Canday History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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• England

Early Origins of the Canday family

Early History of the Canday family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Canday research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1379, 1455, 1487, 1619, 1661, 1689, 1714 and 1729 are included under the topic Early Canday History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Canday Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Canday include Gandy, Gandey, Gameday, Candy, Candey, Ganty, Canty and many more.

Early Notables of the Canday family

Distinguished members of the family include James Gandy (1619-1689), one of the earliest native English portrait-painter from Exeter.He is stated to have been a pupil of Vandyck, and to have acquired to some degree the style of that master. "He has even been supposed to have assisted Vandyck by painting the drapery in his pictures. In 1661 he was taken to Ireland by his patron, the Duke of Ormonde, and remained there until his death in 1689." 2 William Gandy (d. 1729), was a portrait-painter, son of James Gandy [q. v.], probably born in Ireland. "He was for some years an...
Another 100 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Canday Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Canday family

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Canday were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Absolon Gandy, who arrived in Virginia in 1663; William Cantey, who settled in South Carolina in 1670-1672; George Gandy, who settled in Maryland in 1676.