When Elizabeth Shirley was born on 25 November 1674, in Breedon on the Hill, Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom, her father, Lord Robert, of Ferrers Shirley, was 24 and her mother, Elizabeth Washington, was 19. She died on 2 October 1677, at the age of 2, and was buried in Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom.
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English: habitational name from any of the places so named, such as Shirley (Warwickshire), Shirley in Millbrook (Hampshire), Shirley (Surrey), Shirley in Owston (Yorkshire), and Shirley (Derbyshire). The placenames probably derive from Old English scīr ‘bright’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’, though some may have scīr ‘district, shire’ as the initial element if they lie on a boundary; for example, the Warwickshire place lies on the Warwickshire-Worcestershire boundary. The name Shirley first appears in Ireland in the late 17th century, following the granting of lands to a Shirley family in the barony of Farney, Monaghan.
History: William Shirley (1694–1771) was born in Sussex, England, and came to MA in 1731. He rose in the colonial service, was appointed governor in 1741, and was responsible for the British capture of the French fortress of Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island, in 1745.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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