Gayre History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England
• Germany

Early Origins of the Gayre family

Early History of the Gayre family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gayre research. Another 171 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1455, 1487, 1510, 1538, 1593, 1600, 1646, 1649, 1694, 1704 and 1711 are included under the topic Early Gayre History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gayre Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Gayre family name include Gayre, Gair, Gayer, Gayar, Geyre, Geyer, Gere, Gear and many more.

Early Notables of the Gayre family

Distinguished members of the family include

• Sir John Gayer or Gayre (died 1649), English merchant and Lord Mayor of London in 1646. "He belonged to a family originally seated at Liskeard, but afterwards at Trenbrace, in the parish of St. Kevern...

Migration of the Gayre family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Gayre surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Francis Gayer, who came to Virginia in 1635; Sampson Gayer, who arrived in Virginia in 1706; as well as Andrew Gayer, a bonded passenger who arrived in Virginia in 1718..