Contents [hide]

Cargill History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Suggested Reading Citations

Cargill History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

In Scottish history, few names go farther back than Cargill, whose ancestors lived among the clans of the Pictish tribe. They lived in the lands of Cargill in east Perthshire where the family at one time had extensive territories.

Early Origins of the Cargill family

The surname Cargill was first found in East Perthshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Pheairt) former county in the present day Council Area of Perth and Kinross, located in central Scotland. Cargill is a parish containing, with the villages of Burreltown, Wolfhill, and Woodside.

"This place, of which the name, of Celtic origin, signifies a village with a church, originally formed a portion of the parish of Cupar-Angus, from which, according to ancient records, it was separated prior to the year 1514." 1

Some of the first records of the family include Walter de Kergyl who witnessed a quitclaim of the land of Drumkerauch in 1260, Bernard de Kergylle who received a gift of the lands of Leisington from William de Munificheth in 1283, and Iwyn de Garghille of the county of Strivelyn and Wauter de Kergille of the county of Perth who rendered homage in 1296 to King Edward I of England. Bernard de Kergylle had a confirmation charter of the lands of Culmelly and of Ald Culmelly in the barony of Cusseny (Cushnie) in 1374 and William de Kergill was granted a charter in favor of the Friars Preachers of Aberdeen in 1401. Symon Cargyl held part of Kethyk in 1457 and was tenant of Park of Newbyggyn, 1473. 2

Further to the south in England, Cowgill is an ecclesiastical district, in the parochial chapelry of Dent, parish and union of Sedbergh in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 3

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Johannes de Colgyll and Alicia de Colgyll as holding lands there at that time. 4

In 1481 a letter of denisation was issued to John Kergyll, clerk, a Scotsman living in Kent. 2

Early History of the Cargill family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cargill research. Another 198 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1283, 1457, 1497, 1498, 1580, 1585, 1605, 1619, 1638, 1643, 1681, 1685 and 1859 are included under the topic Early Cargill History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cargill Spelling Variations

The arts of spelling and translation were yet in their infancies when surnames began, so there are an enormous number of spelling variations of the names in early Scottish records. This is a particular problem with Scottish names because of the numerous times a name might have been loosely translated to English from Gaelic and back. Cargill has been spelled Cargill, Cargille, Carnigill, Cargile, Kergylle, Cargyle, Carrigle, McGirl and many more.

Early Notables of the Cargill family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was

Donald Cargill (1619-1681), a Scottish Covenanter from Rattray, Blairgowrie who worked to uphold the principles of the National Covenant of 1638 and Solemn League and Covenant of 1643. He was sentence...
James Cargill (fl. 1605), was a Scottish botanist, a medical man resident at Aberdeen, who studied botany and anatomy at Basle while Casper Bauhin was professor of those sciences. 5

Cargill Ranking

In the United States, the name Cargill is the 5,714^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Cargill family to Ireland

Some of the Cargill family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cargill migration to the United States +

This oppression forced many Scots to leave their homelands. Most of these chose North America as their destination. Although the journey left many sick and poor, these immigrants were welcomed the hardy with great opportunity. Many of these settlers stood up for their newfound freedom in the American War of Independence. More recently, Scots abroad have recovered much of their collective heritage through highland games and other patriotic functions and groups. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has located various settlers bearing the name Cargill:

Cargill Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Cargill, who landed in Leeward Islands in 1708 7
Jean Cargill, who arrived in New York in 1739 7
Margaret Cargill, who landed in New York in 1740 7
David Cargill, who arrived in New York State in 1740 with James, Jean, John, and Margaret
Elizabeth Cargill, who settled in New York State in 1740
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Cargill Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

J. William Cargill, who settled in Baltimore Maryland in 1820
Thomas Cargill, aged 30, who arrived in New York in 1854 7

Cargill migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Cargill Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss. Elizabeth Cargill (Rostern), British Convict who was convicted in Perth, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 9th March 1847, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Jean Cargill, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Calphurnia" in 1849 9

Cargill migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Cargill Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Cargill, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1842
William Cargill, aged 63, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "John Wickliffe" in 1848 10
Mary Ann Cargill, aged 55, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "John Wickliffe" in 1848 10
John Cargill, aged 26, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "John Wickliffe" in 1848 10
Christiana Dorothea Cargill, aged 20, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "John Wickliffe" in 1848 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Cargill (post 1700) +

Margaret Anne Cargill (1920-2006), American philanthropist who gave away more than 200 million anonymously
James Ray Cargill (1923-2006), American businessman, descendent of William W. Cargill, heir to part of the Cargill fortune
William Wallace Cargill, American founder of Cargill, an American privately held, multinational corporation in 1865
Henson Cargill (1941-2007), American country music singer, best known for the 1968 No. 1 hit, "Skip a Rope"
Ansley Cargill (b. 1982), American tennis player, winner of four International Tennis Federation Circuit singles titles, and four International Tennis Federation Circuit doubles titles
Tom C. Cargill, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1938 (acting, 1938) 11
Rhoda Cargill, American Republican politician, Candidate for Montana State Senate 1st District, 2010, 2010 11
Otto A. Cargill, American Democratic Party politician, Mayor of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1923-27; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Oklahoma, 1924 11
Lance Cargill, American Republican politician, Member of Oklahoma State House of Representatives 96th District; Elected 2002 11
Barbara Cargill, American Republican politician, Member of Texas State Board of Education 8th District; Elected unopposed 2004; Elected 2008, 2012 11
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Cargill Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Domino confido
Motto Translation: Confide in the Lord.

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th February 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1847
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The CALPHURNIA 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Calpurnia.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html