Gummerson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Gummerson is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Gummerson family lived in the place called Gomersal in Western Yorkshire, which derived its name from the Old English personal name Gudmoer and the Old English word halh.

The name Gudmoer was composed of the elements gud, which means battle, and moer, which means fame. The word halh means nook or recess. 1 This name was therefore formed under the Old English naming system, which gradually dissolved after the Norman Conquest. At this time, Old English names became less common and were replaced by popular continental European names. The surnames in England that were found shortly after the Norman Conquest were usually of Norman French rather than native English origins.

Early Origins of the Gummerson family

The surname Gummerson was first found in Yorkshire in the West Riding where they held a family seat at Gomershale, 2 later to become known as Gomersal. A knight's fee granted by William the Conqueror to Gilbert de Lacy was the first record of the place name from whom conjecturally the Gomersalls were descended. The grant of lands also included a mill and a manor at that time.

Today Gomersal is a village in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire and not that long ago was originally known as Great Gomersal and Little Gomersal.

Early History of the Gummerson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gummerson research. Another 24 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1602, 1616, 1628 and 1646 are included under the topic Early Gummerson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gummerson Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries. For that reason, spelling variations are common among many Anglo-Norman names. The shape of the English language was frequently changed with the introduction of elements of Norman French, Latin, and other European languages; even the spelling of literate people's names were subsequently modified. Gummerson has been recorded under many different variations, including Gomersal, Gomersall, Gommersal, Gommersall, Gomershall and many more.

Early Notables of the Gummerson family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Roberts Gomersall (1602-1646?), English dramatist and divine, born in London in 1602. He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford, 19 April 1616. "Having taken holy orders he ‘became a very florid preacher in the university’ (Wood). In...
Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gummerson Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Gummerson family

To escape the uncertainty of the political and religious uncertainty found in England, many English families boarded ships at great expense to sail for the colonies held by Britain. The passages were expensive, though, and the boats were unsafe, overcrowded, and ridden with disease. Those who were hardy and lucky enough to make the passage intact were rewarded with land, opportunity, and social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families went on to be important contributors to the young nations of Canada and the United States where they settled. Gummersons were some of the first of the immigrants to arrive in North America: William Gomersall arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1856.

Contemporary Notables of the name Gummerson (post 1700) +

Alan F. Gummerson, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1972 3

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html