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The Anglo-Saxon name Daventre comes from the family having resided in Daventry, a town in Northants (now Northampton). The place-name was rendered as Daventrei in the Domesday Book, 1 a census and survey taken by William the Conqueror in 1086. The place-name Daventry is derived from the Old English personal name Dafa, and means "tree of a man called Dafa, Dafa's tree." It is interesting to note that the pronunciation of the placename Daventry is not as it would appear. Locals pronounce Daventry as Daintree, giving rise to the many variations of this name that are found. Another source has a different understanding about the origin of the place name. "The British name of this place, Dwy-Avon-Tre, 'the town of two Avons,' from which its present appellation is derived, originated in its situation between the source of the river Leam, which falls into the Western Avon, and the river Nene, anciently styled the Aufona. " 2
The surname Daventre was first found in Northampton at Daventry, a market-town, a parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Fawsley.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Daventre research. Another 116 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1140, 1296, 1349, 1373 and 1400 are included under the topic Early Daventre History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Daventre has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Spelling variants included: Daventry, Daintry, Dainty, Dantry, Dantye and others.
Distinguished members of the family include
In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Daventres to arrive on North American shores: William Daintry who settled in New England in 1695; Henry Dainty settled in Barbados in 1640; Katherine Daintye settled in Maryland in 1685.