|
![Show Contents]() Gauddet History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 France
The rich and ancient history of the Gauddet family name dates back to the time when France was immersed in the Dark Ages. This name from the Normandy region of France is derived from the Norman-French given name Gaudi, which means ruler. Early Origins of the Gauddet familyThe surname Gauddet was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where this celebrated family has held a family seat since ancient times. One of the earliest records of the family concerns Margue Gaudette who is recorded in 1340. Descending from the original line of Soulange, the family expanded, branched and prospered. This ancient family was known in Normandy, Picardy and Champagne as the Godart's, in Bourgogne as the Godard's and popular spellings of Lyonnais, Berry and Bourbonnais were Gaudart and Gaudard. Playing an important role in their community, the Gaudard family were the Lords of Solier, of la Greslerie, of Laverdine and of Genetais and served as the local Judges for the burgs in 1474. Proving their capability in politics, one of the Gaudard's served as the Mayor of Bourges in 1557 and in 1697 a member of the family served as the Treasurer of France for Berry. The family were fervent in pursuit of their faith and as such a member of the family became the Archdeacon of Bourbon in 1698 and he held his doctorate in Theology. Many members of the family served as representatives of the business community in Paris. Claude was a businessman of Paris in 1699 and his son, Louis-François, was an architect and a businessman in that same city. François-Pierre, his son, was a buying agent for the famous East India Company in the 1700's. Maurice, a descendant of François-Pierre, was a Knight of Saint Lazaire, a delegate general holding the Order of the Indes, a member of the Association of the French India Company and a Vice-President of the Red Cross for the French India Company. Early History of the Gauddet familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gauddet research. The years 1647, 1700 and 1709 are included under the topic Early Gauddet History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Gauddet Spelling VariationsThroughout the course of history most surnames have undergone changes for many reasons. During the early development of the French language, a son and father may not have chosen to spell their name the same way. Many are simple spelling changes by a person who gave his name, phonetically, to a scribe, priest, or recorder. Many names held prefixes or suffixes which became optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, we have many spelling variations of this name, Gauddet some of which are Gaudet, Gaudette, Gaudait, Gaudais, Gaudey, Godet, Godette, Godait, Godais, Goder, Godee, Goday, Goddet, Goddette, Gauddet and many more. Early Notables of the Gauddet familyAnother 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gauddet Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Gauddet familyIn the 1700s, land incentives were finally given out by France to 2,000 migrants. Early marriage was encouraged in New France, and youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries, leaving French names scattered across the continent. The search for the Northwest passage continued. Migration from France to New France or Quebec, as it was now more popularly called, continued until 1759. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In the treaty of Utrecht, Acadia were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Gauddet were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Gauddet were Eugene Godet who settled in Philadelphia in 1843; Thomas Martin Debois Godet settled in Philadelphia in 1843; A Godey settled in San Francisco in 1852.
|
