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![Show Contents]() Croaley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 Ireland
Irish names tend to vary widely in their spelling and overall form. The original Gaelic form of the name Croaley is "O Cruadhlaoich." This is derived from the words "cruadh," which means "hard," and "laoch," which means "hero." 1 Early Origins of the Croaley familyThe surname Croaley was first found in Moylurg, in the County Roscommon, where they started as a branch of the MacDermots. It is from Teige, a Prince of Moylurg, down to Cruadhlaoch that the line of descent for the Crowleys begins. A junior branch of the Crowley family also emerged and moved to the area of Dunmanway, in the west of County Cork. They eventually became a distinct sept with their chief at Kilshallow, thriving while their parent family gradually withered. The majority of the Crowley family came to be found in the county of Cork, with three-quarters of the family being born there in modern times. 2 Early History of the Croaley familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Croaley research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1658, 1713, 1819 and 1857 are included under the topic Early Croaley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Croaley Spelling VariationsPronunciation, rather than spelling, guided scribes and church officials when recording names during the Middle Ages. This practice often resulted in one person's name being recorded under several different spellings. Numerous spelling variations of the surname Croaley are preserved in these old documents. The various spellings of the name that were found include Crowley, Crowly, O'Crowley, Croaley, Croawley, O'Crowly and many more. Early Notables of the Croaley familyAnother 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Croaley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Croaley familyDuring the 19th century thousands of impoverished Irish families made the long journey to British North America and the United States. These people were leaving a land that had become beset with poverty, lack of opportunity, and hunger. In North America, they hoped to find land, work, and political and religious freedoms. Although the majority of the immigrants that survived the long sea passage did make these discoveries, it was not without much perseverance and hard work: by the mid-19th century land suitable for agriculture was short supply, especially in British North America, in the east; the work available was generally low paying and physically taxing construction or factory work; and the English stereotypes concerning the Irish, although less frequent and vehement, were, nevertheless, present in the land of freedom, liberty, and equality for all men. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Research into passenger and immigration lists has brought forth evidence of the early members of the Croaley family in North America: Alice Crowley settled in Jamaica in 1661; Alice, Bridget, Catharine, Cornelius, Dan, Eliza, Harry, James, Johanna, Judith, Mary, Michael, Pat, Timothy, and William Crowley, all settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1849.
- O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
- MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
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