I have often thought that even though my Sherlock ancestors lived in Ireland that I would not be surprised to find out that the Sherlock name had its origins in England. However, I was more than a bit surprised when my cousin Woody sent me some information on the Sherlocks in antiquity.
According to "The Family of Sherlock" (notes by Rev. Canon French in the Journal of County Kildare Archaeological Society), the Scurlags (later known as the Sherlocks) settled in Gower in Southern Wales in 1099. The first known member of the family was known as Godinet Scurlag (living in 1155) and it was he who had the Scurlag Castle built in Gower.
William de Scurlag (or Sherlock) received grants of land in Meath where he built a castle in Scurlogstown. There were 3 branches of the Sherlock family --
1. resided in the Meath and Wexford area
2. resided in Waterford and Cork
3. the family of Sherlockstown in Kildare
I found it interesting that the close similarity of the coat of arms (with only minor differences) is what gives better proof that these 3 branches are related rather than the common surname.
So, my branch of the family was the one that originally located in the Meath area. Maybe, I need to change the name of my blog to the Home of the Scurlags, to be more historically accurate. Wonder what my Grandpa Charlie's reaction would be to finding out we came originally from Wales?
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