Cambray History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancestors of the Cambray family brought their name to England in the wave of migration after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived in Leicestershire. The family name, though, is a reference to the area of Cambrai, near Falaise, in Normandy. Originally erected in the 6th century as the Diocese of Cambrai, its jurisdiction was immense and included even Brussels and Antwerp.

Early Origins of the Cambray family

The surname Cambray was first found in Leicestershire, where Godridius (Geoffroi) de Chambrai was awarded estates in return for his service to William the Conqueror. Wace, the Norman poet, mentions Cil de Combrai as one of the knights who challenged King Harold to come forth at Senlac in 1066 and this is probably a reference to Geoffroi de Cambrai.

Early History of the Cambray family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cambray research. Another 248 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1165, 1199, 1203, 1273, 1500, 1664, 1701, 1798 and 1806 are included under the topic Early Cambray History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cambray Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Cambrey, Cambray, Cambrai, Combray, Cambreye, Camray and many more.

Early Notables of the Cambray family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Ralph de Cambray, a prominent landholder in Sussex and Hampshire during the Middle Ages

Cambray migration to the United States +

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Cambray or a variant listed above:

Cambray Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Pedro De Cambray, who landed in America in 1813 1

Contemporary Notables of the name Cambray (post 1700) +

Alexis Aimé Pierre Cambray, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 2

Citations +

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 11) Alexis Cambray. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html