Kerbey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England
• Ireland

Early Origins of the Kerbey family

Early History of the Kerbey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kerbey research. Another 128 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1548, 1625, 1634, 1649, 1658, 1661, 1681, 1690, 1693, 1702, 1703, 1708, 1709, 1753 and 1816 are included under the topic Early Kerbey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kerbey Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Kirkby, Kirby, Kerribly, Kerwick, O'Kerwick and many more.

Early Notables of the Kerbey family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Thomas Kirkby, rector of the church of St. Michael in Aughton, Lancashire in 1548 2; John Kirby (1690-1753), an English land surveyor and topographer, best known for his book The Suffolk Traveller; Richard Kirkby (c.1625-1681), an English politician, from Kirkby Ireleth in Lancashire. He was a Justice of the Peace and Member of Parliament for Lancaster (1661-1681). His son Colonel Roger Kirkby (c.1649-1709) was an English soldier and politician. He was Governor of...
Another 80 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kerbey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Kerbey family to Ireland

Some of the Kerbey 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.

Migration of the Kerbey family

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Kerbey name or one of its variants: Thomas Kirby settled in Barbados in 1663; along with Rebecca and Henry; James Kirby settled in Virginia in 1651 along with Humphrey and Alice his wife.