McCorkle
Gleanings
As did many of the Scot-Irish immigrates, most of the McCorkle progenitors in America made landfall in Philadelphia.
James, b.c. 1700, settled in the forks of the Brandywine River in 1729. His wife was Jane and they had one daughter and seven sons, each of which had a son named John.
William also landed in Philadelphia c. 1730 and later moved to the Valley of Virginia.
Samuel, settled in Paxtang, Pennsylvania c. 1737 and married an Alexander.
Archibald, b.c. 1735, of Bucks Co., Pennsylvania.
Their sons continued the migration southward and westward.
James and Robert of Waxhaw Settlement, South Carolina were almost certainly brothers, probably the brothers of Samuel and probably the sons of James or William, above.
Alexander, of Lexington Virginia, b.c. 1720 Ulster, Ireland. Said to be the son of William and probably the brother of James, Robert and Samuel.
Samuel, b.c. 1720, of Augusta, Virginia.
Archibald and John of the Western Reserve in Ohio
James Rae of Chester Co. and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
There are branches of McCorkles in USA, England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Germany and Denmark.
The McCorkle coat of arms:
Crest: A stag, standing at gaze, attired gules, (i.e. red horns)
Arms: A demi-stag, gules, naissant out of a fesse tortille, (i.e. springing out of a
twisted band)
Motto: Vivat Rex! (i.e. Long Live the King)Development of the McCorkle name:
Oldest found: Thorgisl, in the Thorgisl Saga, abt. 700 A.D.
Then: Thurkell, Thurkill, Thorkill, Thorquil, (Thurgesius in Latin),
Torquil, Thorquil-dale, MacTorquil-dale, Mac Korkill-dale, McCorkindale,
McCorquindall, McCorkuodell, McCorquedill, McCorkell, McCorkle
From: The Scottish Nation, Vol. II, William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co., Edinburgh & London, 1867
"MACCORQUODALE, otherwise Mac Torquil (the son of Torquil), Mac Corkle, or Corkindale, the surname of a Highland sept, the founder of which was Torquil, a prince of Denmark, who is traditionally stated to have been in the army of Kenneth the Great, on his coming over from Ireland to the assistance of Alpin, king of the Scots, against the Picts. Previous to Kenneth’s arrival, King Alpin, in a battle with the Pictish king, was killed, and his head fixed on an iron spike in the midst of the Pictish city, situated where the Carron ironworks now stand. King Kenneth offered to any one in his army who would pass the Pictish sentinels and remove the head, a grant of all the lands on Loch Awe side. Torquil, the Dane, undertook the hazardous enterprize, and brought the head to the king, for which act of bravery he was rewarded by a charter of the lands promised. This charter was for a long time preserved in the family, though the greater part of the lands had passed to other hands. shortly before the Revolution it was lent to Sir Alexander Muir Mackenzie, for his inspection, and was lost. At least it disappeared from that time. The name which is, in some places of the Highlands, still called Mac Torquil, is perhaps one of the most ancient in the county of Argyle. Donald MacCorquodale of Kinna-Drochag, on Loch Awe side, who died towards the end of the 18th century, was the lineal descendant of Torquil and the chief of the clan. His grandson and representative, John MacCorquodale, at one period resided at Row, Dumbartonshire."
Revised Jan 12, 2011