The origins of the Kearsly name lie with England's ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It comes from when the family lived in the settlement of Kearsley in Lancashire. The surname Kearsly 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 Kearsly family
The surname Kearsly 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 Kearsly family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kearsly research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1210 is included under the topic Early Kearsly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Kearsly Spelling Variations
Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Kearsly were recorded, including Kearsley, Kearsey, Keasley, Kersley and others.
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Early Notables of the Kearsly family
More information is included under the topic Early Kearsly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Kearsly family
To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Kearsly family emigrate to North America: James Kearsley settled in Philadelphia in 1859.
England
