Crowly 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 Crowly is "O Cruadhlaoich." This is derived from the words "cruadh," which means "hard," and "laoch," which means "hero." 1

Early Origins of the Crowly family

The surname Crowly 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 Crowly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Crowly research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1658, 1713, 1819 and 1857 are included under the topic Early Crowly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Crowly Spelling Variations

A name was often recorded during the Middle Ages under several different spelling variations during the life of its bearer because literacy was rare there was no real push to clearly define any of the languages found in the British Isles at that time. Variations found of the name Crowly include Crowley, Crowly, O'Crowley, Croaley, Croawley, O'Crowly and many more.

Early Notables of the Crowly family

Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Crowly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Crowly migration to the United States +

Death and immigration greatly reduced Ireland's population in the 19th century. For the native Irish people poverty, hunger, and racial prejudice was common. Therefore, thousands left their homeland to seek opportunity in North America. Those who survived the journey and the quarantine camps to which they arrived, were instrumental towards building the strong developing nations of the United States and the future Canada. By far, the largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. These were employed as construction or factory workers. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has shown early immigrants bearing the name Crowly:

Crowly Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Edward Crowly, aged 33, who landed in New York in 1812 3
John Crowly, who arrived in Mississippi in 1855 3

Crowly migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Crowly Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mrs. Crowly, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1778

Crowly Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mary Crowly, aged 26, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the barque "Pallas" from Cork, Ireland
Catherine Crowly, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1839

Contemporary Notables of the name Crowly (post 1700) +

Isabel Crowly, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1948, 1952 4

Citations +

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)
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html