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![Show Contents]() Kersly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The ancestors of the Kersly surname lived among the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. The name comes from when they lived in the settlement of Kearsley in Lancashire. The surname Kersly belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Early Origins of the Kersly familyThe surname Kersly 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.
Early History of the Kersly familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kersly research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1210 is included under the topic Early Kersly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Kersly Spelling VariationsBefore English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Kersly include Kearsley, Kearsey, Keasley, Kersley and others. Early Notables of the Kersly familyMore information is included under the topic Early Kersly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
 Kersly migration to the United States | + |
A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:
Kersly Settlers in United States in the 17th Century- Henry Kersly, who arrived in Virginia in 1623 2
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- 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)
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Kersly migration to the United States 
