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The ancestors of the bearers of the Gorhan family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found at Gorhambury located in the county of Hertfordshire.
The surname Gorhan was first found in Hertfordshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D. One of the first noteworthy people of the name Gorham was Geoffrey de Gorham, sometimes called Geoffrey of Dunstable or (of Le Mans) who died at St. Alban's, 26 February 1146. He was a Norman scholar who became Abbot of St Albans Abbey from 1119 to 1146. He was from the province of Maine, in the Dukedom of Normandy and was invited by Richard d'Aubeney, Abbot of St. Alban's, to become master of the Abbey school.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gorhan research. Another 55 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1776 is included under the topic Early Gorhan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Gorhan include Goreham, Gorham and others.
Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gorhan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Gorhan or a variant listed above: John Gorham who settled in Virginia in 1635; another John settled in Boston in 1630; Ralph Gorham settled in New England in 1630; Thomas Gorham settled in Virginia in 1635..