The name Dumvill reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Dumvill family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Dumvill family lived in Cheshire. The family was originally from Dumville, in the arrondisement of Lisieux in Normandy. "The family, who probably entered England at the Conquest, were resident in co. Chester from the time of Henry III. till the beginning of the XVIII. cent." [1]
The surname Dumvill was first found in Cheshire where the family was originally of Donville in the arrondisement of Lisieux in Normandy. The family held estates at Thingwell in Cheshire in early times. One of the first records of the family was Adam de Dunville 1182, who witnessed a charter in Chester. [2]
"In the reign of Richard II. this place was held by the Domvilles, from whom it passed, through the Hulses and the Troutbecks, to the ancestors of the Earl of Shrewsbury." [3]
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had only one entry for the family: Hugo de Donvile, or Donvil, Salop (Shropshire.) [4]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dumvill research. Another 93 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1565, 1624, 1624, 1678, 1624, 1641, 1742, 1833, 1813, 1613, 1609, 1689, 1650, 1721, 1696 and 1768 are included under the topic Early Dumvill History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Domvile, Domville, Donvill, Donville, Dunville and many more.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir William Domville (1565-1624)
Silas Domville (1624-1678), was an English antiquary, the son of Silvanus Taylor, a committee-man for Herefordshire and 'a grand Oliverian,' born at Harley, near Much Wenlock, Shropshire, on 16 July 1624. "Although Wood calls him Domville or D'omville, it does not appear that Taylor...
Another 54 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dumvill Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Dumvill family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 134 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Dumvill name or one of its variants: Edward Dumbrell, who came to Maryland in 1719; Patrick Domvile, who landed in America in 1754; as well as a Major Domville, who came to Halifax, N.S. in 1796..