Welcome! My name is Mike Kerley. If you are interested in the genealogy of the Kerley family in America, then you have come to the right place. The primary focus of this site is on the first few generations of one particular Kerley family in America. The family that I am interested in (and descended from) immigrated to this country in the 1750's and settled in South Carolina. This family is the primary focus of this site. I believe that a large percentage of the folks now bearing the Kerley name in America descend from this particular family.
There have been, of course, numerous other Kerley immigrants to this country. Some of them arrived before my particular family did. For example, there was a Kerley family that settled in Massachusetts in the 1600's. I have not, however, focused too much on that family. (I have just a short section in here dealing with the Massachusetts group. I think that the male line of that family died out after a few generations.) My focus is primarily on those of us who can trace our roots to the initial group of South Carolina Kerleys who were pioneers here. I provide in here information and theories regarding the first five generations of this family, basically covering the time period from 1750 to the mid-to-late 1800's. I am assuming that any serious researcher will be able to trace his/her lines down to the latter parts of the 1800's. At that point, you should be able to tie your line into one of the members of the Kerley family listed in here, and thus expand your family tree to thousands of other Kerleys.
Naturally, the further back in time we go, the less confident we can be as to the accuracy of our information. I have endeavored to clearly indicate which relationships have been positively ascertained and those that are just educated guesses. More importantly, I have included here copies of (or links to) wills, land records, military records, Bible records, marriage and death records and other critical documents that support my thinking.
By no means do I consider this to be the definitive account of our family history. Rather, I view this as an ongoing work-in-progress. (Throughout this site you will see notes or references to further work that needs to be completed). I am always open to alternative theories and suggestions. Hopefully, readers such as you possess some old Bible records, family legends, photographs or other documents that may clarify (or even contradict) the story set out in these pages. If you have such a record, I would be grateful for a chance to discuss and possibly examine it. Maybe, over time, we can build this site up to a comprehensive collection of Kerley-related documents and information. In any event, I am fully receptive to any comments, suggestions or alternative theories regarding what is set out in this site. Drop me a line with your thoughts. You may just possess the key insight or document that enables us to complete this emerging picture of who these very early Kerleys were, where they came from and how they were related to one another.
In any event, you might want to return to this site from time to time to see what new information has been added.
Enjoy your tour through this site. I hope you find the missing links for which you are looking.
Contact me: mlkerley@cox.net.