Hi folks
An intriguing surname isn't it. I found some in Lanarkshire, Scotland while tracing back my female line. They seem to use Gourlay as well as McGourlick/McGourlic.
Here's what I have so far:
Francis McGourlick, died 1899 at the age of 74 (Newton, Parish of Cambuslang), which if his age is correct then he must've been born around 1825, probably in Ireland.
His parents were Thomas McGourlick & Helen McGourlick (maiden name - Walsh). More than that I don't know.
Francis and his wife appear earlier in their daughter Helens marriage cert. (Rutherglen 1876) as Francis & Isabella Gourlay.
I'd gotten stuck tracing back the Gourlays until I noticed a witness at the wedding called Janet McGourlic. So it wasn't hard to put two and two together!
I wonder if some of the above changeable surname stuff is down to the unfortunate toxic religious prejudices which existed back then (and still do to an extent in the west of Scotland).
When I searched for these records a while back I scribbled down a few notes that might be useful to somebody. A free search on GROS revealed:
McGourlick - none recorded in Scotland before 1855.
In 1855 - 2 births/christenings
1856 - 5 births/christenings
1857 - 2 births/christenings & 3 deaths
1858 - 3 births/christenings, 1 marriage, 4 deaths
1859 - 5 births/christenings, 1 marriage, 3 deaths
1860 - 3 births/christenings, 2 marriages, 1 death
McGorlick - none recorded in Scotland before 1855.
1855 - 2 marriages, 1 death.
Sandy
