The present generation of the Kearle family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in the settlement of Kearsley in Lancashire. The surname Kearle belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxonhabitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
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Early Origins of the Kearle family
The surname Kearle was first found in Lancashire at Kearsley, now part of Greater Manchester. The first records of the place were found in 1187 when it was spelt Cherselawe and a few years later as Kereleie (c. 1220. ) The name literally means "clearing where cress grows" having derived from the Old English words caerse + leah. 1 There is another Kearsley, a township in the parish of Stamfordham, in Northumberland, but this township has remained rather small in comparison as a census in the late 1800s listed only 11 inhabitants, while the former township in Lancashire had 3,436 inhabitants in the same census.
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Early History of the Kearle family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kearle research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1210 is included under the topic Early Kearle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Kearle Spelling Variations
Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Kearle include Kearsley, Kearsey, Keasley, Kersley and others.
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Early Notables of the Kearle family
More information is included under the topic Early Kearle Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Kearle family
Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Kearle were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: James Kearsley settled in Philadelphia in 1859.
England
