Email From Gary Aden to Gary Aden
Email Dated 5/13/2001

Old World Roots(Barclay, Barkley): Originally the family came from
France with William, the Conqueror, in 1066. Our name, Barclay(or
Barkley, Berkeley Barkly, Bercley, Barckly) was first spelled de
Berchelai(the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of '"beautiful" or "one who dwells
near a birchwood or came from Berkeley in Gloucestershire or Berkley, in
Somerset") and then anglicized to de Berkely. The early settlers in
Gloucestershire bore the Norman first names of Roger and Ralph and owned
twenty hamlets between the rivers Wye and Usk. Lord Maurice deBerkley
and the Earls of Berkely built Berkeley Castle as a fortress in 1153.

King Edward II was imprisoned there and murdered by his queen in 1327
while at the same time the castle wall was breached during the Civil
War. William Shakespeare would later tutor the Berkeley children at the
castle and is thought to have written "A Midsummer Night's Dream" while
staying there. This Berkeley Castle sits by the town of Berkeley just
off the A38 between Bristol and Glocestershire.At one time the Berkeley
family owned all the land from Berkeley Square in London to the Castle.
Little by little various Berkeley owners sold most of this land and
finally, in the 1940's, sold Berkeley Square in order to modernize the
castle. Twenty-four generations have lived in this ancient castle and
have transformed a savage Norman fortress into a truly stately home full
of treasures and surrounded by beautiful gardens.

The Barclays are just a group of Barkleys that went North to Scotland to
escape a period of persecution that followed the Norman Conquest and
then settled there, particularly around Towie and Fife. John Barclay,
son of Roger de Berkley, went to Scotland with Malcolm Canmore, King of
Scotland. King Malcolm bestowed on John the lands of Towie near Turriff.
The Barclays soon established themselves in strong positions, in lands,
offices and alliances and took a notable part in nnational affairs in
the centuries that preceded and followed the War of Independence and the
Union of the Crowns. Sir Walter de Berkeley was Chamberlain of Scotland
in 1265 , and the duties of his high office would have kept him in close
attendance upon the person of his Royalmaster, William  the Lion. Towie
Barclay Castle in the parish of Auchterless, Aberdeenshire dates from
the 14th century and  was restored by its new owner, Mr. Marc Ellington,
in 1970. No Barclays have lived there since 1755. John's three sons
established branches in Urie, Knockleith and Allardyce. The present day
chief of the Clan is Peter Barclay, Towie XXXI, who lives in Essex. With
such an illustrious history, it is no wonder that the Clan has
well-known Colors and listed Coats of  Arms. These may be found in
Bolton's General Armory. There is also a Barclay group that went from
England to Russia and flourishes. Thus, the Clan is very active in Clan
Games all over the world. 

     During the reign of Queen Eliabeth I (1558-1603), the Barkleys were
one of the family-recipients   of the  1000 acres land near Limerick,
Ireland confiscated from the Fitzgeralds and Earl of Desmond. Sir
Francis Barkley was appointed Provost-Marshall of Connaught(Connacht)
Province on July 15,1585. It is said that indiginous Irishmen with a
Barkley name are descended from him. Otherwise, most Barkleys are
thought to "Scotch-Irish" through either (1) natural Scotland to Ireland
immigration, (2) refugees from the period of civil war when efforts to
restore the Bonnie Prince were unsuccessful or (3) as described above, a
product of that period when the Crown confiscated land from rebellious
Irish noblemen and offered it to industrious Presbyterian Scots in
exchange for moving to Ulster and diluting the power of the Catholic
Church and Irish commoners.

The earliest records of a Barkley by any spelling in America shows a
Captain John Berkelery from Gloucestershire, England. Indians massacred
him at Falling Creek, Virginia in 1622. Edward Barkley who arrived in
Virginia in 1623, brought his daughter, Jane, over to America the
following year on the sailing Ship, Seafloure.

Gary Carl Aden 5/12/01