In the "History of Sudbury", Alfred Hudson refers to two William Kerleys - William Kerley, Sr and plain William Kerley. One of these Williams married twice more after the death of his first wife, Ann White, who he married in England in 1625. The third wife was Rebecca Joslin, widow of Thomas, whom William is known to have married on March 16, 1664 at Lancaster. The Joslins came to America on "The Increase" in 1635 and her age at that time is given as 43, which makes her date of birth @ 1592. I sincerely doubt that the William of the Confidence, arriving in America with brother Edmund, b. 1616, who is shown to have been born in 1621 according to Court testimony he gave in 1666 and 1667 when he stated his age as being 45 and 46 respectively, would have been the William who took Thomas Joslin's widow as his third wife. Our information from a Kerley researcher in England today, is that William, Sr. was born in England about 1602. At the time of this third marriage, William would have been 62 ae and Rebecca 72 ae, and she outlived him. The William of the Confidence married Anna King b. 1624/5, daughter of Thomas, on October 06, 1646 at Sudbury, which puts her in the age bracket most closely related to this William. In this Sudbury History, children of William and Anna King are said to be Mary, Sarah and Hannah, however these daughters are referred to in the Will of William, Jr, (b 1633 by the age written on his headstone) dated 22 August 1716, probated 15 June 1719 at Lexington, so they are incorrectly attributed to the wrong couple.

In this History of Sudbury, there is no reference to either Mary, Henry, (later Capt.), or William, Jr, children of William, SR and Ann White Kerly, born 1627, 1632 and 1633 in England, respectively. However, in the write- up of William Kerley, on p. 49, the spelling is also given as Carsley or Carlsly, (and I have also noted "Kersley" in other references), and there is a notation in the History of the Henry Rowley family in other publications, as well as in the history related to Anthony Annable as follows - With ANTHONY ANNABLE, Henry Rowley was bondsman for William Kersley of Barnstable on 7 December 1641 [PCR 2:28]. Since the William of the Confidence is supposedly in Sudbury at that time, would/could the William Kersley of Barnstable in 1641 be the William of the Confidence? I can find no reference in any immigration documentation that tells us when William, Sr along with wife Ann, and children Mary, Henry and William, arrived in America but he is referred to frequently in the early history of Sudbury which also outlines the formation of the town of Marlborough in which the Kerleys took an active part and where those still living after the Massacre at Lancaster in 1676 can be found resident, with the exception of William, Jr, b 1633, and wife Jane and their family, who were in Lexington prior to the Massacre.

As you can see, the history of the Kerly/Kerley/Carly/etc family has gotten so confused, mainly because there were three Williams active in such a brief period of record, not to mention the extra William, son of Henry and Elizabeth White Kerley, who was killed along with his mother, in the Lancaster Massacre of 1676. If anyone has closely read the histories of Sudbury, Lancaster and Marlborough and can help us shed some light on the confusion that has been published regarding this family, please get in touch -- Thanks,

Judy Schreiber
Valdosta, GA