Colay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England
• Ireland

Early Origins of the Colay family

Early History of the Colay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Colay research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1618, 1667, 1743 and 1809 are included under the topic Early Colay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Colay Spelling Variations

Spelling variations were extremely common in medieval names, since scribes from that era recorded names according to sound rather than a standard set of rules. Colay has appeared in various documents spelled Cooley, Cooling, Cowley, Cully, Colly, McCooley, Coaley, Coolyng, Couley, Colley, McCowley, Cooleng, McCoolay, Coolay, Collay, Cullay, Cowleigh, Culleigh and many more.

Early Notables of the Colay family

More information is included under the topic Early Colay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Colay family

Dalriadan families proliferated in North America. Their descendants still populate many communities in the eastern parts of both the United States and Canada. Some settled in Canada as United Empire Loyalists, in the wake of the American War of Independence. Families on both sides of the border have recovered much of their heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and highland games. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Colay or a variant listed above: William, being a mariner of New London in 1634. John Cooley settled at Salem, Massachusetts, in the year 1638. Peter Cooley was a freeman of Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1664.