my name is jeff gurley i have been told that my surname originated in the isle of man and is the anglized form of the ancient surname macthoirdealbach. other related surnames are gourley,gourlay,gourlee,macgurley,macturley,turley,maccurley,curley,kerley,and tourlough.are any of these surnames common in the isle of man? if so i would like to hear from anyone with these names or anyone who could help me with the history of these families. my geneology here in americia has been traced back to my grandfather nicholas gurley who came here from either scotland or ulster,ireland in the mid to late 1600's. nicholas gurley moved from south hampton, virginia to johnston county,north carolina where one of his sons [and also one of my grandfathers] william gurley was born in 1668. i already know my family history here in america, what i want to know is who were the gurley, gourley, families before they came to america. what was their station in life? were they military men ,farmers,royal advisors,kings, servants,etc. i do know that various persons with the gurley,gourley surnames held lands in lowland scotland and northern england and held positions of rank . i'm just trying to make a connection with nicholas gurley to the scottish ,ulster irish, english,or isle of man gurley's thank you for any and all assistance jeff gurley