Gammage History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Gammage arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Gammage family lived in Gamaches, in Normandy.

"The castle and vill of Gamaches were situated in the Norman Vexin, and gave name to a Deanery in the Archdiocese of Rouen. Godfrey de Gamaches, who doubtless derived his name from this vill, inherited two knight's fees of old feoffment in the Honour of Lacy. The English interests of his family were therefore established before the reign of Henry I. This Godfrey received from Henry III. a grant of Stottesden in Shropshire, where his posterity remained seated till about 1254. He also obtained Marshall, in the same county, by grant of Richard I., and died before 1176. His second son, William, inherited Mansel-Gamage, Herefordshire, Gamage Hall in Dimock, and other lands in Gloucestershire, and was Constable of Ludlow." 1

"The Lords of Gamaches in the French Vexin were said to be descended from Protadius, Mayor of the Palace to Theodoric, King of Orleans, 604." 2

Early Origins of the Gammage family

The surname Gammage was first found in Shropshire at Stottesden, a parish, in the union of Cleobury-Mortimer, hundred of Stottesden. 3

Early feudal rolls provided the king of the time a method of cataloguing holdings for taxation, but today they provide a glimpse into the wide surname spellings in use at that time.

Godfrey Gamages was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Hertfordshire in 1158; Philip de Camiges in the Hundredorum Rolls for Wiltshire in 1275; Alicia Gamage in the Hundredorum Rolls for Oxfordshire in 1279; and William Camage was listed a a Freeman of York in 1583. 4

Early History of the Gammage family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gammage research. Another 136 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1159, 1285, 1306, 1411, 1563, 1621, 1735, 1756, 1758, 1790, 1799, 1803, 1828, 1842, 1844, 1850, 1853, 1859, 1913 and 1939 are included under the topic Early Gammage History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gammage Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Gamadge, Gamage, Gammage, Gamages, Gamaches and others.

Early Notables of the Gammage family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Barbara Gamage (1563-1621), a Welsh heiress, who inherited the Coity estate on the death of her father John Gamage, and later married Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester; as well as Anthony Gamage, who was an Alderman of London. The Camidge...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gammage Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gammage Ranking

In the United States, the name Gammage is the 10,767^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Gammage family

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Gammage or a variant listed above: Stephen and Thomas Gamadge who settled in Barbados in 1685.

Contemporary Notables of the name Gammage (post 1700) +

Eugene Seldon "Gene" Gammage (b. 1931), American jazz drummer
Henry Grady Gammage (1892-1959), American educator in Arizona, eponym of Gammage Auditorium at ASU
Robert Alton "Bob" Gammage (1938-2012), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas (1977-1979)
Robert Alton Gammage (b. 1938), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Texas State Legislature; U.S. Representative from Texas 22nd District, 1977-79; Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 2008 6
George Milton Gammage, American politician, Member of Georgia State House of Representatives from Terrell County, 1935-38 6
Ernest Lee Gammage, American politician, Member of Georgia State House of Representatives from Sumter County, 1945-46 6
Robert George Gammage (1820-1888), English Chartism leader in the 1830s and 1840s
Dr. Grady Gammage, American academic, President of Arizona State University (ASU) from 1933 to 1959
William Leonard "Bill" Gammage AM (b. 1942), Australian academic historian, fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences

Citations +

Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html