being underage, he became a ward of the Church. The Roman Church, through skulduggery, obtained a charter from King Robert Bruce granting them possession of the castle, and the Kerlies were thus evicted from Cruggleton. This family is also documented in "The Scottish Nation; or the Surnames, Families, Literature, Honours, and Biographical History of the People of Scotland" by William Anderson. This book is freely available for download from archive.org.
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Scottish McCurley
In addition to the Kerlie lineage documented by P. H. M'Kerlie, there is an American lineage of McCurleys who are supposedly of Scottish origin. The earliest known ancestor of this lineage is Moses McCurley/McCarley, born about 1708. This Moses is supposedly an Ulster Scot, having come to America along with a ship full of Ulster Scots under the leadership of Hance Hamilton. But it cannot be confirmed in source documentation that Moses is in fact Scottish, as opposed to simply being an Irish native of Ulster. It is possible that this lineage may actually be a distant branch of the Irish Curley family. There is some information online claiming that Moses is the son of Isaac McCurley of Scotland. But I can find no source documentation for this supposed Isaac McCurley. Moses and his descendants are interchangeably documented in America as McCurley and McCarley. There are significant numbers of descendants from this line surviving in America, having modern name variations of Curley and McCurley.
This Ulster lineage of Curleys belongs to a genetic group which is likely Gaelic or Pictish. The genetic lineage is centered around Northern Ireland and the Scottish Lowlands, and probably dates from Roman times.
It is not known whether this Curley lineage has any relation to either the Irish M'Kirilies, the English Kerleys, or the previously mentioned Scottish Kerlies.
Below is an additional brief survey of some early recorded individuals, collected from probate records, that may be related to the Curley or Kerley families.
Martin M'Kerrell, 1603, Sanctmiddens, Stirling, Scotland
Thomas M'Kerrell, 1603, Natherfield Twynem Kirkcudbright, Midlothia, Scotland
John M'Kerrell, 1610, Barrassie, Ayrshire, Scotland
William M'Kerrell, 1617, Hilhouse, Ayrshire, Scotland
Andrew Curle, 1686, Kelso, Inverness, Scotland
Robert M'Kerrell, 1691, Irvine, Stirling, Scotland
This Ulster lineage of Curleys belongs to a genetic group which is likely Gaelic or Pictish. The genetic lineage is centered around Northern Ireland and the Scottish Lowlands, and probably dates from Roman times.
It is not known whether this Curley lineage has any relation to either the Irish M'Kirilies, the English Kerleys, or the previously mentioned Scottish Kerlies.
Below is an additional brief survey of some early recorded individuals, collected from probate records, that may be related to the Curley or Kerley families.
Martin M'Kerrell, 1603, Sanctmiddens, Stirling, Scotland
Thomas M'Kerrell, 1603, Natherfield Twynem Kirkcudbright, Midlothia, Scotland
John M'Kerrell, 1610, Barrassie, Ayrshire, Scotland
William M'Kerrell, 1617, Hilhouse, Ayrshire, Scotland
Andrew Curle, 1686, Kelso, Inverness, Scotland
Robert M'Kerrell, 1691, Irvine, Stirling, Scotland
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