Elvis Presley's Irish ancestor – William Presley – was a farmer from the townland of Stranakelly near Shillelagh, Co Wicklow.
On August 25, 1775, in Carlow Court of Assizes William Presley claimed he had been savagely assaulted by a group of Wicklow men in Hacketstown, Co Carlow. He told the magistrate that without any provocation, the men had used their “whips and fists, dragged him down by the legs”, giving him “several kicks in his body and face” and named "Andrew Morris of Mullannashea; Francis Morris of Whiterock; Samuel Morris of Cross; Thomas Morris, William Wilson, and Thomas Mathers among the perpetrators. Presley claimed he was now in “great dread and fear of his life” as the men were “swearing they would have his life”. The case was listed for a further hearing, but it is not known what happened next.
Later in 1775, William Presley emigrated with his son Andrew Presley to New Orleans. William Presley later moved to Tennessee, where he died in 1802.
His granddaughter Rosella Presley had several children out of wedlock.
Her son Jesse Presley married Minnie Mae in 1913.
Their son Vernon Elvis Presley (born 1916) married Gladys Love Smith in 1933 and lived in Memphis Tennessee.
Their son Elvis Aaron Presley (1935–1977) (the great-great-great-great-grandson of Willliam Presley) went on to become The King of Rock and Roll.
