The family tree
The tree opens on the oldest couple in the record, William Morrell and Mary Clerke, married in 1589, and fans out through their descendants. The line down to today is outlined in amber and opened all the way. Click + on any card to open that branch, or search for anyone. Drag to move, scroll or pinch to zoom. Amber dashed lines are links that still need a record to confirm them.
Everyone in the record
Britain, 1550 to 2005
Pick a period. Bubble size is the number of records at a place. Ochre marks West Somerset. The family stayed within ten miles of Williton for two centuries, then scattered after 1870.
Somerset, 1562 to 1700
Every Morle and Morrell entry in the FreeREG parish transcripts for Somerset up to 1700, by parish. Circle size is the number of entries. Ochre is the Morle spelling, blue is Morrell. Parishes on the direct line are ringed. The Wedmore Morrells on the Levels look like a separate family. The rest sit in a tight ring between Minehead, Taunton and the Quantock Hills.
Where the name turns up
Counts are records in Colin's files, not living people. The French and Italian families are separate names that share a spelling.
Where the name came from
Before the tree
Mothers' names kept as middle names
Stories from the record
Short accounts drawn from the registers and censuses. Tap a name to see the person in the tree.
Questions the data raises
Each one could be answered by a single record, a letter or a DNA test. If you know something, add it on the "Add a Morle" page.
Add a Morle
Add yourself, a relative, or a correction. Sign in with your email first. Your entry is saved straight away as "awaiting review", and joins the tree once Phil approves it. Living people are shown by name only to visitors.
Your entries
What this record is built from
Colin Morle's 140 genealogy files (2002 to 2011), checked against his parish, census and civil index extracts, then against Ancestry's Somerset registers in September 2026. Every change is logged below with its reason and source.